Une petite vacance a la plage!

This past weekend there was nothing on the schedule (shocking I know) and we were really encouraged to travel. So, myself, my two friends Courtney and Natasha, one of the professors, Ruth (who is amazing), and Natasha’s host mom Dominique, went to the beach! We were lucky enough to be able to stay at Dominique’s friend, Mon(ique)’s house, which was absolutely ADORABLE. It’s this old house/combination of flats that’s been in Mon’s family for like 200 years. It definitely shows its age, but the place could not be cuter. We ate every meal in the garden, slept with the windows wide open and the ocean air coming in, and it was COMPLETELY silent. This town had to be the cutest French town I’ve ever seen. It was about a 5-minute walk from the beach, and we took advantage of this to the fullest. We arrived Saturday around noon, had lunch (more fresh bread, local cheese, wine and produce, etc- yes you should be jealous;) then headed to the beach. The weather could not have been more perfect- Dominique told us that the sun follows her wherever she goes! The great thing about being here is that the sun doesn’t start to set until like 9:30, and isn’t completely down until 10:30 or 11, so we were at the beach until about 6:30 and could have stayed a while longer. At that point thought we were all very hungry, sunburned and sandy, so it was back to the house for showers and a yummy dinner with Mon (I got to practice my French a lot!). Sunday morning we got up and went to the open market (basically a farmer’s market but with clothes and jewelry and other random stuff) where we munched on cherries and perused the various stands. After a while the beach was calling us again and the weather was the same if not better than it was Saturday, so we beached it again for another few hours before heading back to the house to clean up, and then head back to Angers. It was the perfect weekend with the perfect people at the perfect house on the perfect beach in the perfect town with the perfect weather! (Not to rub it in…) The only bad part- I forgot my camera. L Lucky for me everyone else has one so I’m going to steal the pictures from them just as soon as I can!

Chocolate Factory!

So remember how I said my group was to learn gastronomy, tourism, viticulture, and that kind of stuff? Well, what better way than to go to a french chocolate factory, a vineyard, and a bakery! So this past week we were lucky enough to go to all these places, and get a behind the scenes view of everything. 

First we visited the chocolate factory where our lovely guide/chocolate maker extraordinaire  Christophe was nice enough to show us the ins and outs of the chocolate making process. Honestly, I know we learned some history about Christopher Columbus and some Tyrants, but the sight and smell of all the chocolate was just too distracting to really absorb any of the information we were being given. Lucky for me the info part of the tour was the shortest. Christophe showed us how the chocolate is tempered and how they make all of their molds and decorative calligraphy and even a chocolate rose! We finished up the tour with a look at the chocolate making machines, some (ok lots) of free samples and a visit to the front store to buy some (ok again a lot) of the chocolates we saw being made! Marie and Romu were especially happy to hear about this field trip because they were able to sample the treats with me!

That same week we got to visit yet another vineyard. This time it was much more educational we were finally able to see everything we've been learning in the classroom the past few weeks. First we saw the vines, then the pressers, fermentation tanks, barrels, and finally the finished product. We tasted the wines, which according to French rating (they have this really complicated rating system that involves big french words like appellation that I just can't quite grasp) are very highly rated, but I have to be honest weren't my favorite. However the guide/owner was SO nice and put up with all our silly questions and wine tasting faces (we don't quite have the swish and spit part down so gracefully, if there is a graceful way to do it) and all-in-all it was a great day at the vineyard!

Now that's a LOT of wine!

Lastly that week we went to a boulangerie (bakery) to see how the oh so wonderful french baguettes and madeleines are made. The (cute) head baker, who's been going to culinary school for 7 years now, walked us through the steps of making their best sellers. We got to watch the process, which was a little dull because all it really involves is kneading dough for the bread and whipping up egg whites for the cookies. But then we got to sample the treats, fresh from the oven! It doesn't get much better than that!

Les Chateaux de Loire

Sunday was the day of castles. First we visited Clos Luce, a small castle most known for being the home of Leonardo Da Vinci during his last 3 years. Althought we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, we got to see his bedroom, study, and various models and prints of his inventions. The Da Vinci Gardens were really something though. The winding paths lead from a rose garden, to a small pond, to stables, and included some life size replicas of his inventions, including a water pump, and the 2 strange looking things pictured. 

Next we went to Chenonceau, a castle built over a river. While the castle is on the "smaller side", the grounds are the amazing part. The road up to the castle is surrounded by woods and paths, leading to different farms, caves, mazes, alcoves, etc. And let's not forget the gardens. The castle is flanked on either side by the most amazing and well kept gardens I've ever seen. The castle itself is really only held in the front part, and the part that stretches across the river, which was built years after the original part, is just a long corridor. I'm not really sure what its purpose is, but it looked cool!

We keep seeing these beds everywhere and I am officially obsessed and want one of my own. Unfortunately it looks like you have to be very rich and royalty to own one, so it looks like I'm out of luck. :/

The corridor across the river. Like I said, really cool, but not very useful.

