Monday morning started a little rough for Sarah and me. We overslept, because our alarms didn't go off. We woke up at 6:30 am and were supposed to be at the bus, which was 45 minutes away, at 7 am. YIKES! I woke up to Sarah screaming, "OH MY GOSH we are so late! GET UP, NOW!". We through last minute items in our bags and ran out the door. You're probably thinking, "I hope she had time to change out of her pajamas", right?! Well guess what boys and girls, I didn't. No, I didn't run to the metro in my super cute Anthro p.j. pants from my Aunt Jan. Luckily, I slept in my black yoga pants and a Vneck shirt, so all I had to do was throw on a scarf and shoes and I looked descent enough. Gotta love yoga pants! ha ha Anyways, we ran through the streets of Paris to make it to the bus on the time. We looked crazy, but it paid off. We arrived at the bus at exactly 7 am, very, very flustered, but nonetheless on time.
The trip to Loire Valley took 3 hours. I guess I looked exhausted, because two of the boys took pity on me. One let me have his window seat so I could lean against the window and the other loaned me his frat fleece to use as a pillow. That was the best 3 hour nap I've ever taken!
I woke in a quaint French town near the chateau Cheverny. Cheverny was pretty, but smaller than I expected. We were only able to tour the bottom level, because it was privately owned. The owner and his family actually live in the upper level! They legitimately live in a castle. Jealous, much? After walking through the lower level, we took a golf cart through the nearby forest. It was so pretty. We saw several deer. (Mom, I took pictures for you. I know how you love to spot deer! :] ) Next up was a boat ride on the river. On the boat we got to see the rest of the grounds. It was neat. The only problem was it was absolutely freezing and, of course, I forgot my fleece at home. Caroline and I wrapped ourselves in my scarf, not exactly the best way to keep warm. The part of the chateau I was most excited about was seeing the hunting dogs. Everyone found my enthusiasm about seeing some smelly dogs very childish and, therefore, amusing. (Not that I cared haha) Unfortunately, I didn't know how terrible the dogs were going to smell. The area surrounding the pin reeked. There were about 25 or so hounds in one pin. Basically, it was just a fenced in area full of smelly dogs. I was disappointed, to say the least. Nearby was a sweet, little garden that we killed time in. I took some awesome pictures I'll put up later. (I know I keeps saying that...its going to happen really soon, promise!)
We left Cheverny and headed to a nearby restaurant where we ate lunch. The first course was rabbit pate. Yes, rabbit and yes, pate. Guess who didn't eat course #1. The boys really enjoyed it, but I didn't. I tried it (before they told me it was rabbit), but didn't like it. (At least I tried it, though. Right, Dad?!) For the main course we had chicken and potatoes. I loved it! Dessert was by far the best, though! It was sort of like a French interpretation of strawberry shortcake. YUM!
The chateau Chambord was next on the to do list, after lunch. Chambord was by far my favorite chateau. It was absolutely enormous, and had very intricate architecture. The rooms weren't furnished, but instead filled with sculptures and art pieces. It was sort of like an art museum inside a chateau. We took some really fun pictures at Chambord. I must admit a major reason I loved Chambord was because of all the fleur di lis. They were everywhere!! (I guess Francois the first was a Kappa fan! haha ;] ) The top of the tallest tower had a giant fleur di lis on top, because that was the symbol for the highest form of royalty.
After we toured the chateau, we headed to the hotel for dinner. The hotel was literally a football field away from the chateau. We had a lovely dinner of pork and potatoes. Delicious! I could get used to this fine French cuisine!
Since we were so close to the chateau, we were able to take a walk around Chambord in the dark. Now, let me say this was NOT my idea. I am not a fan of the great outdoors at night, especially not in a foreign country. Regardless, I agreed to go. It was actually pretty neat, though. They had huge spotlights on the castle, so it was awesome to look at. After the late night walk, we headed to bed.
This morning our first adventure was visiting a local chocolate factory. (No oompa loompas in sight, though! What a bummer!) We watched videos on how chocolate is made and then got to tour the factory. (Side note: The majority of all of the tours, videos, and pamphlets from the trip are all in French, AND i actually understand them! Super cool!) After the video we all got samples of chocolate mousse. Next, we had a chocolate tasting. We tasted chocolates of all darknesses and from all different beans. It was interesting how different all the chocolates tasted. I bought my French family chocolate molded to look like cacao beans. They loved them!
Next we went to chateau Blois and chateau Cheneaucu (spelling?!) Both were really cool, but we kinda had to rush through them. Plus, once you see one chateau you've seen them all. I remember that from our last trip to Europe. The history is cool, but the actually rooms often look quite similar.
We headed home around 5 pm and got back at about 8 pm. Our French family was so happy to see us when we got back. We had a frozen French pizza for dinner. (Thought ya'll might find that a bit humorous!) At dinner, they asked about our trip. We told them all about it (in only French). We cut dinner short, because Sarah and I have a test tomorrow morning, so we need to study. I just got finished reading through some of the material and I'll start reviewing some grammar when I finish this.
Overall, the trip was great! I feel like the group as a whole really bonded on our time away from Paris. Our group is so cohesive. Everyone truly likes everyone else, which makes it that much more enjoyable! I've got a pretty regular small group of friends that I hang out with day to day. Caroline, Evan, Shae, Pam, Preston, and Ian. The professors have dubbed us the "Prestonians". Honestly, not sure why Preston is our namesake, but I'm assuming its because he's the loudest and therefore the most recognizable!? This first week has been better than I could have ever hoped. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be here in Paris with all of the amazing people! Of course, I love and miss everyone back home, though! :]
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