Une visite dans le Château de Chenonceau!

Today, we made our first trip to a visit the radiating Château de Chenonceau in Chenonceaux! The sun even paid us a brief visit to give us incredible pictures around the castle. Technology has advanced so much that we had guided tours via iPods - when we would enter each room, we could start the video/audio coinciding with that room and learn about the history and the women who lived there. It was born on the River Cher and has 16th century architecture. 

 

Walking by Chenonceau

 Our group with our French teacher!

What I took out from that castle was the fact that during WWI, M. Gaston (the owner of Chenonceau) used the gallery as a hospital, oui c'est vrai. However, all of their services were in every room of the castle. The stories they were able to tell their family one day - being treated in such a stunning castle!

 

The gallery 

The grounds around the castle is also stunning! The flowers are in full bloom, and the animals are spreading their wings. Many ducks were spotted, and they even had a donkey farm!

 

Dazzling Pink Roses!

I found a furry friend that reminded me of some cat at home. He was laying beside the bridge completely memorized with the horses across the waters. 
 

 Doesn't he look like Tigger?

After our trip to Chenonceaux, we returned back to Montrichard to do some shopping. Since we are leaving for Paris tomorrow & it's going to be cold, I bought 2 more scarves. We also stopped to buy chocolat au pain, of course! Many stores were open -including an awesome chocolate store full of handmade designs!

 These are chocolates - seriously!

We are leaving for Paris tomorrow - we finalized our itinerary today and have a wonderful group going to several wonderful places both in and around Paris. Our schedule is jam packed with sights to see - both places I have been to and many new ones as well! 

Expect to see a lot of fabulous photos when we return on Monday!

Nous dormons dans une abbaye avec beaucoup d'histoire!

Aujoud'hui, we stayed in Pontlevoy and got to explore more of the hidden treasures of this historical place! Did you know that the Abbey was founded in 1034? Unbelievable! They showed us the pool they would teach the boys how to swim, a stream that remained the same temperature year-round, and the gate king/bishops would enter the Abbey from (all the way in the back). Finally, the doors of the chapel were opened for us & all of its glory just came alive. We were even taken "behind the scenes" to a place high above the chapel - across balconies, up spiral staircases, & into the roof of the place! You could see all of Pontlevoy up there!

 the pool now

Up all the way on top of the chapel

 

Pontlevoy from a owl's eye view!

After our group tours, Natalia and I decided to take our on adventures around Pontlevoy. We made it to a cementery and found so many above-ground tombstones that were decorated lavishly with plaques, flowers, and pictures. It's surreal how much they honor their deceased loved ones. It was most painful seeing some tiny tombs for babies and toddlers who left the world so young.

 

One of the graves at the cementery

 

Sending a "Salut" in Pontlevoy to all of you!

La première classe et un voyage à Montrichard!

Today, we had our first French class with our native French teacher. It truly reminded me of Mme Sunquist as elle parle français tous le temps! She is immersing ourselves very quickly so we can practice practical and useful sentences that may even help us when we are in Paris this weekend. 

After class, we explored Pontlevoy and enjoyed the fact that everything was just a short distance from the Abbey - got to love the small town atmosphere! I learned that the French natives are much more friendly in the small cities - they actually will say <<Bonjour>> to you! We explored the grounds of the Abbey for a little while and created some potential group photo poses...

For our first excursion, we journeyed to Montrichard, which is just 10 minutes from Pontlevoy. We stopped at château de Montrichard and took some photos. Then, we were given some time to walk around the town. Unlike the U.S., most businesses typically are fermé on Mondays or Tuesdays and are open on the weekends. They usually pick a slow day (something that I learned in high school French & finally got to experience today). 

Everything got more chilly and chilling when we entered the Caves Champignonnieres, an excursion we decided to add when we realized Montrichard was basically closed for the day. What an impressive hidden treasure! The reason behind the caves was to use the limestone and build all of the castles on the Loire Valley! They dug & dug and now, 100 km long and 7 stories wide, there is an underground cave and plenty of room to harvest mushrooms. How innovative the French are, c'est vrai? The mushrooms that they naturally harvest in these caves (due to perfect humidity, temperature, and darkness) are used at the restaurant we dine at across from the Abbey. Notre chef said that his father used to harvest the mushrooms as well, so he wanted to continue his family tradition. C'est mervielleux! 

 

Well, time to read The Life of Monsieur de Molière while eating un pain au chocolat. Oui, c'est la vie! (Pictured below for your viewing pleasure!)

Nous sommes arrivés à Pontlevoy aujourd'hui!

Today was quite an eventful, adventurous, and sleepless 24-hours as we made our way to our main stay in France, Pontlevoy. If you regard a map, you'll see that it sits just southwest of France. We are staying at a historical abbey that has not had a monk live in since the 1800s! I learned several traveling lessons today while in Paris:

1. Pack all of your essential items inside your smallest carry-on bag (if carrying two) in case you are blessed with sitting in the only row that has no under-seat storage compartment.

