I had less than 6 hrs of sleep. I woke up at 7am, supposedly to be all ready for the long awaited Loire Valley trip. However, my mind was still thinking about what Cong Yu had said. While I was packing my stuffs, eating breakfast, shitting, bathing, etc. I can’t stop thinking about his words. In the end, because of lack of concentration, I left for the train station without my handphone. Very serious mistake because if hui were to be late or other unforeseen circumstances were to occur, we would lose contact. But I couldn’t go back to the phone because I realised that only when I was on the train.
On the train, I began to draw the people inside. I was trying to draw a man doing crossword puzzle. Time passed quite fast and 3 hours later, after changing at 2 stations, I reached Tours. The first thing I did was to check in to the hotel. It was just next to the train station; only a stone’s throw away. I went to my room, deposited my backpack, and headed for the Tourism office. On the way, I saw lots of giant photos of China on the street. It was an exhibition of the works of a photographer. I wanted to take a look at them since I was 2 hrs earlier than hui. But I dropped the idea because I would probably look at them again when hui arrived. I went to the Tourism Office which was just across the street and asked all the info that I needed. I asked about the excursion tomorrow, a map of Tours and how to get to the castle Chenonceau. This Tourism Office was the grandest I have seen so far. Very professional looking.
Beside the Office was a Theatre called Vinci. It was a modern building for people to watch plays. I followed the map and walked to the Cathedral. This Cathedral was recommended by the receptionist at the Tourism Office. It wasn’t hard to find the Cathedral because its 2 towers were constantly in sight. Beside the Cathedral was the Fine Arts Museum but I didn’t want to go there as there is a good one in Rennes. Furthermore I would be visiting quite a number of such museums during my end tour. When I reached the Cathedral, I was caught in awe by its sheer size. The sculptures and decorations on the exterior were very complex. The interior was like any other cathedrals I have been to. In fact, it was less beautiful. I went out of the Cathedral and sat on a bench facing it. Then I took out my notebook and began drawing. I didn’t know where and how to start at first because the structure and design were very complicated. While drawing, I realised that the 2 towers were asymmetrical as far as the designs were concerned. I wouldn’t have notice the differences if I had just taken a picture of it. Also, I find that I draw better when looking at the real object than looking at pictures on my laptop. I felt an air of artistic aura surrounding me while I was drawing in the square facing the cathedral. With the wind blowing and the trees rustling. Like as if I was an artist. But of course my drawings are not presentable at all. Not now.
Within 2 hrs, I completed the drawing and decided to walk back to the train station. On the way, I saw some pastries freshly baked and bought 2. That would be our lunch. At the station, I started drawing people there again. It was kind of fun. I drew an old lady, with her fingers intertwined, waiting at a bench. She was anxiously waiting for someone. I drew her and a bubble above her head with the words, “why hasn’t my daughter arrive?” In the end, it was another old lady she was waiting for. I also drew a couple kissing at the platform and guessed that they were probably parting with each other. But in the end, they left the train station together. When the time was near, I stood at the platform waiting for hui.
Soon I saw him alighting and I guess he must be very tired after 7 hrs of train. But he said he wasn’t because he had his own entertainment. I felt very awkward talking to him in Singlish due to lack of practice. He felt the same way too although his sup is a SG, he had to speak English with him. At one point, I even felt more comfortable speaking English with him. But within half an hour, we were somewhat back to normal and can speak Singlish naturally. It is still our mother tongue. After putting his bag in the hotel room, we headed to the Tourism Office again because I had forgotten to take an extra map for hui. At the counter, I was speaking with another receptionist. She recommended again the Cathedral but when I asked her is there any description on the Cathedral, she said no. I was quite puzzled because since it is an important monument of the town, why is there nothing explaining its existence? I was quite disappointed but there was nothing I could do and so left. Hui said he felt my English sounded very un-Singapore. If I were to speak like this back in SG, I would sure dio gan by my friends. This I agree and so I wouldn’t do that in SG. But outside, esp. in foreign countries, I would try to speak perfect English as much as possible.
