PARIS TRIP: DAY 7: Tours (Azay-le-Rideou, Villandry), Paris
Tours and Paris, Tuesday, 20 June 06
(written on 21 June)
I got up at 7:30 when Guillaume and Fanny were leaving for their university and said goodbye.
I left before the Helene and Annika came got up. Helene had given me her mobile number, to make sure that she would be at home so that I could get my luggage before going back to Paris.
I had decided to take the tour with the other company, Touraine Evasion. We started in a similar van with 5 other people, neither of them very friendly and I didn’t get to speaking to any of them, and another French companion of the tour guide, Nicole.
Unlike Pascal from the day before, she was more of a driver who spoke English, than a guide. She didn’t give any history or background of any of the places we visited. 
Not that it was really required.
We first went to Azay-le-Rideau. This chateau is small, and rather simple, but really very pretty. Strangely enough, the crowds preferred to be inside, than outside, so I got ample opportunity for photographs, especially with reflections in the moat.
My last chateau of the Loire valley was Villandry, famous for its gardens, which are really beautiful.
We didn’t go inside the chateau, but explored the vast gardens for more than an hour.
I am really glad that I decided to tour the Loire valley. The idea of doing this from Tours also was a good idea.
The other options would have been from Blois or Orleans, and in fact I had considered staying in Tours for a day and then moving to one of the other two, because different chateaux are closer to different places. That would have made sense if I were using public transport or trains. But with the organized tours, Tours was perfect. The chateaux I liked best were Chambord, Chenonceau and Azay-le-Rideau, but I am very glad I visited the Cheverny. Amboise and Villandry, I could have done without but I certainly don’t regret doing them.
We got back in Tours at 1 pm, half an hour later than scheduled. I got a sandwich and went back. Helene was watching TV, a show about how the French are perceived abroad. We got into discussing this and then moved on to politics, when suddenly at 1:45, she realized she had to run for an appointment with the doctor. We decided that I would go out to visit Tours and she would finish shopping and get back by 4:15 pm, so that I could come back and get my luggage. But I was tired, and had a nap instead and sat on the internet after that. We said goodbyes and I walked to the station, a bit late. The ticket machines were too slow, so I went into the ticket counters and just managed to get my ticket and get on the train I had planned to take at 4:55 pm left.
In hindsight, I should have stayed back in Tours and taken a late train to get back to Paris late, but I had not been able to contact my next hosts, Renaud and Christophe on telephone, and Renaud hadn’t gotten around to answering my last message.
I reached Paris at 7 pm, and took the Metro to the station nearest to Renaud and Christophe place. I only had their home phone number, and Christophe had warned me that they rarely get back before 8 pm, but usually later, or much later. I kept calling them to see if they had arrived. I tried to find their place, but following Murphy’s law, I mistook the direction of their place in every possible way after I finally reached their place. I found an internet place nearby, and browsed for half an hour, and then went back to their place (I could enter the building using the entry code that Renaud had given me) and left my suitcase near their door, and then called and left a message on their answering machine. I had dinner at restaurant nearby—a starter with duck pate and salad and a main course of chicken casserole with couscous, nothing great. Then I called again at around 10:15 pm—Christophe was back.
Christophe doesn’t speak English very fluently, but can manage. He is a nice guy, 38, and very friendly and helpful. He apparently used to work in a bank before, but quit and took a 17-month holiday, and now works in a call center, and is having a busy period at work. He is from the South West of France (Renaud, he said, is from the South East) and has been living in Paris since 14 years or so. They have been together for 8 years now. We were chatting about various things when Renaud came back at around 11:30 pm. He had had an official dinner, and would have one again the following day. Renaud reminds me very much of Jürg Müller, my PhD supervisor, both in looks and mannerisms, though of course, the latter was very absent minded and could be rather abrupt. Renaud suggest a lot of places I could visit, and walks I could do. Let’s see what I get around to doing.
Their flat is quite big. One inters into a small passage that leads to a tiny toilet, the kitchen and the dining room. The dining room leads to the living room, which in turn leads to a narrow corridor that is like a wardrobe as well and from there to their bedroom. Their bathroom is attached to their bedroom. But I am glad that the toilet not in their bedroom, like in Guillaume’s place. The largish kitchen also opens to the narrow corridor in front of their bedroom. So there are two parallel ways of going to the toilet or going out from their bedroom. The floors as usual, are creaky wooden. Wooden floors do feel nice and look lovely, the creakiness irritates me.Christophe was worried about my sleeping in their living room as the windows do not have opaque curtains, and is consequently very bright in the early morning, which he feared would disturb my sleep. The other option would be to remove the dining table and set up a folding bed there. But I insisted that the living room would be fine, and they shouldn’t take the trouble of having to reorganize the dining room.
