STANFORD IN FRANCE
September 1961 - March 1962


In my sophmore year at Stanford University, I was one of 80 students in the third group to study for 6 months at the Stanford Overseas Studies Center in Tours, France. While we lived and studied at the center on Place Anatole France alongside the Loire River, we had regular visits to local families and ate lunch at the Restaurant Universitaire with the French students. Three day weekends allowed time to go to Paris and other parts of France like Normandy, and we had field trips to the Chateaux of the Loire Valley, Rome, Avignon and Provence, and the Dordogne region including a visit to the Lascaux cave paintings during the short time they were open to the public. Over the Christmas vacation, I drove with 4 Stanford friends around Spain, with short visits to Tangiers in Morocco, and to Gibralter.

Fifty years later, in 2011, some of us returned to Tours for a reunion (see photos).

Tours III in Rome
Tours III group on the Spanish Steps in Rome


TOURS

views from my window of the Loire River at different seasons
View from my window . View . Church
Place Anatole France, bridge over the Loire River, and shops and church accross the street

View - View

View . View

View . View . View

View in snow - Library  Library on the other side of the square

Cathedral in downtown Tours, and Bishop's palace, now an art gallery
Cathedral . Cathedral doorway . Art gallery, former Bishop's residence


CHATEAUX ON THE LOIRE

LANGAIS

Langais Chateau The village and chateau (castle) at Langais

Langais . Langais

SAUMUR

Saumur

ROME

Rome obelisk . Church . Church

Roman ruins .

Tiber River . Castel St. Angelo . Church
Tiber River and Castel St. Angelo

Spanish Steps . Stanford students, Spanish Steps Spanish steps

Stanford students on Spanish Steps
Stanford students from Tours III on Spanish Steps

Rome in Rome

Stanford students . Market
Stanford students

Stadium stadium

Fountain . Fountain
I particularly liked Roman fountains and gardens

Water clock . Garden . Swans
Water clock and gardens

AVIGNON

Pope's Palace . Pope's Palace . Palace
Chateau des Papes - Pope's Palace

garden . garden . moss garden


NORMANDY AND BRITTANY

Mont St. Michel . Mont St. Michel
Mont St. Michel

St. Malo . St. Malo
St. Malo

Brittany . Brittany
Brittany


DORDOGNE REGION

Dordogne River . Dordogne

Stanford students . Dordogne
Stanford students
Dordogne . Dordogne . Dordogne

CHRISTMAS TRIP TO SPAIN, MOROCCO, GIBRALTAR

Bill Tilton and rice paddies . Bill Tilton and boat building
My best friend and Stanford roommate, Bill Tilton, came from Stanford-in-Italy to join us

Judy and Tina Coffey . Morocco
Carol Steffanson and Tena Coffee with orange orchards; in Tangiers, Morocco

Grenada . at the Alhambra
Carol, Judy, Bill and Tena in Grenada, and at the Alhambra

Seville CathedralArthur Dahl in Madrid . Bill Tilton Bill Tilton
Seville Cathedral; me in Madrid

Gibraltar . Gibraltar
On Gibraltar, the monkeys were particularly friendly


LIFE AT STANFORD-IN-FRANCE

Room decorations from Morocco . Cars
My room decorations from Morocco; my car on the left

sculpture . sculpture
sculpture for our art class