vouvray

That same day we went to a famous Touraine winery, Vouvray. We took a tour of the caves where the wine is stored, and then had a wine tasting. Perfect way to end the excursion.

Over eight million bottles are stored in the huge cave. The stone taken out of these old caverns was used to construct various châteaux and other buildings that can be found in the Loire Valley. After we toured the caves, we went and watched a video that did the wine making process no justice. The video was completely boring and showed how machines cork the bottles - I guess I had a very romanticized vision of how wine is produced, probably because I associate snobby wine with complication.

My friend Christy!

le château de chenonceau

Every Wednesday, most students at the institute get out at noon. This half day provides us with extra time to go on institute organized excursions - among other things. Last Wednesday I got to go see le Château de Chenonceau. I have been learning about this château probably since ninth grade. This famous castle has occupied pages in every French textbook I have ever used. Everyone in my group got to come on the trip, so it was fun for us to reunited again. The château was constructed in the eleventh century over the River Cher (the other river in the Loire Valley). The complex and intricate design of the structure is amazing, I can not imagine how it was constructed. The front of the castle was under reonvation, so that was sad, but the rest of the building was incredible. The gardens are fabulous as well.

This is the chapel that is located inside of the château. Sadly, the original stained glass windows were blown out during the second world war.

This wing of the château was used as a hospital during WWI - there is a plaque on the wall commemorating the lives lost in the infirmary.

I learned that this castle was also used a means of escape during the Nazi occupation of France. Since the château could also be used as a bridge, people would flee to the other side of the river that still remained free.

sunday morning mass and cake

YESSS, I know that I am a week behind on posting, but I literally come home from school, do homework, eat and then fall asleep - so naturally, posting is not on my daily to-do list - even though it should be.
LAST SUNDAY after getting in at midnight from the Mont Saint-Michel excursion, I woke up early and met my two friends, Christy and Alexandra for a Catholic mass at Cathédrale Saint-Gatien. Alexandra is a devout catholic and Christy and I were curious to see what all of the commotion was about, so we decided to join her. There is a BEAUTUFUL cathédrale right here in Tours that was constructed sometime between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries in the Romanesque style. The reason why there is such a huge time gap is because the cathédrale was burned down and destroyed a couple of times. The facade of this building is absolutely breathtaking. I had only been to mass one time before (during confirmation), so I was confused the whole service (partly because it was all in French). There was a very pious and lavish aura to the entire duration of the service that I can not even begin to describe. I felt like I did in Sacre Coeur, completely quiet and unguarded in front of the Lord.

After mass, I came home to a delicious Algerian meal in the midst of construction. Malika was making these crêpe (really thin pancakes) pouch things. They were filled with a cooked chicken, onion and parsley mixture and right before she sealed the pouch with a dab of water around the edges, she broke an egg. She then sauteed the pouches in some olive oil until the egg was cooked (with the yolk still pop-able) and golden. Once you cut into the pouch, the yummy runny yellow part of the egg came gushing out. It was delishhh.

We also had sliced tomatoes and BREAD - the french eat bread for literally every single meal - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert....

AND for dessert - yogurt cake (Malika called them little cakes, but I call them muffins). She says she makes cake every Sunday.

mont saint-michel

Last Saturday a rather large group (probably 150+students) took buses to Mont-Saint Michel. It was about a four hour bus ride.. there and back. Good thing our bus driver was a stand up comedien/chanteur (singer), so the bus ride wasn't as bad as it could have been. We had to meet for departure at 6:45AM. It was a little rough waking up but so worth the trip. Mont St. Michel is located in the lower Normandy region of France. The landmass was once a bay, but it has now been eroded into a tidal island. In the past, when it was high tide, the island was virtually unreachable by foot, but now there has been a causeway constructed that joins the island to the continent. It is thought that Mont St. Michel dates back to 709 when a bishop (Aubert, of Avranches) had an abbey built in honor of the Archangel, thus making the island a perfect place for pilgramage. It's a tiny city within itself. In the tenth century more people moved onto the island, creating a small village below the abbey's walls. It was a really pretty day - when the sun was out. Since we were on the Atlantic Ocean, the wind was freezing. After we went up and in the village and abbey, we made our way to Saint Malo for dinner. The walled city can be found situated on the English Channel in Bretagne (Brittany). This ocean village was also invaded by the Allies on D-Day. It was definitely an enchanting city, but I seriously could not appreciate it because I was unable to tear my attention away from my chattering teeth.

