Sunday morning after 3.5 hours of sleep I was up and off to France. As previously mentioned the reason I booked my specific hostel was to have the free airport bus. On the information the hostel gave out it said that it left at 5 am and took 30 minutes. Ah hindsight how you truly are 20/20! For some really inane reason I did not look at my flight information until I was on said bus. All along I had been thinking that my flight left at 7:25. Well actually Grammy’s flight arrived in Paris at 7:25. So there I am on the bus and it is running quite late as it stopped at like 5 hotels to pick up passengers. The girl in front of me was flying to Copenhagen and was supposed to leave at 6:40, at this point it was 5:40 and she was freaking out. I then started to have a wee bit of a panic as I had not checked in online and I started to wonder if they would give my seat away. I looked at my reservation via my email and lo and behold I was leaving at 7! Okay now I started to freak out wondering what kind of immigration lines I would have to be standing in and how long that would take. We arrived at the airport at 5:55, a dash to the terminal then ensued. Aer lingus is a massive airline; you had to look at a huge departures board to find out what line to stand in. Granted I attempted to check in via the computer self serve terminals but it directed me to the really looong line. Once I was in the correct line I was really panicking as it was 6:00 by this point and the security line was ever growing in front of my eyes. At 6:10 I heard an announcement overhead that it was last call for check in for my flight to Paris and to come to desk 501. I jumped out of line and ran to the desk. Now this is what I love about the Irish. Yes, I had been up at 3:30 weighing my bag to keep it under 20 kilos, but I had also heard how relaxed they are about the weight so I knew it was a bit over. When I put it on the scale it was 22 kilos. In America they would have instructed me to take out the 2 kilos… Irish style? No comment, just a sticker stating “Heavy” on it. She gave me my boarding pass and I asked her “Am I going to make it? She informed me I was and I made a mad dash to the security line.
Now this security line was the length of a good ride in Disneyland. Not like the Dumbo ride, more like Magic Mountain. I was really panicking now as it was 6:15; the boarding pass stated that the gate closed at 6:35! I circled around, panicking and panicking, imaging how I was going to have to text Grammy that I missed my flight, would I send her on to Blois alone? 6:32 came along and I made it to the woman who looks at your ID, once again time to compare to America. In America they scan it with a blue light look at you, look back, it is a process. This woman took a cursory glance and sent me on my way. Also no shoes were to be taken off, but umbrellas had to be removed from our bags and one woman had the job of opening them and looking inside. Talk about a job that incurs back luck!
Once I made it through security I RAN to my gate through all of the duty free shopping. Not a glance for tax free Chanel or scotch, I had a plane to catch! Upon arrival at my gate they were still boarding and there was quite a line. Whew!
On the plane I sat next to a lovely woman from Dublin who said she had never seen the lines so long at the airport. She and I got to chatting (big surprise) and I regaled her with stories of my adventures in Ireland. She particularly enjoyed the stories of Sonny the farmer. It was so nice to be sitting next to a friendly Irish woman who was enjoying my stories, made me wistful for the country I was leaving behind.
Alas, France was calling! After I arrived at the airport, jumped through immigration, (all I was asked was if I just arrived… ummm wasn’t I at the airport?) it was off to locate Grammy. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just put a microchip on our relatives, dial up the app on my blackberry, and bam there she is? Needed that yesterday at the castle, but I digress.
After taking the shuttle to her terminal I found her, standing facing the arrivals, even though I arrived at another terminal. (: She was very excited to see me and took a picture of me within 2 minutes. We then set off to purchase our train tickets. After attempting to do it via the machine (darn Europe and their laser credit cards!) we stood in the queue for 20 minutes to speak with a representative. He offered us many options, and we changed our plans on the spot in order to get to the town earlier. We are staying in the Loire Valley in a small town called Blois that is just lovely. Our train ride was about 2 hours and the gentleman who I had rented the apartment from was kind enough to pick us up at the train station.
Prior to the trip Grammy began to have some knee pain, which is not helped by the fact that our apartment is on the third floor. It is a lovely apartment, and the bedrooms are on the fourth floor! We have wonderful windows that open up to let the breeze in and sweeping views of the Loire river on one side and the magnificent castle on the other. Very romantic!
After getting settled in we decided to ramble about town to get some dinner and see if the grocery store was open. Turns out the grocery store is not open on Sundays, so we set that on the agenda for the first thing to do on Monday. We had drinks in the beautiful open square where they were doing public swing dancing lessons. There was a stage set up and people of all ages were partaking! Grammy said if her knee wasn’t bothering her she would for sure be out there, so we appreciated from a distance while enjoying kir petillants.
For dinner we walked to a restaurant that was right on the river and while completely murdering French I managed to order for us. I had a salad with goats cheese and French fries, while Grammy had a salad with meat of some sort on it. It was perfect as we were both so tired.
The next day began with a trip to the grocery store where quell surprise they had soy milk! Hooray! Next to the grocery store is a boulangerie that might just make the world’s most amazing almond croissant. Post grocery store trip I dropped the groceries off and it was off to the Blois Chateau. Otherwise known as the Blois Castle. This is a serious castle! We were provided with a self guided tour pamphlet and it was off to explore. The castle is huge, 3 floors built around a square design with the wings being built between the 13th and 17th centuries.
Francois I lived here as well as Catherine De Medici and Henry III. It is famously known for the assignation of the Duc de Guise in 1588 as he was trying to usurp the throne. Turns out William the III wasn’t loved by his people too much and was assignated soon after. The castle had magnificent rooms, including Catherine De Medici’s bedchamber which she passed away in on 5 January 1589. There was also a fine arts museum which housed paintings and sculptures from the 16th to 19th century. Okay tourist information part is over.
