On Sunday, 5 of us did a full-day biking trip from Tours to Villandry (about 50 Km return). The weather was perfect--not too hot, not too cold, no wind. The company which guided the tour and rented the bicycles arrived with about 15 bikes trailored behind a large van. They were very organized with tools, helmets, etc. After assigning each of us a bike, we set out from in front of the main train station in Tours and headed across the Cher River. The city of Tours is located in between the 2 rivers: Cher and Loire. We were able to stay on bike paths along the rivers for most of the day. Our first stop was at a communal vegetable garden. It was interesting to me to see how they had planted their vegetables, all ... read more

We had a wonderful historical and cultural day in this small centre about 1/2 hour's drive from Tours. You may know it as the city where Francois Rabelais lived. He was actually born in the small town of Deviniere outside of Chinon which we visited. A lot of it was in its original state, including an immense underground cave. I didn't realize that in addition to being a writer, Rabelais was also a doctor, philosophe... read more

I'm having many culinary adventures here! Need I say it? THE FOOD AND WINE ARE EXCELLENT! Cooking for one is not easy, but I'm managing quite well. I'm staying in a university residence which has some communal kitchens. The good news is that they are kept clean and clear. The bad news is that nothing can be left in them--no food, no utensils, no equipment, no garbage. The rules are so strick that if anyone leaves a mess, the administration closes that kitchen for a couple of days. So far, so good. Today, I went to the big market: about 3 city blocks in size: both inside and outside. The produce, meat, cheese were amazing. I bought some local strawberries--they rival our coastal BC ones. I stopped at a portable meat market and bought a veal ... read more

I find myself in a strange situation, language-wise. For one whole week now, I have not spoken any English at all. Our group is very good at speaking only in French. Whenever someone speaks to me in English, I always respond in French and s/he continues in French. Our teachers are strict on that note. While I am at ease speaking French (moreso than most of the others who are all students of French in their early 20's!), I keep finding myself "out of context". Today, for example, we were looking at an article about the Feudal System--for homework we had about 10 questions to answer in writing about it. My last contact with the Feudal system was when I taught it to a Grade 8 class in Sardis, in 1965, in English! So, not only ... read more

As I said in my previous entry, the wine tasting festival ("Vitiloire") went on for 2 days. So, I just HAD to take advantage and go for both days! The second day, I carried on trying more than several whites and reds of the Loire region (which stretches from Nantes to Orleans). On a scale of 0-10, I rated each one that I tasted--none was lower than a 5 and most rated 8-9! I must say that I have never been known to taste wine at 10am, but that's when it all started. My secret: drink 1 glass of water for each wine tasted; and EAT. We were treated to a fouee (or fouace) which is a pita-like bread stuffed with your choice of chevre, Roquefort, or rillettes (pork). Delicious. Then I had a lunch of ... read more

Today has been full and interesting. I thought I could quickly do some shopping for groceries--wrong! A 5-minute walk each way was the easy part. Somehow, wandering around a French supermarket does not easily lead to completed shopping. Since none of the packages is familiar, I have difficulty telling whether I am in an aisle for cleaning products or staple foods. The fruits and vegetables, meat and fish are easy. You can smell them as well as easily see them! Shopping for 1 is a challenge as it is at home. Today, I tried to buy 1 potato, 1 carrot, 1 onion, etc. They are not always sold in bulk. The other delaying factor is that all the products look so interesting, that I want to stop and examine each one. Hence, it took me over ... read more

Our first encounter with rain today, but I won't complain--just some showers. We all met at a very old bakery which dates from the 17th century--a real oven fueled by wood; bread made by hand, except for a mechanical kneader which represents the 2 arms of the baker. They make all their bread from organic flour and a natural starter--really great bread if you don't mind paying 5.85 Euros a loaf! Au Vieux Four in a little square behind the Cathedral. Then we had a guided walking tour of the old city. In fact, there were 2 city centres which amalgated (I think in the 16th Century). We saw buildingsm still inhabited, that date back to the 16th Century. The guide we had was a wonderful teacher who is passionate about history. He explained things so ... read more

Yes! We've arrived in Tours. The weather has remained hot and sunny. We've been busy getting settled, both in residence and at the University. Our lodging is in a new residence building in North tours, so we cross the Loire each day to get to the University campus. Our rooms are very nice--sort of remind me of a cabin aboard a ship--small but concise. We each have our own bathroom too. Then there is a communal kitchen on each floor (the 16 of us are divided up into 3 floors). There are other students here too, so we hear and speak lots of French. Today we started classes--there will be quite a bit of work to do, but centred around the history, culture, and literature of the Tours area. We've walked a lot and seen some ... read more

Here is my first travel blog entry for this trip. It has been a wonderful beginning to my 2 1/2 months studying French here. We had a good 2 days in Paris under sunny, warm skies! I did a lot of walking around my favourite areas: Notre Dame, along the Seine, near the Louvre, in the Quartier Latin, and...to one of my favourite spots: the terrasse on the 7th floor of Galeries Lafayette where there is an almost 360 degree view of Paris. It always stuns me that the 7th floor is pretty much the highest spot in "downtown" Paris. The hostel in the Louvre area is pretty good--if you don't mind climbing stairs! We were on the 5th (really 6th) floor without an elevator. I counted them: 125 steps each way. I got really good ... read more

Yesterday, we took a tuk tuk about 4 km NE of the city to visit Lao's most important national monument, Pha That Luang (which means roughly Great Sacred Reliquary or Great Stupa). The large gold stupa, surrounded by vertical gold missile-like structures was quite impressive. In addition, there were several other buildings, temples, monastery, etc. and one temple in the midst of being constructed. Today is our last full day in Asia for this trip. This afternoon, we leave Vientiane and Laos and cross the border to Thailand via the Friendship Bridge. Then we go to Nong Khai where we will board an overnight train to Bangkok. We've booked a first class sleeping compartment, so I am hoping we can sleep well before we head directly to the airport to board our flight home to Vancouver ... read more