We had our lunch outside the cathedral. After that, we entered the cathedral but we were not allowed to visit beyond a point. There was a wedding ceremony going on! We took out our cameras and took a few shots at a distance. With nothing much to see, we left the cathedral, heading towards the bridge. There was this large bridge which was built across one of the tributaries of the Loire River. It was really nothing much. Just an ordinary bridge. Feeling bored, we moved on to the Old Town. All the while, I left it to hui to do the navigation because although I have more trip experiences, he has always been very street smart. On the way, I was telling him how Cong Yu had changed my life. Come to think of it now, it was quite bad to talk about Cong Yu when I should be asking hui how is he in Grenoble. We reached the Old Town but there were really nothing much to see either. The half-timbered houses didn’t excite me at all but hui took lots of pic of them. It was his first time seeing those houses. In fact, I feel that these houses were quite dull as compared to the colourful ones in Brittany.
Next we proceeded on to the flower market. It was one of the most beautiful markets I have been to and there were lots of flowers. The entire market was like a rainbow. Like a myriad of colours. But an incident spoilt my mood. I was talking to hui in Mandarin and immediately I heard a middle-aged man “tsk” at me. I turned and saw him staring at me. In fact, whenever I spoke up in the crowd, people would turn and look at me. I don’t think they were being rude but just that my foreign language had caught their attention. Same for me in SG. When I hear Japanese, or other foreign languages, I would turn my head and see who was talking. But that man was staring at me and it seemed as if he was telling me to get out of the market. I wanted to stare him back but felt unnecessary to create trouble over such small matter. Then I brought hui to the gallery of photos of China. It was by this photographer called Yann Layama who had spent quite a number of years taking pictures in all parts of China. The exhibition came right on time for me because at the time, my state of mind was totally pro-China; thanks to the teaching of Cong Yu. Those pictures were really art.
After touring around the town centre, we had our dinner at this fast food restaurant called Quick. Even at fast food rest. I had to use a bit of French. But I am really used to it by now. We sat down and finally had a chance to tell each other about our individual lives in our own cities. Although we read each other’s blog to keep up with the news, it was different when talking face to face. After dinner, we went back to hotel and watched TV. Everything was in French except BBC World and hence we could only watch that. We wanted to wait till nightfall and go out to take the night scenery of the town. At ten past ten, it was still quite bright outside. We left the hotel and went back to those places we had been to in the afternoon. Things that were worth taking photo were the cathedral, lit with lights and the blue bridge. We walked along the river bank and saw some punksters gathering under the bridge. 2 of them were performing those fire breathing stunts using kerosene. I took a short video of that at a distance. At the same time, preparing to run should they went mad and came charging towards me all of the sudden. But I guessed I would be overrun by their bicycles; if not their dogs.
After that there was really nothing to see and we went back to the hotel. I was very tired probably because I slept late the night before. However, I didn’t immediately fell into sleep on the bed due to the constant snoring of hui.
On the train, I began to draw the people inside. I was trying to draw a man doing crossword puzzle. Time passed quite fast and 3 hours later, after changing at 2 stations, I reached Tours. The first thing I did was to check in to the hotel. It was just next to the train station; only a stone’s throw away. I went to my room, deposited my backpack, and headed for the Tourism office. On the way, I saw lots of giant photos of China on the street. It was an exhibition of the works of a photographer. I wanted to take a look at them since I was 2 hrs earlier than hui. But I dropped the idea because I would probably look at them again when hui arrived. I went to the Tourism Office which was just across the street and asked all the info that I needed. I asked about the excursion tomorrow, a map of Tours and how to get to the castle Chenonceau. This Tourism Office was the grandest I have seen so far. Very professional looking.
Beside the Office was a Theatre called Vinci. It was a modern building for people to watch plays. I followed the map and walked to the Cathedral. This Cathedral was recommended by the receptionist at the Tourism Office. It wasn’t hard to find the Cathedral because its 2 towers were constantly in sight. Beside the Cathedral was the Fine Arts Museum but I didn’t want to go there as there is a good one in Rennes. Furthermore I would be visiting quite a number of such museums during my end tour. When I reached the Cathedral, I was caught in awe by its sheer size. The sculptures and decorations on the exterior were very complex. The interior was like any other cathedrals I have been to. In fact, it was less beautiful. I went out of the Cathedral and sat on a bench facing it. Then I took out my notebook and began drawing. I didn’t know where and how to start at first because the structure and design were very complicated. While drawing, I realised that the 2 towers were asymmetrical as far as the designs were concerned. I wouldn’t have notice the differences if I had just taken a picture of it. Also, I find that I draw better when looking at the real object than looking at pictures on my laptop. I felt an air of artistic aura surrounding me while I was drawing in the square facing the cathedral. With the wind blowing and the trees rustling. Like as if I was an artist. But of course my drawings are not presentable at all. Not now.
