i felt it was only right to smoke un petit petard to help get over the breaking news and now it is official. after making 3gs last almost three months, i am officially out of weed. sad day for all. but for now, it's making things better so i figured i'd fill you in on my amazing weekend!
friday night benjamin and kasia came and picked jeremy and i up with camilla and we went to watch the soccermatch, since it was free for ladies in celebration of le jour de la femme (france does have a few good ideas) the game itself was pretty dull and actionless, but in the end dijon ended up winning, which is something i had yet to see. i think benjamin was a little disappointed as he was rooting for the bretagne team and couldn't even wave his flag since we made him sit in the crazy dijon fan section. this is probably why they lost. after the game we headed home to pack our bags for our weekend checking out les chateaux de la loire!
saturday morning we were all up early and traipsing off to the bus at place darcy for 7am. then there was a 5hour bus ride to follow until we arrived in orléans to check out the sweet cathedral, see some joan d'arc statues and find ourselves some grub.
cathédrale sainte-croix
infront of la loire river
us with joan d'arc
then it was back on the bus for almost 2 hours until we arrived at our firt chateau, chateau chamboard. this was the house of King Francois I and was designed by Leonardo Di Vinci just before he died. it's crazy medival and so symmetrical it hurts. there are 365 chimneys (one for each day of the year), 440 rooms, an insane double staircase where you never cross with the people coming down when you are climbing up, and an enormous amount of property where King Francois loved to spend his time hunting. this chateau isn't located as close to the loire as the other chateaux but you can see where Francois I attempted to convince people to re-route the loire river so that it would run past his property and enjoy its beauty (amazing how much power kings think they have), needless to say, this goal was never successfully acheived.
back on the bus for 45 minutes and we arrived in the town of Blois. yes, its pronounced just how you think it is, like "blahhh with a hint of an s at the end". (this became very amusing to say as the night went on). we arrived at chateau royal de blois just as it was closing, and told that since we were behind schedule we wouldn't be able to make it inside for a tour. we decided that if we left early in the morning we would be able to make it back then as it was only about 10 minutes from our hotel.
this gave us more time to explore blois and obviously, get our party on.
we located food and liquor and headed to the hotel. charlotte, ann, alicia and i enjoyed a few drinks and smokes and then took our wine on tour with us while we found out what the city had to offer. we visited the fake spanish steps and made a new friend denni. then checked out the chateau at night, hungout on the riverbank beach, and headed across the bridge to blois sud. then returned to the hotel to try to make a mad dash to the pool before it closed. saidly we made it just past the threshold from changing room to pool when we were informed it was closed and couldn't get in... bummer. hotel party continues chez charlotte et ann, until jess and alex decide to come an knock on the door to join in the festivites. we continued to their room where we finished our drinks and smoked some j's in a blue light ambiance then decided it was time to hit the sheets so we could destroy the free breakfast the next morning.
and that is exactly what jeremy and i did. finally my intense 5 month long craving for BACON was satisfied. wow. just like i remembered it. literally ate for about an hour and then packed up our stuff and grudgingly got back on the bus.
i think we pulled off a world record timing for touring chateau royal de blois, so it's still pretty hard to take in. there was so much information and history involved with this place that the tour could have easily filled two hours, and the fact that nearly every king and his dog have lived there it was hard to remember much, malheureusement.
next stop, chateau de chenonceau, also known for le chateau des dames/femmes. basically the woman's palace. and rightfully so. the chateau itself is actually built up hovering over the river, and it has the most incredible gardens i have ever seen. and this is in winter when nothing is in bloom, i can only imagine what it's like in the summertime. inside the chateau is equally incredible and every room you walk into is unbelievable, we got to tour around seeing everything for the hallway where soliders from the war would come to rest and heal, the elaborate kitchens, the bedroom of Francois I, and the mourning room that Louise of Lorraine remained in after the death of her husband King Henry III (this room is almost entirely painted in black, with mourning symbols all around, the only color present is a religious painting that hang on the chimney.. needless to say, this room was quite depressing)
apres the tour we had a little time to wander through the gardens and the forests that surrounded, and even check out the labrinyth maze that can be found in the middle of it all. very cool, i think this was my favorite castle of them all.
although the next one did give it a good run for its money. lastly, we visited chateau d'amboise. this chateau is located smack dab in the heart of the town of amboise built up in the caves of the mountain that give the castle its superb view. it is also the resting place of Leonardo Di Vinci, and we got to see his grave located in the chapel of the chateau. at this moment very little remains of chateau d'amboise compared to what it was originally. a lot of the castle has been destroyed or just run down and no longer exist, but what remains is definately incredible. there are a maze of stairs and hallways all throughout and ever room seems to somehow lead to the blacony that wraps all around. and the view is something else. you can see up and down the loire river and get a panaramic view of the city of amboise. since we were behind schedule again our group got split up and i was without our trusty tour guide stephan for this one, so i didn't get to learn much about it, but even without the history it was not hard to appreciate such a beautiful place that someone once called home.
the chapel where leonardo divinci's grave is
said grave
tout le monde
amboise!
the chapel where leonardo divinci's grave is
said grave
tout le monde
amboise!
after our tour we wander through the garden and then back down into the city. we trekked down the road to see the last house that Leonardo Di Vinci lived in, but sadly we couldn't get inside to look any further. the rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around amboise and looking for some little souvenirs.
there was tons of houses built INTO the caves and mountains, pretty cool
leonardo divinci's last house
then unfortunatly we had to get back to dijon, and we commenced the 6 hour ride. somehow we survived and the night didn't last long until it was bed time.
today was back to class and back to the mediatheque to try for the FIFTH time to try and do the comprehension orale i had due this afternoon, but naturally, since this is france. when i arrived it was sporadically closed AGAIN and so i waited for two hours and returned when it said it would re-open. the woman finally shows up an hour later to tell me i can't do it today because she's rented out the tape played so i can't listen to the cassette. god i love france.
but tonight jeremy and i are going to chez benjamin and he and kasia are going to make us a specialty from bretagne, galettes! i'm still not 100% sure what a galette is, but i have been given the idea that its like a pancake filled with potatoes and such? interesting to say the least. i will be able to give you more information after tonight. but speaking of this, i have to leave in 15 minutes, so i should probably go and get ready. i will attempt to upload my 600+ pictures from this weekend and add some to this post, but i am very scared that my computer might blow up when i try.... if you do not hear from me again you will know why.
a la prochaine fois, bisous! x
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