Little boxes on the hillside...

This past weekend I spent a day and a half in Paris!  The weather was kinda dodgy but I had a lovely time.  A few of us went on the Musée d'Orsay/Notre Dame excursion with the institut where Prof Gaverny gave us a rundown of French Impressionism and a brief history of Notre Dame.  She is truly amazing.  What I didn't know was she has a degree in Art History!  She had so many amazing things to say at the museum as well as at Notre Dame.  Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pics in the museum, but I did get to see some awesome Renoirs!

Later in the day we caught up with the rest of the Staters and grabbed some dinner and went to experience the Eiffel Tower at night.  Which I must say I preferred it at night.  Much more romantic and less...metaly.

The next day we woke up early to catch a walk through of the Catacombs!  I was scared at first, but when I finally got used to being 40 m under ground and in a small space, I was in awe.  The opening song to Weeds popped into my head as we reached the bones. 

After the catacombs I planned on eating somewhere near the Eiffel Tower and meeting up with some friends.  We wanted to head up to Sacré Coeur, but since our train left earlier than others, we didn't make and just walked up and down Champs Elysées.  All in all it was a good weekend, but I definitely plan on going back!  Much more to experience.   Did I mention riding the métros was probably my favorite part?!

The Stakes Have Been Raised

Well, more like my standards...if that was even possible.  The other day we took a trip to the châteaux of Azay-le-Rideau and Villandry.  So far Villandry is my favorite and you'll see why in a minute.

But first a lil schpeal about Azay.  This château was home to the François le Premier.  His symbol was the salamander, which I think is SO cool!  Except they were portrayed a lot more vicious back then.  Above one of the fire places in the château there was a carving that had a salamander breathing fire with an inscription in Latin I believe that translated to something along the lines of "I take in fire and breath out water."  But don't quote me.  I really like this saying because it's him trying to create peace within his land as King.  Here are some sweet pics!

NOW onto the GOOD stuff!  I. Am. IN. LOVE. with Villandry!  I don't think I will ever be satisfied in life because I won't ever live there.  I guess the best I could do is either get proposed to or get married there.  A girl can dream right?  I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

I'm off to Paris tomorrow morning for an excursion to the Musee d'Orsay and Notre Dame.  Then I'm spending the night with some ladies and sightseeing some more on Sunday. 

A bientôt!

MTV Cribs: Henri II et Leo Da Vinci Edition

Today we had a day off from school because yesterday was Pentecost.  Yes, the French love any holiday to take off work and school.  So, some of us took a day trip to Ambroise.  There, we ran into some bi-polar weather, but over all I had tons of fun!

The Château above was I believe the first to house French royalty (or something like that).  I took lots of pics of the inside and the petit jardin outside.  Leonardo Da Vinci is also buried there.  But what I think stole the show today was Da Vinci's residence in Ambroise.

Per request by the king, Da Vinci moved to Ambroise.  Between the Château and Da Vinci's house was an underground tunnel so each building was connected so the king could come and visit Da Vinci and I'm sure vice versa.

What I thought was really unique about the Da Vinci house was that after walking through the house (which was pretty small--and you're not really supposed to take pictures of) is the property had a pathway full of interactive stations, per se.  Most of which were models of his inventions/sketches that actually worked!  So we got play, yes like we were 6 again!  The day was super fun.  One of my favorites was the tank he sketched.  The "museum" created it to work similar, but it was more of a merry-go-round where you turned a wheel inside, and the hole thing spun around.  Unfortunately, my camera battery died before we got to the more interactive stations.

Back to school tomorrow, but I'm excited to learn some more about French culture and hopefully practice a lil speaking too.

A bientôt!

Une Semaine

This is gonna be one grand post!  I have so much to share with ya'll.  I've spent one full week in Tours, France and absolutely love this town.  I love exploring the city after grabbing a quick lunch and finding new places to sit and just enjoy my life.  There's a cute park just a few blocks south from my street and it's perfect to run or just hang out in.  Apparently it's a special garden because there are trees there from around the world.  But we saw a couple taking wedding photos (very pretty) and this turtle there! (We named it Kiki)

I've also been splurging every so often and treating myself to some of the French desserts and street food.  What most people get after a night on the town are kebabs.  Not like American kabobs, these are sandwiches that have either shaved lamb or chicken in them with cheese and lettuce.  You can even have french fries inside them with ketchup and mayo and it is très délicieux!  I've also had a tartelette fraise, a croque monsieur (grilled cheese with ham on steroids), and a few éclaire chocolat.

I've also been having a blast with my MSU fam and my host sibs.  We've done some ridiculous things like yesterday our excursion to Chambord was cancelled so we grabbed some champagne and jus d'orange and made some mimosas at a park.  We have so much fun together that we always roll at least 15 people deep.  Yeah, we are those obnoxious Americans, but the french youth love to speak in English to us because they are so fascinated with the U.S.  My prof keeps telling us that they have a dream of the U.S. and want to go there someday, but they obviously don't know how sometimes terrible it is.  I've met a few french high schoolers and they are so wonderful!  Meeting people here is so easy and I can't get enough of it.  I may move here in the future.

That's home ya know: Sweet Tea, Pecan Pie, & Homemade Wine

About to finish up my second full day in Tours and I'm just about settled into my room.  Pics of my room will be up soon!  I live with 5 other students who also attend the institute.  My host mom runs a hotel of some sort for students like us.  She is a great cook, but unfortunately I don't necessarily like what she's been making.  However, last nights dinner was steak and well quite delicious.  They don't eat dinner until 8pm though so that's definitely been something I need to get used to.  My host also has a large garden so most of the produce we eat is very fresh.  But my favorite part is probably the homemade wine we have every night with dinner.

As for navigating around Tours, I can pretty much get anywhere now except back to my house.  I always get confused trying to get home because the entrance is located in an alley!

The first full day we were here, we met at the institute, discussed a few things, and then went out on a scavenger hunt around town.  It was difficult to find some things but I was more trying to enjoy the beautiful weather we had.  Last night, I went out with the group and invited two of my host brothers along too.  I had a great first night out in Tours!  We sat by the Loire (the river to the north) and drank wine and moved on to La Place Plume after that which is a square with a bunch of bars and little eateries around it.

Today it rained, but it was ok because I looked super stylish in my rain boots!  So glad I brought them.  Although, I didn't see any of the locals wearing them...OH WELL!  My feet stayed dry and I was happy about that because after our first class we walked around for a while and bought some more supplies and such.  I just ADORE my professor for my culture class.  She is so animated and is genuinely interested in us and our culture as well.

Taking it easy tonight to catch up on some sleep because I feel a cold coming on.

à bientôt!