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Day Seven: March 10, 2000
Sadly, we left Paris today. When I woke up this morning, I realized that I had to pack and take a shower! Yeekies! I rushed down to breakfast only to discover that I was one of the first ones downstairs. That was quite a relief, and I stopped stressing quite so much. We piled onto our new bus after breakfast, wishing for the return of the ghettobus. Karine, our new tour guide, introduced us to Marc, our new bus driver who only speaks French.
We were off to the Loire Valley, land of chateaux, knights, and fairy tales. The first chateau we stopped off at was Vaux-le-Vicomte. Unfortunately, it was closed, but even through the gates, we gaped at its beauty. Parts of The Man in the Iron Mask were filmed at this beautiful location. Louis XIV was so jealous of his financial minister's new home, he had him imprisoned and built Versailles in the same fashion, only on a grander scale. Vaux-le-Vicomte's beauty is certainly undeniable - but is it worth a life in prison?
As this question lingered in our minds, we boarded the bus again to go to Henry IV's hunting lodge, Fontainebleau. Fontainebleau was built in three main time periods, each with a distinct style and personality. As we toured the palace, I found the old ballroom to be the most enchanting room. MLB and I sat in that room for quite a while, imagining the rustling skirts, discrete fan gestures, and the low murmur of gossip. We saw the beautiful fountains through the windows, but our stomachs dictated an immediate lunch. The weather was perfect, so we sat outside at a quaint sidewalk cafe in the middle of the town square. I had a yummy tuna salad sandwich while Mary let her hot dog go cold as she became an emailing fool at a local cybercafe.
Next up on our itinerary? Chambord, Francoise I's other castle! He only spent two nights there, but this chateau was built to impress Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. Two things stand out on this building: The unique double staircase and the plethora of chimneys... 365, to be exact. The building was gorgeous, but I didn't really enjoy my visit. An unruly gang of Spanish tourists decided to stare at me, Nici, and MLB. As we were walking away, they took picture of us and then cracked a nasty joke about Americans. We walked over to where G and Sahar were, and they started throwing money at Sahar, like she was a common prostitute. Later they asked us if we wanted to have sex with them while holding up condoms. Needless to say, the barbaric actions totally ruined any semblance of serenity of the castle.
We were staying at the Chateau de Rochecotte in St. Patrice, near the small town of Langeais. The chateau is located on top of a small hill, and I could hardly believe that we were staying at such a beautiful location. I roomed with Sarah and Katie, and one of the ladies at the front desk brought our baggage up to our room. Our room was small, but habitable. MLB, Nici, and Nadine had an amazingly pretty room that was even featured in the brochure! A jacuzzi, a fireplace... even a view of all of the kitchen boys! It had everything anyone could ever want. We dressed up for dinner, where we had fish cakes, pork tenderloin, and chocolate mousse in the hotel restaurant. It was chic and *very* classy - I've discovered that I enjoy formal dining. Sarah kept looking over at me, to make sure that she was using the correct knife and fork. It was very flattering to be considered the maven of manners. :) I enjoyed everything tremendously, especially this fruit that was with the dessert. I think it was a quinze (?) but I'm not sure... it looked like an unripe tomato with a yellow-ish tint. It had a sharp, but pleasant favor, and was delectable. :)
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