I am simply in love with my life here in Tours!  It is such a unique and beautiful town… it is difficult not to be happy here.  After two weeks as a Tours resident, I know the layout of the town well and have located many sites that are already very special to me. There is a beautiful running park near my host house, funky boutiques to peruse in town and delicious cafes to taste French treats.  Wednesday I visited two more of the amazing chateaus, Langeais and Villandry.

 

On a sports note… European people love, love soccer! My best memory so far was this past Saturday night, the opening game of the Euro Cup, France vs. Belgium.

The Euro Cup is an international soccer tournament between European countries that rotates host countries every four years. This year the host country happens to be France and the French team is predicted to do very well in the tournament so the excitement for the Euro Cup was very strong especially in France. My host family ate dinner early so my housemates and I could go into town to watch the game that started at 9.

 

In the center of Tours is an open square called Place Plumereau. This fun area is surrounded by small restaurants, shops and of course many, many pubs. The restaurants and pubs had all erected large screen televisions exhibiting the game and “Place Plume,” as it is nicknamed, was packed with fans. When I walked into the square, the French flag was instantly painted on both my cheeks. Just before 9, voices blared out the French national anthem and the game began.

 

Despite the extreme tension between the general French public and government right now, the French national pride was tangible. For the two hours of the game, nothing could be heard about the French chants. My favorite is : “Qui ne saute pas, n’est pas francais, hey!” (Who does not jump is not French). Everyone would chant the same line again and again and jump up and down. France ended up winning the game and the celebratory parades continued all night throughout town.

 

Standing in Place Plume with many of my new friends – all from different countries, bonding over the experience of learning French and sharing the experience of cheering for France with French nationals – is an experience I will cherish forever. No one wanted the night to end.

 

My month long intensive course began at the start of this week, which consists of oral, written and phonetics modules and two “ateliers” or workshops per week of my choice (I chose art and diplomacy).

 

Once again, I found myself to be one of the few Americans in my classes and encountered an unusual situation. Teachers and students alike were fascinated about my “roots,” or mixed heritage of Irish, Italian and German.  I never considered my cultural background unusual, but most of the international students and teachers here can trace their family history back through generations in one country.

 

My vocabulary mistakes are still common and often a subject of hilarity. I have mistakenly asked my host mother for “extra mold” on my sandwich, and somehow told her that I thought resembled a fat cow on the Vache qui rire package of cheese!  I realized I had a tendency to blurt out phrases with the hope that the general idea would be understood when I was uncertain of what to say.  Now I am trying to become more cognizant of my grammar and vocabulary that I use in conversation. As well as making an effort to speak in full sentences, if I do not know a word, I will make quick use of my Google Translate app or dictionary on my cell phone.  I have found this is an efficient and effective way to participate in conversational French.

 

This is also the week we began to venture out and explore outside Tours.  Wednesday I visited my first chateaux, Chenonceau, and toured a local wine cave where I learned that my favorite wine is Vouvray Brut!  Saturday I toured Mont Saint Michel and St. Malo in Northern France. I can honestly say I was absolutely amazed by both these breath-taking vistas.

 

Mont Saint Michel was by far the most spectacular site I have ever visited in my life. The small island commune surrounded by a beautiful bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the top of the island a woman next to me cried because the view was so beautiful! Another highlight of Saturday was the food. Two of my favorite meals – omelet and mussels – turned out to be the local specialty so of course I ordered both during the day. When my omelet arrived for lunch I was very confused and thought I had the wrong meal, but learned that Mont Saint-Michel is famous for a unique omelet that is made from whipped egg and resembles a soufflé. I’m not sure if it was the hunger, locality or a mixture of both, but the mussels I ate for dinner never tasted so delicious.

 

On Sunday the color run came to Tours and I had a blast with many of my new friends running through the streets of the Tours to the sounds of French pop music, covered from head to toe in colored dye thrown on us along the route. After the run there was a huge outdoor music festival where we spent much of the afternoon dancing.

 

Its been only two weeks in Tours but yet I feel at home in school and with my host family. Because I am now enrolled in the month long course, I will have classes for the next 3 weeks with the same students and teachers who I already feel very close with after only one week. My best friend in the class is a girl my age from Switzerland who is a watchmaker – I told her she really fits the Swiss stereotype! It’s been an exhausting week in the best way and I am looking forward to another week of more adventures in beautiful Tours.

