I haven't spoken as much french as I'd like to (I was almost excited when my key card didn't work yesterday and I had to go and sort it out at the desk), but I have been reminded of several things I'd forgotten about France...
1-The weddings. I saw two separate wedding cars go past yesterday both followed by a procession of beeping cars with passengers leaning out of the windows. People waved and rang their bike bells and passing cars joined in, it was really nice and it's not something I've ever seen outside of France.
2-Everything shuts on a Sunday. I mean I knew this was true of small seaside towns, but I wasn't quite prepared for the extent to which Tours, a city, was closed for Sunday. Every single shop I saw was closed apart from boulangeries and a Carrefour City which was open for a generous 4 hours this morning. The post office goes one step further and closes for the entire weekend, opening only during normal working hours Monday to Friday.
3-The smell of boulangeries, which is heaven itself. I saw one in Place du Grand Marché with a queue out of the door which I'm going to make absolutely sure to come back to.
Anyway, it's nice to be here, and there is a distinctly French feel to the city. Yesterday I walked up to my halls and went to look at the cathedral and today I went in search of a market which turned out not to be there and instead went to Old Tours and then walked back along the river and sat there for a while reading. Tomorrow things start properly, and I'm about 50/50 nervous and excited.
Tours train station
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