Day 4 in Tours Bakery and Cathedral Visits

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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 clearly and in such beautiful language.
I learned that in France, starting about 1600, it was forbidden to erect a wooden structure because of the danger of fire. Yet, to build everything in stone was very expensive, since heavy stone had to be transported with great difficulty. So, lots of buildings were made of wood with bricks or stones. Then, often the whole surface was covered over so that the wood didn't show. So, that means that each time I see those beautiful post and beam structures, I know that they date from before 1600!

About Gothic cathedrals, our guide was postiviely poetic. He spoke of the changes that went on in the different periods in architecture. The roman period had big, round, wide, heavy shapes, whereas the Gothic period strove for a a lighter, more pointed approach. And, simplicity was the norm--all that fancy decoration came later. As with many cathedrals and churches, the Cathedral of St Gatien in Tours took about 300 years to build, so there were several different styles of architecture throughout; yet I had the sense that the whole was very integrated. He talked a lot about the symbolic nature of the structure: a column is like the trunk of a body, the centre of the cathedral is like a heart, etc. I will now look at cathedrals very differently. And just imagine: politics were implicated too. Certain archbishops were very powerful and proud of their parishes, so would compete to have the most beautiful, expensive, ornate churches built. So, the design was not always about architectural beauty. And, of course, it is well known that if you were prominent in your parish, you gave money to the church to be recognized--so some windows, niches, chapels within the churches were devoted to certain families or individuals who had given generously to the church.

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