tours, france

Hey friends! For those of you who don't know, during our spring break from college this year I went on a trip to France, traveling to both Tours and Paris! The trip was planned with the aim to study the Health Perspectives and Practices of French culture through our nursing program. It was very educational and fun, as I learned so much and had a blast! Such a great opportunity to see Europe and do it with some of my classmates, learning more about a country and its culture, while integrating one of my biggest interests, healthcare. This post will walk you through of our time in Tours to give recommendations for anyone traveling there or just to inform anyone who is interested in what we did on this trip!

The itinerary of our time in Tours is as follows. Hope you enjoy!

Sunday 5/1

We landed in Paris and were driven by car to Tours, arriving in the afternoon. We then checked into the hostel we were staying in, The People Hostel which I recommend for anyone staying in Tours. They had a nice bar and waiting area, bunkbed set up for the rooms, and had an amazing restaurant in the lower level of the hostel! Pictured is the

delicious burger and fries from their restaurant!

After checking into our hostel, we went exploring to see what Tours had to offer, in a very rainy fashion! It was very wet and the wind was wild, but we made it to a restaurant whose name slips me, but they had the most delicious food. I had a ham and onion flatbread, as well as a jam crepe and coffee for dessert. It was a spectacular first french meal! And I quickly learned that French coffee is nothing like American coffee, forewarning to you all!

We finished our time as a group by visiting the Musée du campagnonnage. We then just walked the streets to check everything out now that the rain had stopped. Fun fact: we did not get to do much, as it was a Sunday and all of the shops were closed because The French value family time more so than Americans in my opinion. So no one was working these shifts to facilitate rest, family time, and a break from the work week.

Monday 5/2

We ate breakfast at the hostel (which we did every morning. A simple breakfast was provided complimentary. It wasn't much, but better than nothing!) 9:30 a.m. we attended a welcome breakfast on behalf of the Université de François-Rabelais and their Service des relations internationales, who set up and coordinated our program in Tours. Breakfast in France seemed to consist mostly of croissants, pastries, baguettes and slices of white cheese, cold lunch meat, and coffee and juice. Pictured to the left is my breakfast provided by our hostel we were staying at in Tours. At 10:30 a.m. we attended a presentation by Professor Leslie Guillon about the healthcare system in France and comparisons to the US health care system. It was super interesting to hear this lecture, as we knew nothing about French healthcare up to this point. It was very educational and interesting to hear the differences and similarities about healthcare coverage by the government in both of our countries, the schooling of medical students compared to the United States, as well as to just see a different perspective in healthcare other than our own. At 1:00 p.m. we went to lunch at the university cafeteria, which I must say I was not a total fan of the food I got, but it was still great to have lunch with a medical student and doctor from France. At 2:00 p.m. we visited the medical school to talk with second year medical students, which was wonderful to make connections. I think we all exchanged information and made a few french friends that day, which was awesome to connect with people our own age to discuss what life is like to be a student in Tours.

Right before dinner we finished our time together visiting the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which was full of incredible art. It was cool to be able to take our time and appreciate the art of this country, with centuries of documented and preserved history still standing. My favorite artwork was this neon sign: "we are happy."

We ended the evening on a crowded street grabbing a drink and supper. I had a peach sour called "Peckeresse" which was the best drink I have ever had! We finished the night with supper at a Lebanese restaurant, ordering 12 courses for the table so we could taste a variety of foods! I recommend this experience, as it was so delicious and fun to do with a group of people, very different than our norm for sure!

Tuesday 5/3

We woke up to this morning view from our hostel window, ate the provided breakfast, and headed off at 9:30 a.m. to visit the Nursing School at the university hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Trousseau) in Chambray-les-Tours. During this visit we sat through presentations (in French! The french professor who came had to translate everything) on the nursing schooling and the careers nurses can pursue in France. It was an informative morning speaking with new grad nurses, nursing students and their professors and seeing their SIM lab spaces! At12:00 p.m. we headed to lunch on our own, choosing a starbucks in the Tours main square to eat at! Surprisingly the Starbucks was different than America in my opinion, the drinks tasting less sweet, and the food having different seasonings and tastes!

At 2:00 p.m. we went on a guided visit of the city of Tours. On this tour we got to get a better understanding and look at this cathedral in Tours, which is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. The walking tour was very informative, but it was cold and rainy and we all were struggling to make it through the whole thing, as it was so cold and wet! At 4:00 p.m. we were supposed to have some free time, but ended up just staying together as a group and went to a little cafe where I got lemon cake and a cappuccino and we warmed up from being out in the rain and wind on our walking tour. The lemon cake was melt in your mouth amazing, but French cappuccinos are not like American ones, for anyone who is wondering! I would recommend just sticking with a latte!

At 6:30 pm to 9:00 p.m. we attended a cooking class with Cook&Go and it was amazing! We made chicken in a mushroom sauce, creamy potatoes, and upside-down apple pie with hand-whipped cream, and it was awesome!