(written on 21 June)
I got up at 7:30 when Guillaume and Fanny were leaving for their university and said goodbye.
I left before the Helene and Annika came got up. Helene had given me her mobile number, to make sure that she would be at home so that I could get my luggage before going back to Paris.I had decided to take the tour with the other company, Touraine Evasion. We started in a similar van with 5 other people, neither of them very friendly and I didn’t get to speaking to any of them, and another French companion of the tour guide, Nicole.
Unlike Pascal from the day before, she was more of a driver who spoke English, than a guide. She didn’t give any history or background of any of the places we visited. 
Not that it was really required.We first went to Azay-le-Rideau. This chateau is small, and rather simple, but really very pretty. Strangely enough, the crowds preferred to be inside, than outside, so I got ample opportunity for photographs, especially with reflections in the moat.
My last chateau of the Loire valley was Villandry, famous for its gardens, which are really beautiful. We didn’t go inside the chateau, but explored the vast gardens for more than an hour.
I am really glad that I decided to tour the Loire valley. The idea of doing this from Tours also was a good idea.
The other options would have been from Blois or Orleans, and in fact I had considered staying in Tours for a day and then moving to one of the other two, because different chateaux are closer to different places. That would have made sense if I were using public transport or trains. But with the organized tours, Tours was perfect. The chateaux I liked best were Chambord, Chenonceau and Azay-le-Rideau, but I am very glad I visited the Cheverny. Amboise and Villandry, I could have done without but I certainly don’t regret doing them.We got back in Tours at 1 pm, half an hour later than scheduled. I got a sandwich and went back. Helene was watching TV, a show about how the French are perceived abroad. We got into discussing this and then moved on to politics, when suddenly at 1:45, she realized she had to run for an appointment with the doctor. We decided that I would go out to visit Tours and she would finish shopping and get back by 4:15 pm, so that I could come back and get my luggage. But I was tired, and had a nap instead and sat on the internet after that. We said goodbyes and I walked to the station, a bit late. The ticket machines were too slow, so I went into the ticket counters and just managed to get my ticket and get on the train I had planned to take at 4:55 pm left.
In hindsight, I should have stayed back in Tours and taken a late train to get back to Paris late, but I had not been able to contact my next hosts, Renaud and Christophe on telephone, and Renaud hadn’t gotten around to answering my last message.
I reached Paris at 7 pm, and took the Metro to the station nearest to Renaud and Christophe place. I only had their home phone number, and Christophe had warned me that they rarely get back before 8 pm, but usually later, or much later. I kept calling them to see if they had arrived. I tried to find their place, but following Murphy’s law, I mistook the direction of their place in every possible way after I finally reached their place. I found an internet place nearby, and browsed for half an hour, and then went back to their place (I could enter the building using the entry code that Renaud had given me) and left my suitcase near their door, and then called and left a message on their answering machine. I had dinner at restaurant nearby—a starter with duck pate and salad and a main course of chicken casserole with couscous, nothing great. Then I called again at around 10:15 pm—Christophe was back.
Christophe doesn’t speak English very fluently, but can manage. He is a nice guy, 38, and very friendly and helpful. He apparently used to work in a bank before, but quit and took a 17-month holiday, and now works in a call center, and is having a busy period at work. He is from the South West of France (Renaud, he said, is from the South East) and has been living in Paris since 14 years or so. They have been together for 8 years now. We were chatting about various things when Renaud came back at around 11:30 pm. He had had an official dinner, and would have one again the following day. Renaud reminds me very much of Jürg Müller, my PhD supervisor, both in looks and mannerisms, though of course, the latter was very absent minded and could be rather abrupt. Renaud suggest a lot of places I could visit, and walks I could do. Let’s see what I get around to doing.
Their flat is quite big. One inters into a small passage that leads to a tiny toilet, the kitchen and the dining room. The dining room leads to the living room, which in turn leads to a narrow corridor that is like a wardrobe as well and from there to their bedroom. Their bathroom is attached to their bedroom. But I am glad that the toilet not in their bedroom, like in Guillaume’s place. The largish kitchen also opens to the narrow corridor in front of their bedroom. So there are two parallel ways of going to the toilet or going out from their bedroom. The floors as usual, are creaky wooden. Wooden floors do feel nice and look lovely, the creakiness irritates me.Christophe was worried about my sleeping in their living room as the windows do not have opaque curtains, and is consequently very bright in the early morning, which he feared would disturb my sleep. The other option would be to remove the dining table and set up a folding bed there. But I insisted that the living room would be fine, and they shouldn’t take the trouble of having to reorganize the dining room.
posted by A.S. at 3:54 PM
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