Weekend in Perigord

Just a little enticement to read the blog

Well, this is probably one of my final blog entries given that my stay in France is coming to an end. My mom and dad are arriving in France tomorrow! After our week together in the south of France, and one day together in Tours, we are all heading back to the big chi.
This weekend was the final Bucknell excursion. We headed to Perigord, which is about four hours south of Tours. It was an incredible weekend- full of sunshine and lots of fun, but relaxing activities. The weekend in Normandy was educational, and this weekend was amusing.
The trip began with a visit to the Lascaux caves. Here, in the original caves, a few adolescents found the original cave paintings of the Paleolithic area that are so well known. Although the original caves are now closed to the public, we visited the reproductions, which are completely accurate, with only 5 mm room for error!
After this, we visited the Gardens of Eyrignac. These were incredible pretty, although it was clear we were there for the teachers' enjoyment. The look on Madame Fazelly's face throughout the visit was so funny, and very heartwarming. She was so happy to be  there, we had no choice but to appreciate the amazing gardens as well.

After a night in Sarlat, we spent the morning in the town, walking around the market, and having a picnic on the grass (french style). We then visited the Chateau Beynec. Although I am a bit tired of visiting chateux, it was a good way to wrap up the semester, and we took some incredible pictures.

Chateau

We finished the day in the town of Rocamadour. If you ever have the chance to go anywhere in France, I am 100% serious, go here- no lie. It is incredible. Built on a mountain, it is one of the most beautiful towns I have seen. I also saw the sword from the Sword and the Stone- the King Arthur tale.

Sword

Rocamadour

The next morning, we headed to a Fromagerie where they make Chevre cheese- my favorite goat cheese. You can see from the picture at the beginning that I fell in love with a little friend that day. That little goat was only 8 days old. He is now in my suitcase to come home with me- a friend for Luck Luck- just kidding :(
We then finished our Perigord visit at "le gouffre de Padirac." I'm not quite sure how to describe this, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Although it was prohibited to take pics, I snuck a few because I knew this is one place my brother Peter will have to visit in his lifetime. He would love it.

Today is my last full day in Tours. I went to NovaGym for the last time- with mixed feelings. I will have my last dinner with Beatrice- but when I come back next Monday with my parents to get my suitcases, we are going to have lunch here with her because I know that both Beatrice and my parents want to meet each other.
I am excited to go home- but I know my time here was a real growing experience. I am now fluent in french and although I can't wait to go back to the US, I'll leave a little bit of me in France.

Chocolat

Given that classes are over, us Bucknell students have a LOT of time on our hands. I have been passing the time reading Nicholas Sparks and, since I finish books faster than most people, I have just bought another book- a bestseller in Ireland. Its 500 pages- the only reason I bought it. So it should last me quite some time.

 

So Catherine and I decided to attend the Chocolate Festival in town. Wow. What an experience!

First of all, the place was a-bustling. Every citizen of Tours was in attendance.
It was quite the learning experience because we took the bus there, I learned a lot about taking the bus- a task I've never accomplished in Chicago.


 There were probably just under 75 booths of different Chocolatiers from Tours and the surrounding areas. My favorite part was the samples. The entrance fee was 2 euros, and I was worried I would have to pay to taste chocolate. But Nope! Different places cut up little pieces of what they offer so you could taste them all. Needless to say, I ate enough chocolate yesterday that I have no interest in any sort of chocolate item for the next few days- who ever thought this point would come.
The most interesting thing I ate was probably this chocolate that was I guess natural? It wasn't sweetened with sugar or fake sugar- but some sort of natural sugar. Well, anyway, it was very good.
We also tasted Macaroons that were made the way they were made in old times. I'm assuming that's what it was because they were decribed as "a l'ancienne." Those were a bit strange though. I did not want to return.

Man creates masterpiece

Weirdest thing I've ever taste tested- will not come back for more

These are almonds covered in colored cellophane- so pretty

 Catherine and I then decided to try a workshop. We signed up for this free workshop which was clearly meant for children. We arrive and we are given little chef hats.

Not the most attractive pic

Happy chef Catherine

 We then put warmed chocolate on wax paper, and put 1 apricot piece, 1 hazelnut, 1 pistachio, and 1 raisin in the chocolate before it hardened. It was fun! I didn't get to taste it because at this point, I really COULD NOT eat any more chocolate, but we saved all of our pieces for our classmates as a treat.

Makin chcolate

finished product

Last night, because I knew Beatrice would be jet lagged, I offered to make dinner. I wanted to make something American, but I then didn't know what to make because I feel that everything Americans eat is rooted in another countries traditions. For example, I love eating stir fry, well thats asian. Fajitas? Mexican. Spaghetti? Italian.
So, I struggled with what to make for about two weeks. I finally decided to make a pasta dish that I love to eat in the summer because it is super light. You saute tomatoes, and other vegetables in a pan. I used peppers and zucchini. And then you toss this mix over pasta. Super simple. But it was DELICIOUS last night. Good work me.
This morning I slept in, went to the gym, came back and made my oatmeal. Beatrice, still jetlagged, didn't pull herself from her bed until 12 pm! Good luck sleeping tonight and getting to work on time tomorrow! This afternoon, she wants me to go with her to surprise her niece at school. We then are going to go to her brothers house for dinner. Hmm...

