Thursday night was cool; we did end up going out and met up with Kate, who's another American girl from the CUEFEE, and with Romain and Alban and their friends. The other girls left first; Sierra and Mamie have now gone out with their two boys a few times, so they were planning on finding them. Aaron and Joel and I met up with them at our favourite bar: Le Puits Sait Tous (The Well Knows All). We didn't stay very long, though, before coming home.
Friday we pretty much just hung around the house, since none of us had anything planned. By the evening we had decided that we should go somewhere this weekend, so we made plans to go to the Château d'Amboise, which is just a brief train ride away.
We woke up early and managed to get out of the house by 10:25, on our way to the train station. In addition to buying my ticket, I went ahead and bought a "Carte 12-25," which is basically a train card you can get if you're between 12 and 25 years old. If you have one, you get huge discounts on most train tickets. With the card, I only paid 4 Euro for the tickets to Amboise, which would otherwise cost 7 Euro. On larger trips, like to Paris, you can save almost half the cost of a ticket.
After about 20 minutes on the train, we got to Amboise. It's a larger town, so we had to work our way through it to find the castle. We had planned to find somewhere to eat, since the castle is closed over lunch. When we crossed the bridge we found a little pizzeria called "Le Salamandre" (which is the emblem of the King François I). We all split little pizzas; mine had artichokes and green peppers and little sausages and was really good. Then for dessert I had strawberry ice cream. We kind of had a hard time figuring out how to pay, since we couldn't get the attention of the waitress, but we finally just put the money on the table and left.
When we crossed the other side of the bridge, we realised that we didn't really know how to get to the castle. It's basically just stuck in the middle of the city, with houses literally crowded up and around it. Fortunately it's France, so there were handy-dandy signs pointing out "Château" and we just followed those. We were walking along through the beautiful little streets and came to an open space where there were lots of little tourist-trap shops selling souvenir stuff. Then we looked to our left, and lo and behold, a château! There was a big long ramp leading up to a gate, but it looked closed, so we walked around the walls trying to find the entrance. We also found a bathroom, which was good for Mamie and I who hadn't gone at the restaurant. It was kind of sketch, though, and several of the stalls didn't have any toilet paper. Finally, we came across a sign that said "Entrance" and was pointing back the way we had come. We, obviously, felt brilliant.
We went back and went up the steps to the gate, but it was still closed. The sign said we had 20 minutes before they opened again, so we hung out and waited. Valeria had brought a huge blue umbrella in case it rained the way it did at Chenonceau, but it was just grey, not raining. So we took a bunch of pictures throughout the day with the umbrella, in order to not have wasted the effort. Eventually, they came back and opened the gate, so we could go in and buy our tickets.
The first thing we did was walk over to the wall overlooking the city and take lots of pictures. We went over to the little chapel, which is where Leonardo di Vinci is buried, and took more pictures there. It was really pretty, both inside and outside, and I became enamoured with the gargoyles. Then we went over to a little lookout point and ran into a couple of girls (we thought they were Italian) who took some group pictures for us. Finally we went over to the actual castle part, which is actually the royal apartments. It was really beautiful, and had a lot of cool stuff inside. I once again was a complete heraldry geek, so the room where *everything* was covered with fleur-de-lis and ermines made me very happy. We also got to go up the tower and see the entire city from on high. Then we went out and walked through the beautiful gardens and took even more pictures. We ran into the "Italian" girls again, and they took a couple more pictures of our group. It turns out that they're from Argentina; we talked to them a little bit. Then we finished wandering through the rest of the castle (I found more gargoyles) and the gift shop, where everything was super expensive.
After we left, we still had a couple hours before our train would leave. We wandered around looking for a little coffee shop or boulangerie where we could hang out for a bit, and ended up going into a bar. Unfortunately they weren't serving food anymore, since it was the afternoon, so we just got Cokes and Oranginas and stayed there for a while. Mamie told us a scary story about a girl who went missing in Mexico and then later her friends saw her sitting in the back of a car and called the police. It turns out she'd been killed and they were trying to use her body to transport drugs across the border. We were all really freaked out, and we've resolved never to let anyone go missing ever (not that we would have anyway, but still). Finally we headed back to the train station and waited a bit longer for our train, and came back to Tours.
