Last four days of the first week in France (Leen)

Dear family and friends, after a wonderful week in Italy we are now staying two weeks in France, which is situated close to home. I would like to go to Belgium and visit you all but unfortunately this is not possible. Despite that I am missing you so much I am having a great time with my group members Charlotte, Lieze and Marlies.

From Thursday until Sunday we are going to visit several cities in central France.

Thursday 31 March: visiting Tours

Today we are visiting Tours, the other days we are also going to visit Blois, Orléans and Auxerre.

Tours is the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department. It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Tours is the largest city in the Centre region of France, although it is not the regional capital, which is the regions second-largest city: Orléans.

“Saint Gatien's Cathedral” is the Roman Catholic cathedral which was built between 1170 and 1547. It has been a classified as “Monument historique” since 1862. The total length of the cathedral is 97 meters and its width is 28 meters. Its treasures are the organ, which was donated by Archbishop Martin de Beaune in the 16^th century and the tomb of the children of Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany, who died as infants.

Around the church, on the north side a small cloister is built. This cloister is known as the “cloître de la Psalette”, in reference to its function as a school of psalms (religious chants). On the south side of the cathedral stands the former archbishop's palace, which was built in the early 18^th century, and which has now become the “Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours”.

It was an interesting day, certainly when we visited Saint Gatien's Cathedral because it is very breathtaking, like most cathedrals in France.

Now we are going to a restaurant and have dinner, afterwards we are going straight to bed because tomorrow we are leaving for Blois.

Good night and sleep tight –xx-

Friday 1 April: visiting Blois

We slept in a nice B&B in Tours yesterday evening but today we had to get up early because we had to go to Blois, which is about 40 minutes driving.

Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department and is situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Tours and Orléans, which we will visit tomorrow.

Blois is known for its beautiful countryside, its temperate climate and its refined way of life. The main sights here are the famous “Château de Blois” and the 18^th century stone bridge spanning the Loire. The “Château de Blois” is a Renaissance château which was once occupied by King Louis XII and it is located in the centre of the city. It also comprises several buildings constructed from the 13^th to the 17^th century around the main courtyard. Its most famous piece of architecture is the magnificent spiral staircase in the François I wing which is brilliantly decorated with gold, carved pillars and stained glass. This château is unique in the Loire and because of that Blois is often called the “Versailles of the Renaissance”.

Notwithstanding it was a day filled with history about the city, which I normally do not like, I pretty enjoyed it because I have learnt a lot of new things that I did not know before. I am also looking forward to tomorrow when we will visit Orléans.

Good night everybody ! –xx-

Saturday 2 April: visiting Orléans

As we told you yesterday we are now going to visit Orléans, a city in north-central France, about 130 kilometers southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret department and of the Centre region.

Today we visited the “Le Parc Floral de la Source”. This park is a French garden situated to the south of the River Loire, in the “La Source” neighborhood. With more than 150,000 visitors in 2007, it is the most visited site in Loiret. Therefore the park has been awarded the status of “Jardin remarquable” by the French Ministry of Culture and the national council of parks and gardens.

In 1967, the “Floralies internationales d'Orléans”, which was held in the park, attracted 2,300,000 visitors in six months. The global budget was more than one million francs (152,618 euro). From April to October the city became the world capital of horticulture thanks to the 330 exhibitors and 700 producers from 11 countries. To house successive exhibitions they especially constructed 13,000 m² of glasshouses.

I must admit that it is indeed a wonderful park thanks to its beautiful flowers, trees and gardens.

Now we are going to enjoy our dinner and we will post another message on our blog tomorrow.

Have a nice evening! Lots of tots!

Sunday 3 April: visiting Auxerre

Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department and it has a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries. Auxerre is also world-famous for the wine produced in the neighborhood, including the renowned Chablis.

Before we explored the town we asked for a map at Auxerre Tourist Office. There they gave us a free map which we used to follow a route that shows the highlights of Auxerre.

Historically seen, the town owes its position to its importance on the river, and also on the once important trade route between the Mediterranean and the North Sea.

The best way to get a perspective of the churches in Auxerre is by walking onto the main bridge across the river. The “Pont Paul Bert” offers a very good view of the Auxerre’s 'skyline'. From here you can see three main churches the Church of Saint Peter, the Saint Etienne Cathedral, and the Saint Germain Abbey, which runs from south to north.

Much of the old centre of the town is now a region of protected development. There are attractive squares where you can take a rest in a cafe, which are joined by narrow medieval streets and a lot of attractive ancient houses.

I must say that Auxerre is a pretty town which is towered over by the cathedral, and by several churches. Although I also must say that it does have as well some less attractive parts that have not yet been renovated.

The first week in France has been great so far and I hope that the other week will be the same or maybe even better!

Cya tomorrow ! -xx-