Today, Bucknell went on another excursion to the town of Candes. This town was the deathplace of St. Martin. When he died, citizens of Tours went to Candes and stole his body, they carried it through the window and sent it down the Loire! He is now buried at our Cathedral. Then, the professors suggested a small walk... but surprise! There were boats waiting for us! We took a boat ride on the Loire and they had sandwiches prepared for us! We then went to the Abbey at Fontrevraud... the weather today was UNBELIEVABLE. It was so hot and sunny! I came home and bought ice cream to end the day in the summery-est way possible!

My time in Tours is coming to an end. I have just one more week before I go on Easter vacation with my parents and then fly home.... When I get home, it will be 50 degrees and rainy... compared to the 75 and sunny that I am used to here! What a change it will be!
Also, this morning I woke up to flowers on my doorstep- a present from my noisy neighbor who threw the party... well that was nice!

Allergies are in

So spring has sprung and Tours is BEAUTIFUL right now. Sadly for me, that means that the allergies I never knew I had are reaching a lifetime high. This, in addition to my lack of sleep (see last blog) have made me sick! I have been fighting the sniffles and headaches for a few days now. Today, I finally seemed to recover!
I have finished all my classes as well! We spent our last class with the BARCAT... riding horses! I got to be the leader :) It was super fun, but all the time spent outside and such made me itchy and sneezy all over again! Worth it.
Also, on another note, I saw my first man purse this morning. that was...cute.

La Loire a Velo

So yesterday, given that we had a free weekend and it was predicted to be GORGEOUS, we decided to do the Loire a Velo! This is a program where you rent a bike for a day (or I guess as many days as you wanted) and ride to the Chateaux in the Touraine Valley! I forgot my camera, as usual, and my friends haven't posted their pics yet so you all get some nice pics from google in order to picture us being Lance Armstrong. 

It did look the same, so just pretend that I'm in the front there leading the pack!

We rode to Villandry. This castle is known for their gardens so we only wanted to see that part, that way we could stay outside. We brought a picnic lunch too! We walked around the gardens for about an hour, and then continued. We planned to go to Usse, the castle that the Sleeping Beauty castle is modeled off of, but that was far and we were already tired. So we decided to go to a town about 6 miles away called Langeais. It was such a cute town. We walked around a little, and then headed back.

All in all, we were out and about for EIGHT HOURS. That is ALOT of biking. Not only does my heiny hurt, BUT IM SUNBURNED. I look like a little lobster, who has very funny tan lines. But when it turns to tan I will DEFINITLEY NOT be complaining :)

However, going to the gym this morning was a little hard. I did it but I skipped the bike :P

ANYWAY, so last night i come home, make myself  a little pasta, have a well balanced meal, chocolate, and then lay down thinking I would prob get up in a few to go watch a movie with my friends. HAHAHAHAHAHA. No, I was down. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed from 730 PM Until 930. At 930, I was falling asleep... I was exhausted... and decided I could let myself be SUPER lame for one night and maybe go to bed early. 

Well, this is where the adventure began. My WONDERFUL upstairs neighbor, Sophie, Beatrice's best friend since gradeschool, decided to go out of town, leaving her 17 year old daughter unsupervisered. And this little brat took advantage of that and threw a party for her little friends. I was so exhausted, just wanting sleep, but they were playing music and SLAMMING doors, going up and down the apartment stairs, for hOURS. Oh, and they were all WASTED, so they were screaming and yelling and clapping, and WHATEVER. OK, I was 17 only 3 years ago, so I feel old saying this, but I was NOT OK WITH IT. I called my friend Catherine, and while on the phone with her I opened the door to look at the hall. Two boys saw me and thought I was calling the police... well I was about to so they should be scared. They tried to talk to me but I slammed the door and locked it... not gonna talk to drunk boys when I'm home alone. They slipped a note that said "please! Bea is ok with the party! Would you like us to cut the music"... so they turned the music down... but it was STILL loud.  Hours later, still awake from their noise, I called the cops. Of course, being clearly not French, I was not worthy of respect from the cops. I ended up having to call a second time, didn't understand what he said, and was just like UGH. 

Well the party went on until 5 AM. I fell asleep at 5AM and was woken up at 9AM from them cleaning up before their mom came home. 

I was tempted to tell them to clean all they wanted... given that I called the cops, I feel obligated to share that with Bea, hence the mom will find out...

