Wednesday.  David and I have been to a nearby city, Tours, a few times since we've been in the Loire Valley.  It is much larger than Saint Aignan but it is still charming and has so much character.  It is a university town which means a lot is happening there all the time.  So today we decided to take the train there one last time to explore it a little more and to do some shopping.

We took the 8:16 into the city (that comment is for Kema and Steve) and we ate breakfast on the train which we always enjoy.  I packed a few little sandwiches and we had a bottle of water with us.  Even the train ticket taker walked by and said bon appetit to us as she watched us munching away!  

David studied the map of Tours carefully because we wanted to go to the medieval, walking part of the city.  As you exit the train station, across the street is a McDonald's.  For some reason this rhino is in front of the McDonald's!  It is pretty cool.  We have eaten so many baguettes, pastries, and other good French foods that David and I decided that from now on we are only going to take photographs of us with objects that are much bigger than us to camouflage the girth we have acquired during our stay.

Tours is a very walkable city with much to see.  We headed over to Place Plumereau which is apparently the hip part of the city.  It is historic, filled with half-timbered houses and many, many cafes, displays of art and eclectic shopping.  We stopped at a cafe there for coffee and tea.  We took our time walking and exploring the area.  No doubt it is very popular with tourists and the local students!

There was a flea market set up on one of the squares and we stumbled upon an outdoor market.  These pictures are for Rachael who seems to like our market pictures!

As you can see it was a beautiful day.  It started out chilly but ended up about 70 degrees fahrenheit!  We cannot get over the fabulous weather we've had since we've been here!

Across the street from the outdoor market we discovered an indoor market, Les Halles.  This place is incredible -- very upscale.  Beautiful stands of meats, cheeses, vegetables, bakeries, wines -- everything you could possibly want.  All of it beautifully displayed.  Of course we couldn't take anything home but we enjoyed "window" shopping. 

Shopping in Tours is plentiful and a good mix of prices and styles.  I, of course, wanted to visit Galleries Lafayette again which we did.  We then headed back towards the train station for lunch and some shopping on the pedestrian street close by the station.  Our route took us past the beautiful Hotel de Ville with this incredible display of flowers.

We were getting a little hungry by then so we looked for a cafe where we could sit and rest and have a treat.  We had a lot of choices but we picked the Continental Cafe because there were so many people there it had to be good, right?  We chose ice cream for our afternoon treat and it was delicious!

Of course then we needed to "walk off" the ice cream so we checked out as much of that part of Tours as we could before we had to catch our train.  Believe it or not, we didn't buy a thing!  We just browsed and enjoyed the ambiance of the city!  We arrived home around 5:30 p.m. after a very fun day!!!

For dinner we decided to visit L'Amarena one last time.  I was hungry for spaghetti and David was hungry for pizza.  I made a reservation for 7:30 and our favorite table was set up and waiting when we got there.  I was a little disappointed because they did not have their bolognese sauce that night which I had been looking forward to so I had to settle for pasta carbonara instead.  Ha!  It is an excellent dish there!!!  David ordered his pizza and we were enjoying a glass of wine when Christina and Claude walked in!  We talked for a while but there were no other tables available for them.  The owner noticed us talking and told us if we waited for a few minutes we could be seated together at a table for four which is exactly what we did.  The kitchen held our dinners until Christina and Claude ordered theirs and we were all served at the same time.  They also ordered more wine.  Then dessert.  Then champagne.  OMG!  By then I was definitely full and mildly intoxicated!!!  But we had a very fun evening with them and somehow Claude sneakily picked up the check.  

After dinner we practically rolled across the street and fell into bed!  It is going to be very, very difficult to leave the friends we've made in Saint Aignan!!!