That night we had some kind of beef wrapped in something else for dinner, with little potatoes and rice. I don't really know what it was, but it was delicious. Xavier's friend Daniel came to dinner again, and they talked politics for a while. None of us knew what they were talking about, which was a little awkward. After dinner, we girls decided to go out again. Romain and Alban were bringing some friends, so there would be more people to talk to and Valeria and I wouldn't be left out. Sierra did my eyeshadow and Valeria did my hair, so it looked completely different and really cute. We went to a couple bars but they were really crowded, and finally we found a spot in the back of one, called L'épée royale (The Royal Sword). We hung out for a bit, waiting for the boys, and finally when the bar closed we waited in Place Plumereau. Finally they showed up, and I met Aurélien and Théodore (who goes by Ted). We went to a bar where there's a dancing floor in the back and had a really good time. We didn't come back until 5:30am, and were unfortunately really loud outside before we came back in. Jacqueline poked her head out to tell us to come inside, and we were ridiculously embarrassed. We thought about not going to brunch, since we were so worried about what she'd say.
This morning I slept like a rock; Valeria woke me up when she came in to ask if I was coming to brunch, so I had to hurry and put on clothes and brush my hair. We had some kind of baked egg thing, which was kind of strangely spiced but good. Sierra, Aaron, and Grant went to Chenonceau since they'd missed it, and the rest of us just basically lounged around and talked to Luzé for a while. I'm super hungry, so now we're just waiting for dinner. I hope it's soon!
Showing posts with label châteaux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label châteaux. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Chenonceau !!
Yesterday, Valeria, Mamie, Joel, and I went to the Château de Chenonceau for a day trip, before classes start and because we've been bored as hell sitting around the house all day.
The train left at 10:08am, so we got up early and went into town for pain au chocolat for breakfast before we left. If you've never had it, pain au chocolat is amazing. It's basically like a square croissant pastry, but they put two stripes of chocolate in the middle, so it's chocolaty and flaky and delicious. Then we went and got our tickets, which were pretty cheap, since the château is only a 20-minute train ride away.
When we got there, it was kind of weird, because we didn't know really where to go. There was basically just a little train stop (it looked just like a bus stop; there weren't really anything in terms of maps or anything like that) right to the side of a cute little village. Fortunately, when we went towards the village we saw the sign pointing the way! There was a little gift shop where you could buy the entrance tickets, so we bought them and went in!
There's a long drive between the gift shop and the actual château, so we walked for a while, and then finally saw it! The actual château itself is built mostly over the river Cher, so it's kind of a like a combination bridge/castle. We walked around through the four different levels, and saw the kitchens, the gallery, the library, and the bedrooms of various kings and queens.
Chenonceau is kind of known as a woman's castle, since it was frequently given as a gift to various women by the kings or lords who owned it. The most famous historical story about Chenonceau is that it belonged to the crown when Henri II was king. He, feeling generous, gifted it to his favourite mistress, Diane de Poitiers (which, you can imagine, didn't please his wife, Catherine de Medici, at all). Diane owned the castle for a long while, and did a lot to improve and expand it, making it beautiful and comfortable. After Henri died, however, Catherine expelled Diane and took over the castle herself, remodeling it again and making it her place. There are several other notable stories associated with the castle, too, including the fact that during WWII it was one of the few crossing points over the Loire between Nazi-controlled France and Vichy France, so a lot of people escaped through it. It was also used as a hospital during the war, so it saved a lot of people directly, too!
It was a lot of fun to just walk around the castle. A lot of it was obviously built for people my size; there were lots of tiny doors and hallways, which was fun for me. It's a lot smaller than you'd think, for an actual castle, especially if you've ever seen Versailles or any of the other larger châteaux. But I thought it was really cute. Once we had seen everything in the château itself, we went out to the grounds. The whole day was kind of cold and wet and rainy, and only two of us had brought umbrellas, so we didn't really want to wander around too much. But we went through the Garden of Diane de Poitiers, and got some really pretty pictures of the château and the river. There was also a house (probably originally intended to be for the gardeners and servants) that I absolutely fell in love with and really want to live in.