 

After a month of hesitation, I’ve finally signed up for a château (castle) tour offered at the Institute de Touraine—and I’ll never regret that I did! Tours is a village that embraces the Loire valley, the only natural river that flows from the sea straight through the heart of France. Probably because I walk past the river every day, I have grown used to its roaring body of water, but if you zoom out on a map until tours is merely a point on the line that resembles the river, you’ll see that old, amazing castles dots the river all along the way. These castles date all the way back to the middle ages and they look as if they popped out of a fairytale book.

Castles are a great part of the culture at Tours—it is what draws tourists from all across France and from all the world. A bike tour following the river is rated one of the best family vacation ideas since the Loire du Velo project, which built safe and well-guided biking trails along connecting all the castles, was launched.

The one that I went to this week is Chateau Villandry, which is well-know for its magnificent gardens. It is rumored that the botanist who designed the gardens of Villandry was ordered by the french King to plant herbs and flowers in the great gardens of Versaille. We arrived at the south side of the castle, which faced the river. This side was made to resist attack from other dukes and foreign power; all of its towers facing the outside were well-rounded (so projectiles will physically scrape the walls but won’t accumulate much damaged). To add to the defense look, there was an actual drawbridge complete with chains and old-fashioned turning wheels. Yet once you cross the bridge to enter the tunnel, come out into the courtyard and look back, the castle looks like one taken from the film-production of sleeping beauty. All the windows are large with decorations and some with terraces. What’s really amazing is the gardens, which had intricate designs, from a walkway sheltered with vines to fountains in a field of lavender. I was more then relieved that I could understand everything the tour guide was saying in French; I felt that my french has improved and my vocabulary grew immensely.

One month has passed since I arrived in Paris – a fact still incredible even when I typed down these words. When I went to the metro station this morning, about to use my Navigo pass as usual, the machine told me it was no longer valid. Suddenly I recalled that August has come, whereas my July Navigo pass has already expired. I find this particularly intriguing, for before all it was this extremely trivial detail that reminded me of the month passed. Once this notion has been activated, however, my entire surroundings came alive. The huge posters alongside the corridor at the station all essentially read, “Jusqu’à la fin du juillet !” I could still recall how excited I was when I passed them the first day here. Spoiled by the rich cultural activities Paris, I supposed. Now these once enchanting opportunities has become obsolete. A bit sad yet also amazing how time flies.

Another student at my homestay will leave on August 6, roughly a week before I move out as well. Last week we sat down together at the table, sharing the wonderful dinner our host mother has prepared, and all of a sudden the idea of leaving soon struck both of us. For her it was perhaps even more pressing given only a week left. As a will-be photographer, my roommate has long found Paris her paradise. Yet up till then, she told me she has never done much “tourist” visiting. Nameless roads and cute boutiques has “distracted” her way too much. “Absolutely the same,” I nodded (except that I am nowhere near a photographer).

Strangely we both got this feeling that to visit as many scenic spots as possible, a month seems too long in that it spoils us with the luxury of time. Grateful all the same for not having to hurry, I did feel less incentives to spend entire days out traveling around the city. Yet when the stay comes to its end, my tourist impulse revives and agitates me with every minute passing. Dragging out the travel guide stuffed at the bottom of my suitcase, I realized there are yet so many spots that I have not checked out. Tour Eiffel and Musée du Louvre as two most representative must-go places remain intact for this trip. Even though I has twice visited Paris before, I am certain at my current age they would be renewed and enhanced surprises for me. If for the past month I was busying myself with French and “exploring the real everyday Paris,” I suddenly realized they have now turned in to literally must-go places.

Thus today after class I hurried to Tour Eiffel. One crucial mission is to send out postcards for my family and friends from the post office supposedly located at the south entrance of the tower. Only in this particular post office was a special post stamp featuring “Tour Eiffel” available, and I had hoped to make my postcards slightly more unique. Unfortunately, I was there only to find out that the post office has been closed for several months. Even the yellow mailbox has been wrapped with tapes and a paper notice saying, “This mailbox is out of service for security concerns.” I tried my best not to overstretch the potential dark implication behind “security,” for my friends traveling in Pars roughly a year ago told me the post office was well open then. Looking around one can easily spot several police officers in their heavy black uniforms, and of course with their cars nearby. Somehow in the warm afternoon sun, I felt like a shadow has never truly quitted Paris since last November. At that moment I was extra grateful for being able to lead on a relatively carefree life here, for there must have been numerous people standing up to the lurking threats and protecting our everyday life from them.