Kema and Steve got up before us and had some toasted baguettes. Then Steve again walked to the patisserie and brought home pastries and more baguettes. We had a relaxing breakfast together.
Since we would be arriving in Bourges in the afternoon we needed to save time. Therefore, we decided to take sandwiches to eat on the train for lunch so Kema and Steve made them. Salami, ham and cheese for us and just cheese for David. We also took chips and water. And I took a Coke Light for me. I seem to be the only one who really likes soda!
By now the other three were dressed and ready to go but I still had to get cleaned up so they went out to shop at the local shoe store which David and I had visited the week before. It is called JDS Chaussures. We thought it was a great store with a huge variety of very good shoes and boots for men and women. But, alas, now the shoe store is closed for vacation!!! There are good and bad things about traveling off season and various merchant closings are to be expected, I guess. Too bad for the store owner, tho, because I'm sure Kema and Steve would have each purchased a pair of shoes -- they loved the ones that were displayed in the windows!
The disappointed shoppers returned but then I decided Kema needed to see the wonderful, kitschy gift store named Le comptoir de Louis. It is two stories with, I think, 5 rooms in all. They offer an eclectic selection of gourmet food, fine wine and spirits and humanly-dressed cow sculptures for sale. Also platters and dishes, glasses, etc. She liked it very much and bought a cool souvenir for a member of her family.
When we got back home it was time for the walk to the train station. We've walked it so often it's actually starting to feel closer! We got there in 30 minutes and purchased our round trip tickets to Bourges. We boarded the train, enjoyed the scenery for awhile and then ate our delicious lunch.
We arrived in Bourges and decided we wanted to head immediately to tour Saint Stephen's Cathedral. We had no idea how far of a walk it was but we knew we were headed in the right direction. It wasn't long before we could see it in the distance. I guess it took us about 30 minutes to walk there. It is an amazingly beautiful church!!!
The construction of the church began in 1195 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1324. Due to its exceptional size, it is considered to be a high point in Gothic architecture. It was added to the Unesco World Heritage list in 1992. My inside pictures aren't very good but here they are.
Along with touring the church you can tour the crypt and the tower. We were told the crypt tour was in French but the guide spoke enough English to tell us we could spend about 10 minutes touring it when she finished with her final tour. We thought we were going to get a modified tour in English, but there was a miscommunication and we just got to spend time there by ourselves looking around which was interesting.
Before we went down to the crypt, and because we had to wait for the last tour of the crypt to end, we decided to walk up the 396 steps to the top of the tower to see the view. The brochure states: "The tower was rebuilt and completed in 1542, having collapsed in 1506. It was nicknamed the 'butter tower' due to the way it was funded: exemptions from fasting were granted in return for contributions." Interesting!
I won't lie and say walking up the stairs was a piece of cake . . . but we did it and the views were well worth it!!! We spent some time there taking pictures and then headed back downstairs to view the crypt.
The crypt was built from 1195 on the former ditch outside the Gallo-Roman walls. It is set around a central room called the rotunda. We wish we had had a little bit of information from a tour guide but it was still very worth seeing. This sculpture was placed in the lower church in 1540.
We spent so much time at the church that we really didn't have any time left for anything else. There are many more things to see and do in Bourges and David and I will return soon.
We were walking back to the train station and came across a beautiful garden.
As we got closer to the train station we realized we had a little time before our train was scheduled to depart for Saint Aignan. We saw a terrace outside a hotel that was serving drinks so we stopped there and enjoyed the fabulous weather while drinking Coke Lights and iced tea. It was a very nice break.
We continued on to the train station and boarded our train. We arrived in Saint Aignan in about an hour as scheduled. We called for a taxi and soon we were home.
Some of us showered and some of us opened wine and beer to drink and relax. For dinner Kema made a nice salad and we had two kinds of ravioli for dinner -- 5 cheese and tomato, basil and mozzarella. Of course we also had baguette and butter!!! It was Kema and Steve's last night with us in Saint Aignan so it was bitter sweet. We had the absolute BEST time with them and we were sorry to see them go. They were headed to Paris for a few days before flying home to South Carolina. We were delighted we got to share the Loire Valley with them.
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