Day 21 Monday 26 th October Day trip by train to the city of Tours

15 min walk through the village to the train station which had a restricted  commuter train service to Tours.  The train ride took just 10 min . Tours is well organized for tourists ( gateway to the Chateaux) This museum of Fine Arts was open today , much to our surprise, as Monday is usually closing day for many . This huge cedar Lebanon tree greeted us in the courtyard of this former Archbishop 's palace.

Andy liked this fountain of an upturned boat which greeted us as we left the station.

This is Fritz the stuffed elephant , he had his own story in the museum - 

The museum had acquired a Marc Chagall painting 

Icarus 's fall having flown too close to the sun  1887 

Diana goddess of hunting cut a fine figure 

Picasso  The rape of the Sabine women 1962 

The marble statues were exquisitely carved  This from the Regency was acquired in 1952

Two huntresses at rest in the style of Falconet 1716-92 

Bust of a man by Georges Delperrier  1894 

 1855 Large rustic group carving by Avisseau - imitation of nature 

Henri Martin  1912 ' Leaving Easter Mass in the direction of Labastide du Vert'. Martin, famed for pointillism,  painted his house 

One of the few women painters  Genevieve Asse 'Horizons ' 1975 

Japanese painter Toshimitsu Imai  'Vagues '1982 
Olivier Debre's   painting of the grey blue  Loire 1976  (  Andy really liked this  ) He has his own museum in Tours which was closed until Wednesday -unfortunately 😞

 Claude Monet 1896  'A branch of the Seine near Vetheuil ' 

We visited the HUGE Tours gothic cathedral next.

Stunning stained glass windows in rich jewel colours 

We walked to the centre of the mediaeval village 

We ate lunch  outside a boulangerie  under cover, one of the sandwiches we bought.  When the rain became heavier , we took refuge in a bar where we had coffee and beer . There are some very posh Parisian  shops in Tours . We took a peek at the Loire in full flow. We would both recommend visiting here. The architecture generally is beautiful to gaze at.

We headed back to the Aire for a peaceful evening.