And last but certainly not least is Chambord. What a monster this was!! The day we were there, there was a fair in progress on the grounds. We got to see a dog show, horse jumping, and eat lots of yummy food. And all before we went inside the castle! You can tell from the picture just how huge it is. It has 3 normal stories and then lots of little towers and roof spaces. Each of the 3 main floors has 4 apartments, one in each corner, except one which is the chapel. All of this is centered around the grand staircase in the middle. The staircase is especially unique in that it is a double helix. This means that there are actually 2 staircases wound around one another. You can see each other the whole way up, but if you start from different places at the bottom, your paths won't cross until you reach the top. The roof itself is really neat too. I think every inch of this place is covered in ornate carvings and little details. 

View from the front of the castle.

The roof

Challain la Potherie

Thursday we visited Le Chateau de Challain la Potherie.  While the story of the castle itself isn't all that interesting, the story of the family who now lives there is: 7 years ago a family from New Jersey was visiting the town and castle, and 2 days later had bought the place. Over the past seven years the family has transformed the castle from a shabby and decrepit empty castle, to a bed and breakfast fit for royalty. We were lucky enough to meet the parents, and I think they were just as excited to speak to someone american as we were. They took us on a personal tour of the house, allowed us to eat our picnics in the basement kitchen, and served us coffee and cheese. And the castle was magnificent. Every room is decorated exquisitely, each one complete with intricate cloth wallpaper, 4-post beds, lavish showers and bathrooms, and mostly original tubs. Suffice to say I was in heaven and didn't want to leave. And best of all they had a dog! Yes, Zeus the german shepard and I became good buddies that day, and I got my dog fix :). 

After the castle we attempted to make our way to Domaine Bellerive, a vineyard in Rochefort dur Loire. However about an hour into the drive, the chartered bus was lost and in an attempt to turn around, the driver managed to wedge the back of the bus over a ditch so that the rear tires were hanging in the air. 1 hour, alot of loud french talking, hammers, planks, lots of pushing and talk of a tractor later, we were on the road, and only 2 hours behind schedule! We made in to the vineyard with just enough time to see the fields, fermentation tanks, barrells of wine, and more importantly, to do some tasting. We sampled 3 white wines, one a bit sour, and the other 2 very sweet. The third one, which was so delectable I had to buy a bottle to bring home and share, was deemed "M.O. "(multi-orgasmic) by John, our witty and awkward tour leader. So after sampling and buying, we said "au revoir" to Domaine Bellrive and made it safely back to Angers in time for dinner. 

Mont St. Michel

Lastly on monday we started off the day at Mont-Saint-Michel, an old church/city which is an "island" and surrounded by quick sand (everyone kept saying "don't walk on the sand, which of course only made me want to walk on the sand even more... however I managed to obey and stayed off the sand). How do I explain Mont St. Michel? Basically take any idea you have about a small circular city built on a hill and you're most likely right. The streets are tiny and cobbled. Walking to the top was quite the workout-no there aren't any elevators. The crepes are tres bonnes. And the church is HUGE. What you see from the picture is only about 3/4 of the church. The rest of the rooms lie underground, containing massive pillars that support the upper floors (we're talking 10 ft in diameter!). We didn't get to go to the steeple, but we did go onto a terrace that you can see just to the left of the steeple in the picture below, and from there you can see forever. (Of course at that time the tide was out so all we could really see was misty horizons and a lot of muck!). Overall though it was a neat experience and I would highly recommend coming, if nothing more than to sample the crepes and caramel!

Pieta

After Mont St. Michel we went to St. Malo, a delightful little castle city that has a history of pirating and being a popular trade port. Our tour guide was a born and raised Malouin, and almost right away it was obvious how proud she is of her city. We learned all about St. Malo and it's history of standing up to the King of England when it came to paying taxes on their various booty and trading and fishing profits. It seems that St. Malo has become a French Hamptons. Property values and taxes have shot up recently and as a result the charm of the city coupled with the adorable homes has attracted various rich French folk (mainly Parisiens) to buy their summer homes in St. Malo. And with all of the adorable sidewalk restaurants, chiq clothing stores, and yummy ice cream, I don't blame them! 

And so after a long weekend of beaches, memorials, museums, churches and castles, we finally returned home to Angers. We were met at the bus stop by our respective host families- all mothers except for Romu who came to get me! It's hard to believe I've barely been here a week and I've already been so many places and seen so many things! Even better though is the fact that after being away for the three days I was really looking forward to coming "home" to my "family". Even after 8 days it already feels so comfortable and welcoming, and I feel very lucky to have such great host parents. 

This week starts the splitting into 2 groups, one agbusiness and the other (mine) viticulture and horticulture. We'll be visiting a vineyard, a castle and a bakery! It can't get much better than this!

Avec amour,

Sarah