EU Girl

Samedi- Quand la maison de fêtes a rencontré les chiens…

So what did I do for my first weekend in Tours? Well, l’Institut had an organized trip to Mont Saint-Michel et Saint Malo for the day, mais oui! Je les ai visité quand j’étais en France il ya 3 ans avec Huntsville High.

So if all of my classmates went on this trip, what did I do? I went to see 2 châteaux avec mon professeur, ses deux filles (Olivia et Sophia), et son…nanny (Kristen). I met them at la gare de Tours at 8h30 Samedi matin and we took a train to Blois, not too far from Tours. There, we visited a large market before taking the bus. We got lunch to bring with us to eat at the first château on our list- Chambord. 

Chambord

This château is situated on the largest closed in park in all of Europe, was only used for hunting parties, and according to my trusty Internet, it is about 6x the size of normal châteaux in the Loire Valley! So once we arrived here, we ate the best Paella ever! We also tried les fraises du bois (strawberries of the wood). They’re these very small, but ridiculously flavorful strawberries that are better than candy! By now, it was very hot, so we sat in the shade on a cement bench with the beauty of Chambord in the background. We then went inside and saw the famous stairs that are 2 concentric circles so people can go on either side, see each other through slits in the middle, but never meet. Supposedly during the war, several famous paintings like the Mona Lisa were stored there for a time. The smell of wood fires still lingered in every room…

After our visit to Chambord…we hopped on the bus again and we were off to see Cheverny.

Cheverny

Cheverny was one of the last château built in the Loire Valley, and it is still owned by the original family- Hurault (pictures of the current family are seen inside)! This château still houses hunting dogs (estimating 60 or so) that are fed precisely at 17h00 sharp. Normally, they eat regular kibble, but once a week, they are also given raw chicken parts. Lucky for us, we picked the right time and day to be there. We first toured the beautiful château and some of les jardins surrounding the house. I of course had to throw in a dance photo with the house when no one else was in the background! Then, we saw the dogs fed. Oh the smell. Nothing like those wood fires in Chambord… First, a group of older dogs kept in the enclosed kennel area were let out to eat for about a minute before the dog trainer with a whip opened the gate letting a flood of at least 50 dogs go for it. Lucky for me, pas du poulet pour le dîner ce soir. Look forward to a video in a future post! C’était incroyable! 

We returned to Blois and caught the train back Tours. During the ride, I taught them to take some pictures…

J’ai eu une belle journée avec Mme Daniela, Kristen, et les filles! 

To see more pictures from my trip, click ICI!