Within 2 hrs, I completed the drawing and decided to walk back to the train station. On the way, I saw some pastries freshly baked and bought 2. That would be our lunch. At the station, I started drawing people there again. It was kind of fun. I drew an old lady, with her fingers intertwined, waiting at a bench. She was anxiously waiting for someone. I drew her and a bubble above her head with the words, “why hasn’t my daughter arrive?” In the end, it was another old lady she was waiting for. I also drew a couple kissing at the platform and guessed that they were probably parting with each other. But in the end, they left the train station together. When the time was near, I stood at the platform waiting for hui.
Soon I saw him alighting and I guess he must be very tired after 7 hrs of train. But he said he wasn’t because he had his own entertainment. I felt very awkward talking to him in Singlish due to lack of practice. He felt the same way too although his sup is a SG, he had to speak English with him. At one point, I even felt more comfortable speaking English with him. But within half an hour, we were somewhat back to normal and can speak Singlish naturally. It is still our mother tongue. After putting his bag in the hotel room, we headed to the Tourism Office again because I had forgotten to take an extra map for hui. At the counter, I was speaking with another receptionist. She recommended again the Cathedral but when I asked her is there any description on the Cathedral, she said no. I was quite puzzled because since it is an important monument of the town, why is there nothing explaining its existence? I was quite disappointed but there was nothing I could do and so left. Hui said he felt my English sounded very un-Singapore. If I were to speak like this back in SG, I would sure dio gan by my friends. This I agree and so I wouldn’t do that in SG. But outside, esp. in foreign countries, I would try to speak perfect English as much as possible.
We had our lunch outside the cathedral. After that, we entered the cathedral but we were not allowed to visit beyond a point. There was a wedding ceremony going on! We took out our cameras and took a few shots at a distance. With nothing much to see, we left the cathedral, heading towards the bridge. There was this large bridge which was built across one of the tributaries of the Loire River. It was really nothing much. Just an ordinary bridge. Feeling bored, we moved on to the Old Town. All the while, I left it to hui to do the navigation because although I have more trip experiences, he has always been very street smart. On the way, I was telling him how Cong Yu had changed my life. Come to think of it now, it was quite bad to talk about Cong Yu when I should be asking hui how is he in Grenoble. We reached the Old Town but there were really nothing much to see either. The half-timbered houses didn’t excite me at all but hui took lots of pic of them. It was his first time seeing those houses. In fact, I feel that these houses were quite dull as compared to the colourful ones in Brittany.
Next we proceeded on to the flower market. It was one of the most beautiful markets I have been to and there were lots of flowers. The entire market was like a rainbow. Like a myriad of colours. But an incident spoilt my mood. I was talking to hui in Mandarin and immediately I heard a middle-aged man “tsk” at me. I turned and saw him staring at me. In fact, whenever I spoke up in the crowd, people would turn and look at me. I don’t think they were being rude but just that my foreign language had caught their attention. Same for me in SG. When I hear Japanese, or other foreign languages, I would turn my head and see who was talking. But that man was staring at me and it seemed as if he was telling me to get out of the market. I wanted to stare him back but felt unnecessary to create trouble over such small matter. Then I brought hui to the gallery of photos of China. It was by this photographer called Yann Layama who had spent quite a number of years taking pictures in all parts of China. The exhibition came right on time for me because at the time, my state of mind was totally pro-China; thanks to the teaching of Cong Yu. Those pictures were really art.
After touring around the town centre, we had our dinner at this fast food restaurant called Quick. Even at fast food rest. I had to use a bit of French. But I am really used to it by now. We sat down and finally had a chance to tell each other about our individual lives in our own cities. Although we read each other’s blog to keep up with the news, it was different when talking face to face. After dinner, we went back to hotel and watched TV. Everything was in French except BBC World and hence we could only watch that. We wanted to wait till nightfall and go out to take the night scenery of the town. At ten past ten, it was still quite bright outside. We left the hotel and went back to those places we had been to in the afternoon. Things that were worth taking photo were the cathedral, lit with lights and the blue bridge. We walked along the river bank and saw some punksters gathering under the bridge. 2 of them were performing those fire breathing stunts using kerosene. I took a short video of that at a distance. At the same time, preparing to run should they went mad and came charging towards me all of the sudden. But I guessed I would be overrun by their bicycles; if not their dogs.
After that there was really nothing to see and we went back to the hotel. I was very tired probably because I slept late the night before. However, I didn’t immediately fell into sleep on the bed due to the constant snoring of hui.
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