Today I'm posting pictures of Tours:


This area is called Place Jean Jaurès -- it's a big open area with two huge fountains. It’s in the center of town at the intersection of the two major streets, Rue Nationale and Boulevard Béranger. The main post office, the Palais de Justice, and the Hotel de Ville all face Place Jean Jaurès.





This is the Palais de Justice, the courthouse.








This is the Hôtel de Ville. I think I already posted a picture of this, but I'm including this one since this picture was taken from Place Jean Jaurès.










This is the “semi-pedestrian” section of Rue Nationale, and I still haven’t figured out exactly what that means, but I’ve decided it doesn’t really matter. I’ve seen people driving in places that are clearly pedestrian-only –the cars here are so small they can fit just about anywhere anyway. I’ve learned to just always watch out for cars! This section of Rue Nationale is where all the shopping is -- mostly clothing shops, and of course, little stands selling croissants, pain au chocolat, and other pastries.





This is looking down Rue Nationale the opposite direction. There are cafés lining the street, and the buses stop here. This is where I got on the bus the other day to go out to Carrefour.

This is Boulevard Béranger (the other major street); it intersects with Rue Nationale at Place Jean Jaurès. It is a true “boulevard” with a large pedestrian area in the middle lined with trees.

The picture on the right was taken in the "boulevard" part of Boulevard Béranger. Every Wednesday and Saturday, there is a flower market here. It’s packed full of vendors with every type of flower or plant you can imagine.

This is the train station in Tours. It’s just about 2 minute walk down Boulevard Béranger from Place Jean Jaurès. It’s only about a 5 minute walk from my house – this is where Jacob will arrive in Tours!

Today I had Labo, which is an oral lab where we put on headsets with mics and practice pronunciation. I like the class, but it is a little difficult to do that French R first thing in the morning. I also had French language this morning, then Art History this afternoon. In Art History, we're studying architecture of the different periods in French history.

I went to the Resto U for lunch today. It was ok, but I'm not sure I'll be going back! It was deserted (which may have been a sign), but it was a hot lunch for 3 euros.

I'm going to Mont Saint-Michel and St. Malo tomorrow, so I'll post pictures of that next week.

Bon week-end!