Day 5: The Loire and Chambord
Rose: Buying a French cookbook while speaking French in a local bookstore.
Thorn: The foie gras for dinner. Haha!
The bus did not depart until 11:00 AM this morning, so Susan and I had the entire morning to explore Bourges. The city centre was absolutely beautiful! We also got plenty of practice with our minimal knowledge of the French language. . . We bought picnic lunch for later in the day (thankfully a local translated for us), stopped at a French supermarket, and picked up a gift card for our family in Paris! We also fulfilled my dream of shopping in a local bookstore, where I picked up the best souvenir ever: a French cookbook! Despite the fact that the cookbook is entirely in French and metric measurements, I will treasure it forever. What a great morning for all sorts of "back door" experiences!
TIP: Choose unique souvenirs. Sure, everyone can get the typical "Eiffel Tower" keychain or Lourve postcard. Why don't you try venturing outside of your comfort zone and picking a shop that appears as if it doesn't cater to tourists? You might just find a new treasure, like my French cookbook.
After departing from Bourges, we drove to the Château Selles-sur-Cher for a wine and cheese tasting. The owner of the château, Nicholas, is also an award-winning winemaker. He described the entire wine making process, which was fascinating. Not only was Nicholas a charming French man, but his white wine is the second best in the world, and is served to chiefs of state, such as Presidents! What a fun Rick Steves experience.
Our tour group enjoyed a delicious picnic on the château grounds before heading to the Château de Chambord. The château was magnificient (especially since I did a project for French class on it), but I was rather unimpressed by the inside. It is a "masculine" château, aka a hunting lodge, and I could certainly tell! It is not that pretty, yet I would still recommend you visit it if you are nearby - the sheer size is enough to take your breath away.
Our final trek of the day was from the Château de Chambord to Amboise. The accomodations for the night was Hotel Bellevue. It was such a neat and classic European hotel. Susan and I were put in the attic, haha. The stairs we climbed to our room were steep and got narrower the higher we went. We had no air conditioning on some of the hottest days of our trip, but there was a fan that made sleeping bearable. Looking back, this was one of my favorite hotels.
Graeme gave the tour group a quick five minute orientation to Amboise before we shared a group dinner at "Lounge B" in our hotel. I tried duck foie gras and learned it is not for me. Today was the "Day of Music" in France, so Susan and I went to bed with our windows open listening to rock music. The "Day of Music" celebrates the summer solstice. It was priceless going to bed listening to rock music as a towering château stood outside our window. This certainly represents the European mixture of Old Europe and new Europe.
Thorn: The foie gras for dinner. Haha!
The bus did not depart until 11:00 AM this morning, so Susan and I had the entire morning to explore Bourges. The city centre was absolutely beautiful! We also got plenty of practice with our minimal knowledge of the French language. . . We bought picnic lunch for later in the day (thankfully a local translated for us), stopped at a French supermarket, and picked up a gift card for our family in Paris! We also fulfilled my dream of shopping in a local bookstore, where I picked up the best souvenir ever: a French cookbook! Despite the fact that the cookbook is entirely in French and metric measurements, I will treasure it forever. What a great morning for all sorts of "back door" experiences!
TIP: Choose unique souvenirs. Sure, everyone can get the typical "Eiffel Tower" keychain or Lourve postcard. Why don't you try venturing outside of your comfort zone and picking a shop that appears as if it doesn't cater to tourists? You might just find a new treasure, like my French cookbook.
After departing from Bourges, we drove to the Château Selles-sur-Cher for a wine and cheese tasting. The owner of the château, Nicholas, is also an award-winning winemaker. He described the entire wine making process, which was fascinating. Not only was Nicholas a charming French man, but his white wine is the second best in the world, and is served to chiefs of state, such as Presidents! What a fun Rick Steves experience.
Our tour group enjoyed a delicious picnic on the château grounds before heading to the Château de Chambord. The château was magnificient (especially since I did a project for French class on it), but I was rather unimpressed by the inside. It is a "masculine" château, aka a hunting lodge, and I could certainly tell! It is not that pretty, yet I would still recommend you visit it if you are nearby - the sheer size is enough to take your breath away.
Our final trek of the day was from the Château de Chambord to Amboise. The accomodations for the night was Hotel Bellevue. It was such a neat and classic European hotel. Susan and I were put in the attic, haha. The stairs we climbed to our room were steep and got narrower the higher we went. We had no air conditioning on some of the hottest days of our trip, but there was a fan that made sleeping bearable. Looking back, this was one of my favorite hotels.
Graeme gave the tour group a quick five minute orientation to Amboise before we shared a group dinner at "Lounge B" in our hotel. I tried duck foie gras and learned it is not for me. Today was the "Day of Music" in France, so Susan and I went to bed with our windows open listening to rock music. The "Day of Music" celebrates the summer solstice. It was priceless going to bed listening to rock music as a towering château stood outside our window. This certainly represents the European mixture of Old Europe and new Europe.