I had no idea I could cook like this! It was amazing the things we could accomplish with the right guidance! I would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone who is traveling here, or anywhere! It was so useful, because you are learning a skill you can take home, and it was so fun! The whole time we were having a blast, and the end result was delicious. I would have loved to do this experience all over again with my family, as I know they would have had a blast with it!

Wednesday 5/4

By today everyone was so tired! We had gotten almost no free time, and therefore little sleep, the time change was catching up with us and it was kind of rough to be honest! My roommate had to stay back that morning, and I also was not feeling well but ended up going out with the group that morning. We left our hostel following breakfast at 9:30 a.m. to visit a pharmacy that features homeopathic products, Pharmacie de la Vallée Violette in Joué les Tours. It was interesting to see the pharmacy, although I had to sit for most of the tour because I was feeling kind of woozy. I recovered following lunch of salmon at our hostel at12:00 p.m. Following lunch I think everyone felt a little more ready to tackle the rest of the day, which consisted of an afternoon on the road visiting castles!

We spent 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Château Royal d’Amboise, which was absolutely stunning! It was incredible to imagine that anyone had ever been lucky enough to call this spectacular place home. We were all in complete awe of the castle, the gardens, and the overall experience. Absolutely stunning. I spent the last portion of our time there buying gifts for my grandmas and marveling at the incredible view, despite it being a rainy and gloomy day, breathtaking nonetheless.

We spent the next portion of our time from 4:30 to 6:30 Visiting of Clos Lucé, also known as Léonard de Vinci’s home. Among seeing his incredible residence, the tunnel that was built from his home to the King's castle, his many inventions and creations, including his artwork, I saw a peacock! This beautiful picture taking by my friend Anna looks as unreal as it felt to see this beautiful bird. I asked if I could pet it in true Molli fashion, but decided against it. It was such a beautiful place, but this peacock sighting was the cherry on top of a breathtaking day, I must say! It is the simple things in life I suppose. But such a cool sight! We then rode back on the bus back into town and got supper as a group in the youth hostel, and celebrated my friend Anna's birthday with a cake!

Thursday: 5/5

We headed out for the day following our breakfast at the hostel, at 9:30 a.m. to visit with the French Red Cross Nursing School in Chambray-lès Tours. They showed us their training specialty areas and SIM lab. As you can see, their SIM Lab looks almost identical to a hospital, which was so incredible to see! The faculty we talked to were helpful, welcoming, and friendly, and I had the best cake, the french version of pound cake. We learned so much from this visit, and I would love to go back to learn more about this school!

They even had a fake isolette, which made my heart so happy, as a future NICU nurse. It would be an absolute dream to be able to learn in a SIM lab like this, and since we do not have one similar to this, it was so educational to be able to see such a cool learning environment and have this opportunity! At 12:00 p.m. we had another group lunch at the youth hostel, this time chicken le cordon bleu. After lunch, we had another afternoon on the road visiting castles!

From 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. we explored the Château du Chenonceau which was the most beautiful castle I have ever seen! It was giving me major Beauty and the Beast vibes for sure.

There was so much character and history in the castle as well, including symbols for the King, Diane de Poitiers, and Catherine de Médicis, medicinal gardens, an area that was an infirmary during World War I, and a secret escape during World War II. On top of this castle being absolutely spectacular, incredible gardens, a moat, and built stretching across a river, the castle was filled with so many beautiful plants. If you know me, you know I love my plants! Check out these incredible flowers that were throughout the castle:

Then from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m we attended a winery called Les Caves du Père Auguste.

The wines were delicious, and the environment even better. We did our wine tasting in a cave, with the winery being family-owned. Throughout our tasting we learned about the history behind the winery, and how now it is run by a brother and sister, handed down to them by their parents. We also learned how different wines are made, making it an educational and fun experience. Plus anything with wine is a win in my book! We headed back to Tours following the tasting, where we went to a nice dinner, getting another burger and fries, which was equally delicious as the first, finishing off my meal with creme brulee, which was amazing! If you have not tried it, you just found your next dessert! We finished the night packing up our stuff and drinking wine. We were headed to Paris the next day!

Friday 5/6

On our last day in Tours, we spent the morning gathering our things and having one last breakfast in the lobby of the hostel before heading out for our morning activities. At 9:30 a.m. to noon we went to meet with the hospital liver transplant team – Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Trousseau – Chambray where we met with a surgeon and pharmacist to learn about the French hospital setting, organ transplantation and donor status in France. It was so cool to see how our hospital settings were similar and also different, and to learn more about their methods of healthcare by talking to surgeons, pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare workers about their roles in the French healthcare system. We then had some free time, which we spent on getting lunch at Starbucks and to do some last minute shopping! We then said “Au revoir” to Tours and at 4:00 p.m. left for Paris!

Our time in Tours was so spectacular, and I had the most amazing time, met some of the most amazing people, and grew so much from what I learned. I would recommend anyone to come visit this beautiful and historical city if you are headed to France, as it is a great alternative to the busy Paris atmosphere, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in french culture.

Off to Paris my friends, au revoir!

you are blessed. you are gifted. you are loved and appreciated, just as you are.

mindfully, molli