Bonjour, Tours

We’re excited to be in Tours! Our rental is in the heart of the old city but incredibly quiet despite that – it’s a modern structure built in an interior courtyard that blocks almost all of the noise. Les Halles, a large indoor food market, is just a block away. The beautiful Basilica of St. Martin is our next door neighbor:

St. Martin’s crypt is below the altar. The walls there are covered with thank-yous from many different countries. St. Martin was elected bishop of Tours (against his wishes) in 397, so people have been praying to him for a looong time.

Martin, like St. Francis of Assisi, lived an ascetic life. Unlike Francis’s basilica in Assisi, which is close to a sensory overload, Martin’s basilica is a much better reflection of his values – calm and serene. Of course, that may not have always been the case. This is the second basilica built here. The first one was a lot bigger, and perhaps it was more ornate.

The original basilica and an area near it was surrounded by a towered wall. For protection? For peace and quiet? Only a couple of the towers remain.

The Loire river is just a few blocks away.

This photo was taken from the Pont Napoleon, looking at the Pont Wilson. It’s always interesting to find streets named after Americans in Europe. There are lots of Eisenhowers and Kennedys; in Spello there was even a Martin Luther King Jr.

There are half-timbered houses tucked in everywhere among the more common stone ones. Some, like the one in the middle above, seem to have gone through multiple restorations. The upkeep of houses like these has to be a labor of love.

And of course there are more churches! This one is Notre-Dame-la-Riche. Beautiful stained glass, but in desperate need of exterior cleaning and repair…

They must be cleaning as they get the money – this side looked pretty good

Christmas decorations here can be pretty elaborate. It’s a pleasure to walk around and admire them. Some evening soon we’ll check out the Christmas market here and see how it compares to Montpellier’s.

Also seen around town:

These are not the first lava lamps we’ve seen. Some trends are better left buried in the attic.

M and I were both ecstatic on our first trip to Les Halles, which happened to be on a Sunday, because we saw something we used to see everywhere in France and hadn’t seen yet on this trip. Yes, it’s the return of Sunday Chicken!! Delicious rotisserie chicken – yum!