UPDATES

The moment you all have been waiting for - an update! Complete with images!

Tours has been wonderful, I'm with my new host family in Saint Cyr sur Loire just across the river from the downtown. My room is much more comfortable, though the cat Archymede invades it at night when he can. I take great precautions in sealing the door and windows at night to keep any feline bedfellows at bay. The family Morbieu is very warm and welcoming, and their strong family bond is quite clear. The meals are not quite as exquisite as they were at the Basri home, but they are much more relaxed. The Morbieus love word games, or <>, which are a challenge to comprehend, but quite a laugh if you manage to catch them. I've even made a few of my own, though they are more transparent. The father has taken to instructing me in the ways of the French, even a little history. I look forward to the nights when we linger in the kitchen, he lecturing, me asking questions. I've taken a great interest in his home region, the Pays Basque, in the Southwest corner of the country on the Atlantic coast, Spanish border, and the Pyrenees. It's true farming country with its own language, completely independent of the French tongue. Perhaps I'll manage a visit.
The other students and I go out quite often, which means we get together at night for a beer or glass of wine. The weekends are a different story, however, and some students have been hitting the boites de nuit, discotheques, and bars. Then there are others of us who prefer the more relaxed alternative, which is going to a late night store, picking up a bottle of Bordeaux (4 Euro), and heading down to the stone walkway under the Pont Wilson on the bank of the Loire. Of course, I partake in a bit of both, though I have yet to make it into a discotheque. I'm saving my dance abilities for Paris. All this has given the group time to get to know one another, and I'm confident the company in Paris will be good. Paris remains something of a mystery, as I have yet to receive my housing assignment or schedule of classes.
Already I'm a bit sad to be leaving Tours, which has really grown on me. This weekend we got the chance to visit a few of the treasures of the Loire Valley : its Châteaux. Saturday we visited Chenonceaux (on the river Cher) and then Villandry on Sunday. Rather than take the time to describe them, I'm going to upload a few photos and get out of here.

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My ride to and from Tours and school. Totally broken the day I arrived. We fixed it, but the brakes are still terrible. Keep your fingers crossed for me.


Gypsy barge.




A bike ride with some friends.


Chenonceaux. We rode under that thing in a boat.


Drew goes to Kenyon and looks great on a bike!


Villandry and a fraction of its gardens. We rode there on bikes, 50 kilometers round trip.


The garden was full of fruits and vegetables! I just couldn't resist.


This one makes me think of Melanie, or at least her photographic quirks. What do you think of it?


Enormous loaves of bread! To feed the legions of gardeners?


Small peppers growing inside on the windowsill.

Sorry for the delay in posts, I just haven't had good access to the internet with my laptop. You can expect more later this week and once I arrive in Paris (Thursday). The Pope will be there Saturday!