2. Avoid the metros around Paris on French holidays - it's insanely busy because everyone loves their vacations and have the day off!

3. Keep active the day you arrive so jet lag does not get the best of you. 

The multiple train rides, transfers, and bus rides to Pontlevoy was quite heart-racing and (thankfully) scenic. We saw everything from horses to beautiful yellow flowers to graffiti! We even spoke to some French (on the bus), American (at the train station), even Canadian (on the plane) travelers!

We are off to bed early tonight so we can gain a few hours of sleep, since some of us are running on 2 hours of sleep.

Sitting by the window in our room at the Abbey - Pretty view!

Outside the Train Station before taking a bus to Pontlevoy

Bon soir, mes amis!

Au revoir Illinois, Salut Michigan... Puis France!

Tonight is my final night in this fine month of mai in Illinois. Demain, I depart & arrive in Michigan. I will be staying with mon amie, Lisa, for a night. Then, we leave for France ensemble on Sunday! The moment has finally arrived & ready or not - here we come, France!

Lately, I have been reading The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and The Life of Molière to prepare myself for our histoire class. Since my content-focused paper is on the family, I have been placing a deeper focus on the family system in these plays and stories. It fascinates me to see their family set-up - with the mistresses, scandals, servants, and arranged marriages in so many of the stories. I sometimes have difficulty keeping track "who is who" in these plays with all the relations. However, by the end, a plot twist usually closes up the show. Thank goodness we have a terrific professor that clears up all of the confusing parts!

While I was partaking in my last minute packing tonight, I came across my France box. It simply breathes memories of my last trip as it is full of treasures and mementoes. I found the postcards that I never used from last trip & tucked them into my backpack that is going to France. As one of my teachers would say, "we are trying to keep this el cheapo." But in all honesty, they will come in handy as I have promised a few friends & family members a letter. 

Next time you see a post will be when I am in the Central European Time Zone! Bon soir, mes amis!

Preparez.... maintenant!

The countdown is nearly over. What was once just an information meeting last fall semester is quickly escalating to a trip across the ocean in a matter of days. My french textbooks used to always include a section in every unit called Enquête culturelle which means "Cultural survey." It would talk about places such as Montmartre, Champs-Élysées, and Hôtel des Invalides; I would read and only dream of actually setting foot there. However, finalement, I do have this opportunity to bring these many readings alive and experience it first-hand!

Since I have been "out of the loop" in the French department for 2 years now, I decided to hit the bookshelves and go through my high school textbooks/ workbooks. I went through French I textbooks in a breeze and am currently working on French II.

Stuffed between the pages of my French II textbook was our prayer page. We had to recite both Notre Père and Je vous salue Marie at the start of the class period.  I will attach Notre Père to the end of this entry for your reading pleasure. 

My itinerary for the Paris portion of the trip is nearly complete; Since my content-focused paper is on family systems within the French royal  (during the heydey of the châteaux across France), I will probably be visiting many museums to uncover information regarding the similarities and differences to more modern-day families. Expect more the come!


Time to do some final packing preparations! À bientôt, France!

Notre Père

Notre Père qui es aux cieux,

que ton Nom soit sanctifié,

que ton règne vienne,

que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.

Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce joir.

Pardonne-nous nos offenses,

comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.

Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,

mais délivre nous du mal.

Ainsi-soit-il

C'est mai; à bientôt, France!

Bienvenue, mes amis! C'est mai (finalement) et nous partons au France en 19 jours.

I'm returning back to France & the city of love, Paris! This trip offers us an opportunity to have some freedom during our stay in Paris. I personally would love to just explore the city as a Parisian would - stroll along the narrow cobblestone streets, catch a street performer, and see some sights that I visited before and have yet to. As they say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I am going to manipulate that and keep a mindset of "When in Paris, do as the Parisians do."  Also, I hope to speak la langue again because it truly made the last trip unforgettable - Ask about the story of how many security guards I had to talk to so we could reunite with my group inside the Château de Versailles when 3 of us accidentally exited the castle! 

Having attended both a high school and now a university that strives in a liberal arts education, I know that this trip will offer me an array of disciplines that can be essential to my studies. From viewing the art across in every city, to learning the historic tales of each castle and town, to embracing the native language, this trip will only benefit my education. As a pre-medicine student, I often feel like I am tied down by science - learning about the skin, how hormones affect us,  how microbes can do both damage and harm, and so much more. This trip will allow me to say Bon Voyage to the textbooks and all the technical terms for a little while and Bonjour to a well-rounded experience in the arts; I hope the photos agree to that statement!

Overall, I hope to come back changed for the better. Last time I went to Europe, I grew so much in areas that helped me in so many ways - a better traveler, the ability to sleep ANYWHERE (on a plane, ferry, bus, and train!), and how to be independent far from home. As my passport gets filled with more stamps, I hope to return as a "better global partner" in this world and realize regardless of where we live, we all live and thrive in this world together.

À bientôt, France!