Good times with another ami

Sorry for my absence, but I had another friend visiting from the US so I haven't really had the chance to post.  My friend Russ came to visit and we had a nice time in Paris and we spent a nice weekend in Tours.  Russ and I met in Tours, when we both went there to study for the first year of our Masters program.  This was his first trip back to France since we left Tours in May 2006 and he had a great time visiting Paris again and going back to Tours to visit some of our favorite places and to see some new things as well.  Lionel and I were also very happy to see him and overall it was another great visit from an American friend.

As you know, Tours is probably my favorite city in France and I have a lot of great memories there.  I was thrilled to go back again, and especially with a friend who I had originally met there.  It was great to go back and see some of our favorite places, check out the Quartier des 2 Lions, the area where we used to live, and see how it has changed in the past 5 years, and to just enjoy Russ' company.  We also were able to find the time to visit a new chateau while we were there - the Chateau d'Ussé (the castle that inspired Perrault to write Sleeping Beauty) - and do some wine tasting in Vouvray, my favorite appellation for white wines in France.  Lionel drove us down, and my friend Amy also came to check out the city I love so much.

Chateau d'Ussé

Lionel and I at the Chateau d'Ussé

Amy, Russ and I at the Chateau d'Ussé

view from the Chateau d'Ussé

Russ in the wine caves of the Chateau d'Ussé

the chateau had rooms showing different scenes from Sleeping Beauty.  Here is the prince (with the ugliest shoes I've ever seen) waking the princess Aurora.

Chateau de Villandry which we stopped at on the drive from Ussé to Tours.  Villandry is famous for its amazing gardens.

Russ and I enjoying a drink at one of our favorite bars in Tours - The Pale.

The brand new, super fancy, indoor/outdoor shopping center in the Quartier des 2 Lions in Tours.  If only this had been here when we lived here.  We drove all around it and there are tons of great stores and lots of little restaurants and cafes.  |Back when we lived here (right across the street from this shopping center) there was only a cinema, a bowling alley and a McDonalds in the quartier and we had to go into the city to do anything!

This is where we used to live, the building in the back, on the top floor.

Russ and I enjoying a coffee in the best square in Europe...Place Plumereau!

Amy and Russ wine tasting at the Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray.