May 26--Touring in Tours

May 26, 2008
Touring in Tours
Jamie Berger

Today was our first full day in Tours, and what an exhausting and busy day! We started it out by meeting at the school at 8:10, and then had an orientation and a tour around the school, after we were given a little time to write emails and check Facebook... The French kids went to class and our group walked to the town hall of Tours which was called La Mairie or L`Hôtel De Ville. The town hall was designed by renowned architect Victor Laloux, who also designed Le Musée D'Orsay in Paris.






We were given a tour in French of three rooms there: the marriage room, another room called La Salle Des Fêtes, and a room for town council meetings. There were murals on the walls of each room; in the marriage room, there were paintings representing important aspects of the history and culture of Tours, including those of famous men, writers, explorers, mathematicians, etc., who had come from Tours or studied there, such as Descartes. Also represented in the paintings was wine; for which Tours is very famous, and goats, symbolizing Tours goat cheese. The largest mural was one of a couple going through the stages of marriage and life; on the left side of the painting they were pictured getting engaged, then married, and on the far right, they were shown after marriage with their children. Painted on the ceiling was a scene of a woman on a throne, she symbolizes Tours, and below her were a man and a woman, meant to symbolize the two rivers important to Tours and its residents- La Loire and another one which I cannot remember the name of, but I think it is Le Cher.

In La Salle Des Fêtes, there were two enormous fireplaces on either side of the room. There were four portraits on the wall of famous men who worked and studied in Tours. These men were: Balzac, Descartes, Rabelais, and Vigny. The Tours coat of arms was also above one of the fireplace in this room, it has three "fleur de lis" and three towers.



The next room was the one in which town meetings are held. The tour guide described the political arrangements of the members of the city council. The guide mentioned that the room was quite plain compared to the others so as not to distract the officers... yet it still seemed very ornate to us Americans! A mural on the wall of this room recounted the story of Joan of Arc's death on the stake.



After visiting La Mairie, the group returned to school to meet our hosts for lunch. Some eat lunch at school, some at home, and some around town.

We Americans then went to a post office to buy stamps, and to a big department store to get food, water, journals for taking notes, etc. We then walked to "Place Plume" and Vieux Tours or "Old Tours" which is the part of the city that is over 200 years old. It was extremely beautiful and very quaint, with narrow cobblestoned roads, stone and wood buildings, and streetside cafés and boutiques. We were given some free time, during which many of us tasted the Gelato of a corner shop... I tried Crème Brulée, which is now definitely my personal favorite! After this we trekked back to school, and on the way saw ruins of old buildings. We met up with our host students and returned home with them. It was definitely a tiring but wonderful first day!