After the garden, I insisted we see the Maze on our way out. It's a hedge maze, with diverging paths and dead ends and things, which was fun. For me, it was tall enough that I couldn't see the right path, but Joel could see the right way to take fairly easily. It was kind of sad; I would've liked to wander more, but it was pretty cold and everyone's toes were freezing. So we took a bunch more pictures, and walked back to the little gift shop. When we got there, we looked around and warmed up a bit. I bought a little necklace that had the maze on it, and says "Château de Chenonceau" on the back. It's not like I'm a little obsessed, or anything. :P
We had basically decided that we'd seen everything we were going to see, so we went back to the train station. At that point, we still had an hour or so before the train was supposed to get there (from my brief looking at the sign), so we went into the town to find a restaurant or something. A lot of them were still closed, since it's probably the off-season for the châteaux, but we found a little bakery/pastry shop, where we got ham-and-butter sandwiches on baguettes and Orangina. We thought we still had some time, and the desserts she had looked incredible, so we also stayed for dessert. Mamie and I shared a little wildberry tart, which was absolutely delicious.
Unfortunately, because we'd stayed for dessert, the train was passing by just as we walked down the street towards the station. We started running, but we didn't realise that there was a second platform to access trains going in the other direction. The trains only stop for about 30 seconds before taking off again, so by the time we had run up to the platform, it was already leaving. That meant that we'd have to wait almost 3 hours for the next train. We basically just sat in the gift shop for Chenonceau, because at least there it was dry, and heated.
We *did* manage to catch the next train, which was a very good thing. All in all, the trip was a lot of fun, and it was wonderful to go out and see things and have fun. When we got back, we told the others about the trip, and settled in until dinner, which was really really good. We had chicken with mushroom sauce and rice, and Jacqueline had some Chinese spring rolls left over from brunch which were also delicious.
Today's been a lazy day, since some (though not all) of us are starting classes tomorrow. I have my first class, Beginning Greek, at 1pm. I went out for a walk along the river a while ago, which was gorgeous. It was late afternoon, and the sun was shining, and the wind was blowing. I went across the Loire River on a bridge that I don't think I was technically supposed to cross by foot, but I did it anyway. Then walked up the other side of the river, where there's a bunch of little walking paths. There were a lot of older couples and people walking their dogs around; I kind of followed where they were going and found the walking bridge across the river (which is what I should have gone over to start with). I took it back, then walked up to the City Library to check their hours, since I only brought two books with me. Then I walked back through the little streets and window-shopped, and saw the Cathedral. I want to go in one of these days, but I think I'll save it for a day that's not a Sunday.
Tonight, we're apparently having sushi for dinner, which is really exciting! (Some people don't like it, and they'll apparently be having something else, but I dunno what.) Then I would say I should go to bed early, since I have class tomorrow, but it's not until 1pm, so whatever. :D
The train left at 10:08am, so we got up early and went into town for pain au chocolat for breakfast before we left. If you've never had it, pain au chocolat is amazing. It's basically like a square croissant pastry, but they put two stripes of chocolate in the middle, so it's chocolaty and flaky and delicious. Then we went and got our tickets, which were pretty cheap, since the château is only a 20-minute train ride away.
When we got there, it was kind of weird, because we didn't know really where to go. There was basically just a little train stop (it looked just like a bus stop; there weren't really anything in terms of maps or anything like that) right to the side of a cute little village. Fortunately, when we went towards the village we saw the sign pointing the way! There was a little gift shop where you could buy the entrance tickets, so we bought them and went in!
There's a long drive between the gift shop and the actual château, so we walked for a while, and then finally saw it! The actual château itself is built mostly over the river Cher, so it's kind of a like a combination bridge/castle. We walked around through the four different levels, and saw the kitchens, the gallery, the library, and the bedrooms of various kings and queens.
