Chambord & Chartres

After an early start this morning (6 :30 am wake up call !), we drove to Chambord. It is an enormous castle with over 400 rooms and was really impressive despite the lack of furniture. The woods surrounding Chambord for the King’s hunting trips was as large as the city of Paris ! One of the castle’s most interesting features was the double helix staircase where we split our group between the two staircases. There are windows to see the people on the other staircase, but the two never cross paths. The architecture and design of the entire castle were really interesting because they varied in style from Gothic to Renaissance to Classical. We went to the terraces and Lauren (Stoll) noticed that there was a Rolling Stones symbol mowed into the grass. Everyone thought she was crazy (including Audrey, our guide), but it turns out Lauren was right !
Then, we got back on the bus and headed to Chartres. After a light lunch and some shopping, we went to the Cathedral of Chartres. Its two differing spires are a result of several fires destroying parts of the cathedral, causing parts to be rebuilt in different centuries. The main attractions in the Cathedral were of course the stained glass windows. They were enormous, and hearing Audrey explain the process of making these windows let us appreciate them even more.
Later, we got on the bus to go to Sartrouville to go and meet out families. The mood on the bus was somber and anxious. We were all sad to leave Audrey and Patrick (our driver), and everyone was getting nervous to meet their families.
Maria Khrakovsky

Loche

Castles in the Loire Valley

Today, in the morning, we went to the castle of Chenonceau, which was beautifully decorated. Each of the bedrooms displayed pictures of Christ, or the people that lived there. In the kitchens, the bronze pots were hung up on the walls with different sizes of bowls and pans. Stuffed deer and boars heads were in several rooms looking down at the visitors with open mouths and blank expressions. The river Cher flows under the Castle of Chenonceau, so most of its windows displayed a picturesque view of the running water and the outdoor gardens, not yet in bloom with the changing season.
Lunch was in Amboise, with its massive castle. Although I did not visit the Cathedral where Di Vinci is thought to be burried, my group stopped by a local bakery with the best chocolate ever. I bought a small piece of dark chocolate cake which tasted like rich chocolate mousse and melted in my mouth.
After lunch, we journeyed to the medieval castle of Loche, which is built in stone and was later turned into a jail. We learned about torture methods and I felt a bit uncomfortable since the methods were so cruel and the rooms were dark and gloomy.
Later, when we returned to Tours, Audrey made us walk all around the narrow streets of the old town. Finally, we turned at a corner, ad there it was : the Cathedral of Saint Martin. It was breath-taking. The Cathedral was sculpted in a lacey gothic style, protected by gargoyls and stretched its tall towers to the heavens. It was the most beautiful place to end the day’s tour.
Briana Savage

Dinner in Tours

Random Photos 3

To the Loire Valley

This was our last morning in Saint Malo for our group before we had to hit the road again. Most of the day consisted of driving on the bus, but we also made a few pit-stops. We stopped at a city called Angers. After a quick twenty minute tour with Audrey, we were allowed some free time. We could either visit the Medieval castle and its huge tapestries of the Apocalypse or the Cathedral. This is also where we ate lunch for the day. After the short stop in Angers, we were back on the road again towards the Loire Valley. We took the scenic road along the river and drove through small towns that had castles where we stopped and took a few pictures. One of them was Ussé, the castle that inspired the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.
Then we arrived at the castle of Villandry. Audrey gave us lots of information regarding the history of the castle and how the gardens were designed. The gardens were very beautiful and from one view, you could see the entire landscape.
All the students were then allowed to walk around the gardens on our own before we had to head back to the bus.
After that, we were off to our final destination for the day: Tours. After arriving in Tours, we all got situated in our hotel rooms and then headed off to dinner. At the diner, the teachers played a small April Fools joke on the students telling them that we were eating "tripe" for dinner (part of the stomach of an animal). But when the food came, it was actually just pork and potatoes. Very clever. Michael Maurer