I blasted country music all morning to help them with their hangovers and to teach them to respect America. 

And then I heard the mom yelling at the daughter. 

DONT CARE

This is Villandry's gardens... this is the garden of love or whatever. Each square represents a different type of love

The Gym

So this morning at the gym, french woman number 1 (guilty of walking on the treadmill EVERY MONDAY WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY- when I want to run- how rude) brought in her little girl to the gym. How cute. Mommy and me time. NO. THE GYM IS NO PLACE FOR INFANTS. This little girl was around 7 so maybe she wasn't an infant, but I still thought it was totally inappropriate. And I sat there wishing I could be like "children in the gym? tsk tsk."
I really wished the evil towel man (the man who yelled at me for not carrying around a towel) was there because he is very strict with the gym rules and I am SURE he would have enforced this one. But no. He wasn't. And this mother bought her daughter a flavored WATER (not even juice) and then started her walking on treadmill regime. Meanwhile, this girl was 1. standing next to the bikes looking around. 2. then stared at me while I did the rowing machine and even asked her mom if she could try it- when her mom said no- she just stared and smiled at me. Comment dit-on GO AWAY in french? I actually don't know how to say it. I guess I've never had to use it.
Anyway, totally inappropriate gym mother was driving me crazy. She then brought her daughter to the other room while she did weights while her daughter stood next to her. She even had the nerve to take the machine I was about to use- oh no you didnt lady. But whatever, I was the bigger person and went to the other room to do yoga. and the lady left. She wasn't there for very long HA. Maybe she learned her lesson.
French people at the gym are VERY STRANGE (they are strange in general- besides Beatrice who is SO COOL.) The other day, someone winked at me when I handed him a towel to wipe the treadmill he grabbed just as I was done sweating all over it. No french person, we are not friends just because we both go to the gym. No winking, no smiling.
They also wear really weird work out clothes. I wish I could take a picture and share it because it is just so strange. French woman number 1 (mentioned above) wears the same thing (probably because WALKING on the treadmill does NOT make you SWEAT). Its a weird longggg black vest, black pants, and a white shirt. Same thing, same vest, everytime.
And don't get me started on the french love for aasics. That, I will never understand.

Anyway, my classes are wrapping up. I handed in a final yesterday, I have two finals tomorrow. One tuesday, and I'm home free. Except for the whole still going to be living in France thing.

:)

A quick note about NORMANDY!

So, this weekend, Bucknell took a three day excursion to NORMANDY. We got up super early Friday (met the bus at 545 AM) and drove to St. Malo. We walked around that cute little city, so happy to be greeted by the fresh, sea air. We then continued to Mt. St. Michel. It was just as cool as I remembered and I appreciated it much more. We drove to our hotel and Bucknell treated us to a delicious crepe meal (Normandy specialty!) and cidre.

Mont Saint Michel started as a tiny church and grew to this!
So eat your wheaties.
JK 

We woke up again early (Catherine and I barely slept thanks to our noisy neighbors who spoke in whatever language it was at 1 in the morning... NOT COOL) and started the longest day ever recorded.

Pretty view!

We went to the debarquement beach (sp?) which was awesome to see the extensive piers that Churchill had built IN ENGLAND and then dragged over to France. We then went to a film about the DDAY beaches... which was VERY moving.
We spent lunch in the town, which was actually a horrible lunch because the woman was so rude and thank god catherine was there to yell at her for the awful service and got me my sandwich FO FREE (because I waited half an hour while the rest of my table got served, had to eat or else it would get cold, and then we all sat there before that dumb lady came out and told me they didn't have the ingredients for mine... SO RUDE).
ANYWAY, we then went to the American Cemetery. It was such a beautiful day and we were really lucky to have gotten the chance to go on such a great day. I took some GREAT pictures.

American Cemetery

We then went to Pont du Hoc to see where the American soldiers scaled up the steep cliffs.

Pont du Hoc, imagine scaling up that!

After this we went to the German Cemetery because it was really important that we see that it really was a war that took the lives of so many young people.

German Cemetery

We returned to out hotel and got dinner at an amazing local restaurant. I do not think they get many tourists in this restaurant because there were only five old men in there playing poker. They loved that we were studying french and were so excited to show off their english to us. The food was amazing. I had another crepe (my fav).

This morning, we headed to the Memorial Museum of Caen. This museum shows the history from the end of WWI through WWII and even touches upon the Cold War. It was very cool! I've been there before but this time I actually paid attention. We got to sit outside and bask in the sun once more. I'm hoping to get a little face tan :)
We then boarded the bus to head home.
I came home to an empty apartment because Beatrice is in the Caribbean for two weeks! It's kinda nice to have the place to myself and I was looking forward to eating whenever I want. but to be honest, it's not like I don't have freedom when Beatrice is around and it's nice to have someone to talk to. :(
But, oh well!! PARTAY.
just kidding :P