4 April 2026

A DAY IN THE CITY

We went to Tours on the bus for a day out.  The main reason was to see an exhibition of sculpture by female artists at the Musée des Beaux Arts.  It was on the ground floor where there were several groups of teenage children presumably on a school visit to see them.  They seemed to be having a good time, judging by the level of noise!

On the upper floors there were a lot of biblical paintings depicting scenes of too much violence and misery for my taste.  Regardless of the skill of the artists I couldn’t bring myself to study them for long.  I've come to the conclusion that in most things I prefer lightweight to serious these days.  

The sculptures were fabulous but my favourite was not a bronze but one by a Canadian sculptor called Carolina Benedicks-Bruce, of herself and her husband.



In the courtyard of the museum is a huge cedar tree.  It’s a magnificent specimen and also one of the largest and acknowledged trees in France.  It reminded me of the lovely tree recognition ceremony that we attended at the château in our own village last year.


We got the bus home at teatime so that Hugo and Yvonne were not alone by themselves for too long.

It was a nice day out and we enjoyed our little glimpse of "city life".  Living out in the sticks and immersed in country life it’s fun to be surrounded by a little hustle and bustle amongst the smart shops and restaurants every so often. 

In the evening there was another gorgeous sunset.  We sat out in our hats and fleeces until the sun disappeared and the bats came out.

9 comments:

  1. I would have liked to have seen that sculpture exhibition too! I hadn't heard of Carolina Benedicks-Bruce before so I checked out the Wikipedia pages for her and her artist husband William Blair Bruce. It seems she was Swedish, he was Canadian, and they lived together primarily in France and Sweden. An interesting and bohemian couple!

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    1. It was a refreshingly joyful sculpture.

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  2. Art and travel feed our creative energies

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    1. I like art that is uplifting, joyful and inspiring.

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  3. I still am moved by a good sunset.

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    1. They are so beautiful yet transient. You know there will always be another one and no two are the same.

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  4. I’d forgotten all about the bats at sunset until suddenly after a day of beautiful Spring weather yesterday, ours returned to provide a display in the garden. They are mesmerising!

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    1. They are difficult to follow, teasing us mercilessly.

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  5. what a lovely day for you!

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