Fragment #76 - The Loire

Today was our first day of this holiday trip with Alison: Tours, The Loire Valley, Barcelona and Sevilla. This was fun to get in my childhood house, without my mum in it, fun and relieving. Besides, I don’t have much people I would like to see in Tours: looks like all my school friends moved out, decided to build a life somewhere else, anywhere else. This is something most of the Glaswegian I know would never ever do. No one to see then: it's just me and Alison enjoying our holidays.

We arrived in Amboise, which was the closest town from Tours I could find accessible by train. I was stunned by the animation of this lively little town on a Sunday afternoon. All the shops are open, restaurants as well. It was crazy. And I remembered this French debate I have heard about, on shops should or should not be opened on Sundays. I didn’t pay much attention but now I am thinking: do the French realize that so many people do work on Sundays already? Almost all supermarkets open on Sunday morning, the bars and restaurants. Some doctors and nurses are on call, you can travel by train, bus and plane alright and before leaving for Amboise we bought some croissant and pain au chocolat at the baker’s. I am not sure people involved in this debate realized that many people already do work on Sundays.

From the castle’s place, we go up to the ramp and buy some tickets at the end of a weird tunnel. We go up, again and again, and finally we arrive on the terraces of the castle, far above the town of Amboise, I don’t know how high. From down there it looked pretty high, twenty meters maybe. On the left, we see a small chapel, and on the right, the castle. A woman says hi to us. She let us know the guided tour in French is starting in ten minutes. But Alison speaks English and Spanish, not French. We are just going to do the tour on our own… Again, I am thinking: many people do work on Sundays. I realize I am lucky to have all my week-ends free, regular holidays and the summer vacation… Sometimes, being a teacher does feel really good.

We first enter the chapel. The inside looks stunning, with the delicate tuffeau sculptures, the stained glass shading a dim light inside the small building. I am not a believer, though being in a church always appeases me. We read the small leaflet's text to each other. Alison asks me if I wouldn’t have preferred to follow the tour that is just about to start. But I prefer to stay with her: the point of this trip is to spend time together, not to enjoy knowledge alone. We decide to go to the castle. We cross the terraces, have a last look at the lady who is now speaking to a bunch of people gathered up around her. Entering the castle, we find a small room with some armours in it. It doesn’t look that great but I guess this is something kids and boys like. Then we enter an open gallery… And find ourselves stuck with the most amazing view. There she is. From this balcony, we can see the Loire. The wild, large and peaceful Loire, with its sandbanks, the sun reflecting on the surface, the multiple shades of blue and grey, the trees surrounding it from everywhere. From here, we’re not in the town of Amboise anymore. We are out of time and place. We enjoy what the kings used to be looking at. We enjoy the view of untamed nature. And, breathless, we just silently appreciate the privilege of this moment.