(view from the top of the mont)

(the steeple of the sanctuary - we were so high up, we were in the clouds!)

l'Institut de Touraine

Such cute little school!! There are people from all over the world studying here. It's a French language institute so French is the only language spoken between teachers and students, as well as between students. I'm taking 20 hours of classes per week. It it isn't that horrible, but it is exhausting thinking, speaking and writing in French all day in class, and then to come home and continue to speak French.
(Kim, Megan, Christy, MOI et Jennifer)

tours!

A week ago, today, I arrived in the largest city in the Loire Valley, Tours. This area is known for its chèvre and white wine. Pictured above is me and my friend Christy. We were both (as well as everyone else in the group) SO nervous about meeting our new host families. Turns out that the woman I'm living with is originally from Algeria. Her french is very good, but she also speaks Arabic! What are the odds? She speaks very little english (knows maybe 20 words max), so we speak only in French. We sometimes greet each other in Arabic, just to spice things up. She is a very good cook also. I've told her that I like middle eastern food, so she has been feeding me things that remind me of my childhood. Lots of couscous, tabouleh and olives. She made this amazing stuffed zucchini dish earlier in the week that was so good that I demanded she provide me with the recipe. She said she didn't have one.. she made it up. Just the kind of cooking I adore.

VERSAILLES

I forgot that we went to Versailles the day before we left for Tours (Saturday). I had been before when I was a lot younger so I didn't remember very much about the immense "chateau". We'll call it a chateau for reasons of simplicity, but it is more like a city within itself. It was the de facto capital of France for over a century. It is an elaborately planned palace that also housed most of the court, as well served as dwelling for the revolutionaries after the dawn of the revolution. The palace was stripped of it's furniture and decorations, and numerous statues and other "monuments" were defaced, or destroyed.

(This is the secret doorway that Marie Antoinette and her children escaped out of before the storming of Versailles in the times of the Revolution)



We were able to wander around the gardens (the fountains were on!) and eat lunch. My friends and I took full advantage of this 'free time' and overloaded our memory cards with gorgeous pictures of the foliage, statues and the ornate fountains.. and some other things..






After we toured the palace, we rode bikes a short way to the village that Marie Antoinette had built. She used this petit "village" to pretend she was a peasant. Even though she lived a very comfortable and aristocratic life, she longed for simplicity. But then again, who doesn't? She would have her servants dress up like peasants so she could play dress up and pretend she lived a different life. In the past ten years, the little village has been restored. Now it serves as an attraction for farm animal lovers, botanists, and all who appreciate the tranquility of blooming flowers against backgrounds of little cottages and meadows.

i still long for france

My friend Alexandra said something very profound on the way home from school the other day. She used this haiku to illustrate her love of France.

Even in Kyoto
hearing the cuckoo's cry
I long for Kyoto.
-Matsuo Bashõ

She said that no matter how many pastries devoured, she will never be satisfied with France. Even in France, eating a dozen pastries and experiencing their culture so rich in art, food and a simplicity of life, she will always long for France. I can't agree more. It is so hard to appreciate and soak in this escapade for what it's worth. There is no price for the enrichment of the soul.

a night to remember

(I'm in the middle with a green jacket on!)

On our last night in Paris, after a scrumptious thai dinner with the entire group (and Dr. Picone and his son Ben), half of us made the treck across the city - by metro of course. We arrived just in time to see La Tour Eiffel glitter and shine. My friends and I could not help but sing Eidth Piaf's famous song "Je ne Regrette Rien" ("I Regret Nothing"), while we watched the icon light up the Parisian sky. I'm sure we defined and exceeded every perception the French have about Americans - loud, obnoxious and overly jovial. At that point, we were so sick of trying to speak french and being answered in English that we thought it necessary to justify and portray a few detested American characteristics. The ambiance was pure magic, not just because of the place, but also because of the new found friendships discovered in the city of lights, love and bread.

In Paris they simply stared when I spoke to them in French; I never did succeed in making those idiots understand their language.-Mark Twain