France, May 2015: 2015-05-17

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Beautiful French Countryside

Today was a full day, and it was so much fun.
We started out early and went to a neighboring town called Amboise. There we rented bikes and went for a 14km bike ride through the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. There were farmlands and forests that we rode through. The forests reminded me of enchanted forests in fairy-tales. I didn't know there were really forests that looked like that. I have some pictures, but I don't feel the pictures capture the enchantment of the forest.
We rode our bikes to a castle just out of a really small town called Chenonceau. The Castle was the most beautiful that I've seen, mostly because of the huge garden around it. The garden just went on and on; it was full of trees and flowers, there was a labyrinth and fountains and everything. The Castle was built on a river, which made it look like it had a moat. We had two and a half hours to spend there, but I really wish we had more.
After we road back to Amboise and looked at the Castle there (every town has a castle). The Castle in Amboise wasn't nearly as impressive as the one at Chenonceau, but it was still nicer than any around Nice, and a lot bigger.
Later we're going to go to a SON & LUMIÈRE (sound & light) show at the Castle here in Blois. It's been quite the day, but I very much enjoyed it. It was fun riding bikes, and do something other than walk around.

Fields

Forest

At the Chenonceau Castle Gardens

The Chenonceau Castle

Forest by the Chenonceau Castle

Inside the Chenonceau Castle

A tomb outside of the Chenonceau Castle

The outer wall of the Chenonceau Castle

A neat garden at the Chenonceau Castle

The Labyrinth at the Chenonceau Castle

I think more forest by the Chenonceau Castle

View of Amboise

The Amboise Castle

Amboise Castle Garden

A suit of armor in the Amboise Castle

Friday, May 22, 2015

Blois

So I spent all of last night on a night train. I thought it was actually quite nice even though no one else in my group thought so. Instead of getting a seat you get a bed. There were two sets of bunks in each room with three beds on each bunk. Devin and I were on the top in one room. At first we had the room to ourselves, but when I woke up in the morning I saw that three other people had joined us.
I slept really well, and was quite comfortable. Everyone else in my group seemed to have some complaint; I guess I just got lucky.
So we got to Paris this morning, but then we immediately got on another train to Orleans and then another to a town called Blois. We have a hotel here in Blois and are going to be here until Sunday--Then well go to Paris.
I really like Blois. It's a lot smaller, and a lot more calm than Nice. It has some touristy things here too, but I guess it's not as popular as what's in Nice.
We went and saw a Cathedral, a Chapel, and the Castle today. Around the 1400s the actually King of France lived in Blois. Later one of the Kings decided he'd rather live somewhere else I guess. It was cool to see the castle because it had four different styles of architecture. I also felt there were more neat artifacts and paintings in this castle than in other castles we've so far seen.

Devin Sleeping on the night train.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Last few days in Nice

So I apologize for the gap in the posts. As I said yesterday, I've been really busy this week, and really tired when I wasn't running around.
So on Tuesday we went to Eze, an old medieval town on a hill top east of Nice. Apparently Eze is really famous for its perfume--personally I had no idea. We went to the perfume factory there, and it was actually pretty neat. We had a guided tour, and they showed us how they made things. It was also kind of interactive with a game of matching scents and also letting us smell the perfumes. I was really tempted to buy something there just to say I got it from Eze, France, but it was way too expensive, so I didn't. They gave us a very small, free sample at the end though, which I figure is good enough. It's a girls' perfume, but I don't need to use it I guess, just have it.
After we explored the medieval village. It was really pretty, and right at the top of the mountain there was a really pretty garden and some ruins. We ended up just looking at the views up there for a while.
Yesterday my teacher asked if anyone who was going how in a week wanted to go see the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-Sur-Mer. Only me and another girl went, but it was really neat. The museum Renoir was in the middle of a neighborhood, because they put it in the actually house Pierre Renoir lived in. There was a really big garden around the house too. It was very peaceful there.
After that we went to a castle they had in that town (it seems like every town has a castle). The castle was small, but it was probably my favorite that I've seen here. It was very pretty, and had some artifacts from way back when, like a well and an oil press.
After we got back, we had dinner then went to see the sunset by the ocean, which I talked about yesterday. I think it's worth reemphasizing how amazing that experience was. We truly are blessed to live in such a beautiful world. I don't think I'll ever forget last night.
As for today not much has happened yet. I had my last day of school here (finally). I thought I was going to die of boredom everyday there. After school, for lunch I had a crepe (first time in France) and a deep fried flower whose name I can't remember. Now I'm supposed to be packing because tonight I get on the train to go to Paris.
I'm really grateful for my time in Nice, and I've enjoyed it, but I'm ready to leave too. I don't think I'm much of a big city person. I know Paris is bigger, but at least it will be something different.