14 juillet

Today was a really nice day.
On saturday mornings, there is a big town market here in Blois, so Michael and I went to buy some fruit and cheese and just see the sights. It was quite a market; the stalls sprawled around the main square and up into little side streets, offering everything -- fresh fish, ripe fruit, honey, fresh bread, all sorts of cheeses, clothing, shoes, pots and pans... it was really fun to wander through. There were several stalls with gargantuan cooking pots, definitely big enough to fit me, and men were making huge batches of seafood paella. Guess what we had for dinner tonight. It was delicious, although I've never dealt with shrimp that still had their heads on before.
We also went for a long walk along the river. There is a park-like trail that follows the bank, and it was really nice to just wander along under the trees, then along the water in the sun. Once we turned back into town, we found ourselves at l'Eglise de St Nicols, which was originally built as an abbey by monks in the 920s. Yup, a really long time ago. It has since been rebuilt in a more gothic/renaissance style, with huge arches and really pretty glass windows. I liked it, too, because it doesn't have the feel of the more famous pretty churches, which have been done up for tourists; this one is really nothing special - just your neighborhood church - except it's centuries old and really pretty. But I guess that's the way of it here, when history stretches back that far.

Some fancy building

The walk along the river is really pretty

See?

 

We found a playground with a see-saw

Eglise de St Nicols

There was a screen below the ceiling, maybe to catch falling plaster bits or something (I have no idea) but it captured the light coming in from the big stained glass windows. Maybe that was it's purpose, just to look pretty and ethereal.