Grammy’s impressions of the Blois castle:
“I think it was a good introduction to the splendiferous opalescence to come. I particularly liked the entrance with the statue of whoever that was. I was sad to see that the gardens were no longer, And I don’t remember the first day now.” (Note I asked her this on the third day, note to self ask the evening of as all the castles start to look alike!)
What I really kept thinking as I was walking throughout these opulent rooms is what a stark contrast to Ireland. In Ireland nothing that I saw was opulent and it just seemed more real. Here there are these fantastical castles, but who really lived in them? A select group of people while the majority of the population was hungry. (Not the case now of course) Ah well I know I should not compare, but traveling in Ireland just seemed so much easier, maybe it was because the people are so friendly and I spoke the language. Grammy says that I should go to Italy next as she feels like the people there are quite welcoming, add it to the list!
That evening we had dinner at the apartment, made pasta with zucchini, tomatoes, and mushrooms, it was yummy. Then it was off to bed for a full day on Tuesday of castles.
Tuesday we took a bus which left from our town and went to two castles, Chambord and Cheverny. Now I know that they are selling Chambord everywhere, but nowhere at that castle was there evidence of the drink and the castle being related. Something to Wikipedia when I have the internet! (I am typing these at the apartment as there is only one place in town with wifi!)
Chambord is a humongous castle that is 156 metres long, 56 metres tall, with 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces, and 426 rooms. Basically humongous. It was built for Francis I as a hunting lodge, but he only spent 72 days here. It was his son Henry II and Louis XIV both likewise very fond of hunting who are responsible for making it is what it is today. The French government bought it in 1931 and they have no idea who was the original architect. There are rumors that the original plan was by Leonardo Da Vinci but there is no evidence of this.
Grammy and I took the audio tour of the chateau which was chock full of information. The center staircase was a double helix, thus two staircases that intertwined. The purpose behind this was that two people could ascend or descend the staircases simultaneously and see each other through the windows yet never be on the same staircase at the same time. Apparently to admire from afar?
We ate lunch outside with beautiful views of the chateau and the gardens.
Grammy’s impressions of Chambord:
“Jaw dropping. I got off the bus and went Oh my God. The stone and the cleanliness of the stone reminded me of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles due to the beautiful white limestone that was used. The majesty of the double helix stairway; I could envision people passing each other going up and down that stairway in those 13th, 14th, and 15th century dress. After much searching I was able to locate a picture of Francois I and I love it. He has a Basil Rathbone type of quality to his face. I loved the history behind it, and so admire the fact that most of the visitors were French.” PS “My tootsies hurt.”
Post lunch it was off to our second chateau of the day, Cheverny. This chateau is still in private use and has been in the Hurault family for over 6 centuries. They have over a hundred French hounds on the grounds and we saw 50 of them within an outside kennel.
Cheverny was crowded, we arrived at about 3:00 pm and it was packed. You can only tour around 15 rooms and it is all via a path divided by ropes so it is almost like you are cattle being herded through. We had a couple in front of us that were videotaping each room, much to Grammy’s chagrin. (:
Interesting facts learned via the handout given at this chateau:
It was Louis XV who decided to place table forks with their prongs facing downwards as he was tired of snagging lace on his sleeves. It was the unconventional Charles X who decided to put glasses on the table as he could no longer tolerate having servants standing behind each guest eavesdropping on conversations.
There were beautiful gardens, including a kitchen garden, which I enjoyed identifying all of the plants and vegetables that I had been so one on one with on my farms. Grammy got some good ideas for her garden at home! Also there was a fantastic gift shop. Christmas gifts were purchased!
Grammy’s impressions of Cheverny:
“Of the three chateaus that we have seen so far, I could totally pack my bag and move in there. There are several pieces of small furniture that I could take out of there and bring home with me. A comfortable gracious home with lovely gardens and the kitchen garden was to die for. But I want the gardener to go with the kitchen garden. I again enjoyed the history of its construction and continued use over the years. The only negative I would say is that it was late afternoon and there were too many people."
That evening we went out to a restaurant near our apartment that was listed as Japanese and Vietnamese food. I ordered the three vegetarian items on the menu. That is correct three vegetarian items. Wow. Life was so much easier when I ate fish!
As we were finishing our meal Grammy was putting forth a good effort into finishing her pork egg rolls with not much success.
Me: Uh Gram you could get a box for those and take those back to the apartment.
Gram: No, they don’t do take out here.
Me: Says who?
Gram: Says all of my guide books!
Thus I asked the server if we could have a container and lo and behold they do let you do take out in France! Hah! (:
Today, Wednesday began with me taking laundry to the laundrymat. WOW Tros cher! 5 euros per wash! Of course I had two loads (light and darks) most expensive laundry ever!
Post laundry it was time to go in search of the farmers market. We never found it, but did find some amazing shopping! Trouble I tell you! Grammy found some good finds as well and some great gifts. We shopped for a few hours and had lunch a cute little café. I had a salad with goats cheese (are you noticing a trend?) and Grammy had a salad with a turkey leg. Literally a turkey leg. I have nothing more to say on that.
Post shopping we retired to the apartment for a nap and an early dinner. Now we are sitting in the central square enjoying drinks watching a band play. It is lovely.
Grammy’s thoughts from day 3:
“I am doing so much walking and climbing; between stairs and cobblestones I am going to lose 10 pounds. Today was a good, relaxing, non stressful frenchie day. But I am not ready to put on a tunic and tights and ballet slippers and go tripping around.”
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