Alors, le premier séjour à La Rochelle est terminé. (Well, the first sojourn in La Rochelle has come to an end.) We picked up the rental car Saturday morning, said au revoir to Jacky and Pascale, drove back to the house to load up, and hit the road. Before I close that chapter, one last image of fun in La Rochelle, courtesy of Pascale:

Then we were off to Tours, where I had stayed with a couple–my “host family”–during a week of intensive French classes a couple of years ago. Just a bit more than two hours away, but it has a totally different look:

I found a great apartment to rent for a few nights. It’s part of the former cloisters of Saint Martin.

Our apartment is directly above where I was standing to take this photo. Bonus points: Where’s David?

And an extra ten bonus points: Where’s Sunny? Taken up in the loft bedroom of the apartment.

Did our usually strolling, then got in the car looking for some wine to taste, but alas les caves (remember, say cahv) were closed on Sunday, so drove to Amboise instead and had a look around.

The château that still stands is seriously impressive, but is merely a fraction of the original. Lots of beautiful details like this:

This is over the door to the Chapel of Saint-Hubert, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried:

A few folks looking ready for a masquerade ball were wandering around to add some authentic flavor.

Just one of the gazillion châteaux of the Loire Valley.

The beauty here in France is almost staggering sometimes, and we were fortunate enough to have a gorgeous day in which to appreciate it. Not a bad way to ease the temporary parting from La Rochelle and our La Rochelle friends!