like something out of a storybook

It's 2 p.m. and I'm ashamed to say I've only been fully awake for about an hour now. Last night, I went out with two girls from my group and we actually met some French people at an Irish pub who then took us to a popular club in Tours. I had a good time, but since the house I'm staying in is all the way across town, the walk to the city center was really unpleasant in my heels and the walk home (yes, at 4 a.m.) was equally as bad. The club was strange as they played only "rock" and the stench of some of the dancers was off-putting, but hey, it's France.


Classes are going well but this first week of having class every morning and afternoon was really tiring. It's definitely an adjustment, getting into the routine. My favorite part of the day is the break for déjeuner at noon. Our group has found a little sandwicherie close to school, so every day we make our way there for sandwiches on deliciously fresh baguette, or panini if it's cold out (which it has been lately). The photo is of Faith and Deirdre, two girls in my group, sitting outside our lunch place.

One of the many perks of a university town like Tours is the student discounts we've found at places like Les Délices de Louise, where a sandwich and a coke costs 2.70 euros. I have a feeling Paris won't be so kind to my wallet.

I had an amusing encounter on Thursday evening, as I walked home from class (see photo... evening in Tours). I usually walk with my iPod headphones and keep my eyes to the ground to avoid making an "eye contact faux pas" but as I walked past the train station on Thursday, I noticed a group of people trying to get my attention. I pulled my headphones off and they looked at me and said, "MacDonalds?" I shrugged and said, "Je ne sais pas, désolé," but to my surprise, they just looked confused. So I continued, explaining in French that I didn't live in Tours so I didn't know, but nothing seemed to make sense to them. One of the women said something about "anglais" and then I realized: "Oh, you speak English!" They turned out to be Irish, actually, but I didn't chat with them because the whole interaction was pretty awkward. I walked on towards the house, and I think they followed me for a while, but then realized that we were further into a residential area, so they turned around.

It's just funny realizing that I'm already in the mode of answering questions in French, even when it makes things far more complicated than they have to be!

Yesterday, I had to meet up with the Central College group and another group of American students studying in Tours, from Hartwick College in New York. We took a trip to visit two of the famous chateaux of the Loire: Loche and Chenonceau. Although it was freezing out, the sun shone (finally) and it was a really nice day. We had our own tour guide who took us to both sites and she knew many little anecdotes to supplement the boring historical stuff.


That's Loche, which is a medieval castle where Joan of Arc actually stopped on her tour of the Loire. There's also a beautiful cathedral next to the castle with lovely stained glass and the tomb of Agnes Sorel, the mistress of the king.



Loche itself is a perfectly preserved medieval town, with lots of cute shops and restaurants. We had a yummy pizza lunch to warm up from the cold outside!
Which reminds me- the semi-annual "soldes", or sales, are on now and my host parents have just informed me that even though it's Sunday, the shops are open. I must invest in another wool coat.

After Loche, we got back on the bus and drove to Chenonceau, which was another 30 minutes away and is the most visited of the French chateaux. They call the Loire Valley "La Vallée des Rois" or the Valley of the Kings because there are so many castles around.


I've been to Chenonceau before, with dad, when we visited the Loire a few years ago. Seeing the castle and the grounds during the winter is very different from visiting in the summer! On a positive note, it wasn't very crowded so that was to our advantage.



Disney has nothing on places like this.