Chenonceau is kind of known as a woman's castle, since it was frequently given as a gift to various women by the kings or lords who owned it. The most famous historical story about Chenonceau is that it belonged to the crown when Henri II was king. He, feeling generous, gifted it to his favourite mistress, Diane de Poitiers (which, you can imagine, didn't please his wife, Catherine de Medici, at all). Diane owned the castle for a long while, and did a lot to improve and expand it, making it beautiful and comfortable. After Henri died, however, Catherine expelled Diane and took over the castle herself, remodeling it again and making it her place. There are several other notable stories associated with the castle, too, including the fact that during WWII it was one of the few crossing points over the Loire between Nazi-controlled France and Vichy France, so a lot of people escaped through it. It was also used as a hospital during the war, so it saved a lot of people directly, too!
It was a lot of fun to just walk around the castle. A lot of it was obviously built for people my size; there were lots of tiny doors and hallways, which was fun for me. It's a lot smaller than you'd think, for an actual castle, especially if you've ever seen Versailles or any of the other larger châteaux. But I thought it was really cute. Once we had seen everything in the château itself, we went out to the grounds. The whole day was kind of cold and wet and rainy, and only two of us had brought umbrellas, so we didn't really want to wander around too much. But we went through the Garden of Diane de Poitiers, and got some really pretty pictures of the château and the river. There was also a house (probably originally intended to be for the gardeners and servants) that I absolutely fell in love with and really want to live in.
After the garden, I insisted we see the Maze on our way out. It's a hedge maze, with diverging paths and dead ends and things, which was fun. For me, it was tall enough that I couldn't see the right path, but Joel could see the right way to take fairly easily. It was kind of sad; I would've liked to wander more, but it was pretty cold and everyone's toes were freezing. So we took a bunch more pictures, and walked back to the little gift shop. When we got there, we looked around and warmed up a bit. I bought a little necklace that had the maze on it, and says "Château de Chenonceau" on the back. It's not like I'm a little obsessed, or anything. :P
We had basically decided that we'd seen everything we were going to see, so we went back to the train station. At that point, we still had an hour or so before the train was supposed to get there (from my brief looking at the sign), so we went into the town to find a restaurant or something. A lot of them were still closed, since it's probably the off-season for the châteaux, but we found a little bakery/pastry shop, where we got ham-and-butter sandwiches on baguettes and Orangina. We thought we still had some time, and the desserts she had looked incredible, so we also stayed for dessert. Mamie and I shared a little wildberry tart, which was absolutely delicious.
Unfortunately, because we'd stayed for dessert, the train was passing by just as we walked down the street towards the station. We started running, but we didn't realise that there was a second platform to access trains going in the other direction. The trains only stop for about 30 seconds before taking off again, so by the time we had run up to the platform, it was already leaving. That meant that we'd have to wait almost 3 hours for the next train. We basically just sat in the gift shop for Chenonceau, because at least there it was dry, and heated.
We *did* manage to catch the next train, which was a very good thing. All in all, the trip was a lot of fun, and it was wonderful to go out and see things and have fun. When we got back, we told the others about the trip, and settled in until dinner, which was really really good. We had chicken with mushroom sauce and rice, and Jacqueline had some Chinese spring rolls left over from brunch which were also delicious.
Today's been a lazy day, since some (though not all) of us are starting classes tomorrow. I have my first class, Beginning Greek, at 1pm. I went out for a walk along the river a while ago, which was gorgeous. It was late afternoon, and the sun was shining, and the wind was blowing. I went across the Loire River on a bridge that I don't think I was technically supposed to cross by foot, but I did it anyway. Then walked up the other side of the river, where there's a bunch of little walking paths. There were a lot of older couples and people walking their dogs around; I kind of followed where they were going and found the walking bridge across the river (which is what I should have gone over to start with). I took it back, then walked up to the City Library to check their hours, since I only brought two books with me. Then I walked back through the little streets and window-shopped, and saw the Cathedral. I want to go in one of these days, but I think I'll save it for a day that's not a Sunday.
Tonight, we're apparently having sushi for dinner, which is really exciting! (Some people don't like it, and they'll apparently be having something else, but I dunno what.) Then I would say I should go to bed early, since I have class tomorrow, but it's not until 1pm, so whatever. :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)