Bus Trip Day 4

Bonjour tout le monde!

4^th day bus trip

6/10/2016

Today was an action-packed day. Last night we stayed in another interesting hotel in Tours. We left at 9 AM and after a 45 minute bus ride we found ourselves at the château in Azay le Rideau. 

Walking up the château in Azay le Rideau

Unfortunately this château had quite a lot of restoration/construction work taking place so we weren’t able to completely take in the beauty of it from the outside, but we were able to take a nice audioguide tour inside. After, we walked along the ground for a little bit and then we left for castle number two, château Clemenceau.

The pretty part of the château in Azay le Rideau

This castle was definitely the best castle out of the day. Not only was the castle itself gorgeous, set over the river, it also had beautiful gardens, such as the Jardin de Catherine de Medici and the Jardin de Diane poitiers.

The beautiful château Clemenceau over the disgusting water of the river

 The inside was also very nice, and it was interesting because we were able to see all of the huge kitchens, whereas in most castles you can just see the bedrooms. We also got a couple sandwiches for lunch in front of the gate to the castle.

Looking over the jardin de Catherine de Medici

After this we were off to our third and last castle of the day. This castle was the château Amboise. This château had a whole field and gardens and all of it was fortified and above the rest of the town. 

The portion of the château that housed private residences

Unfortunately, over 2/3 of the castle was destroyed, but there was still a major part left standing, as well as a cathedral where Leonardo da Vinci’s bones are buried. The château and the gardens provided some amazing views of the town.

Looking over the town from the château

We left that castle and went to the town that we were staying in, Blois. This city also had a castle that we walked by to get to dinner, but the tour for that is saved until tomorrow. France is amazing, and the amount of castles here is surreal.

À bientôt,

Claire Hunsaker

Bus Trip Day 3

Bonjour tout le monde!

3^rd Day Bus tour

June 8, 2016

Well this bus tour is just continuing to be amazing (besides the super sketchy hotel that we stayed at last night). Today we got to go to two different châteaux. The first was in Anger.

The outside of the château d'Angers

This château was more of a fortress than a castle. We started the day off looking around the town, getting some lunch, and looking inside the cathedral. It will never cease to amaze me how every single town has such a beautiful cathedral.

The cathedral of Angers

We were able to get a tour of the château of Anger. Actually, we mainly got a tour of the tapestries that are held there, which are called the Apocalyptic Tapestries. They are the oldest and largest tapestries that have been preserved. They depicted many different scenes from the book of revelations, and we were able to learn how they were created and the importance and meaning of them.

The tapestry inside of the château

After the château of Anger we went to the beautiful château d’Ussé. This château is the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Beforehand, I had thought that the sleeping beauty castle was in Germany.

The château d'Ussé 

 However, that one is the one that Disney based their castle off of. The château d’Ussé was the inspiration for the author of Sleeping Beauty. The castle truly was beautiful. It was interesting because they had mannequins in many of the different rooms. They also had this whole staged sleeping beauty story in the towers of the castle which was really interesting, and a little bit creepy.

The staged presentations

Also, we had some fun out on the bridge and the road in front of the castle, as it was flooded over which provided for some prime picture taking.

Yay for flooded roads

Next, we had another very large and fancy French dinner. I liked this one quite a bit more than the one we had yesterday. The hotel we stayed in was quite bad, but not as bad as the day before so I guess that’s a tiny improvement. It is amazing how fast this week has gone by already.

À Bientôt,

Claire Hunsaker

Bus Trip Day 2

Bonjour tout le monde!

2^nd day of bus tour

June 7, 2016

Today was incredible! After a quick breakfast at our hotel we were on the road by nine o’clock in the morning. We had about an hour bus drive and then we were at Mont St. Michel. Just seeing it from the windows of the bus was a dream. It was funny because I felt like being in Chartres was being in the town of Beauty in the Beast, and Mont St. Michel is just like being in Tangled. The “town” is completely beautiful. The water wasn’t completely surrounding it when we were there, but it was still a beautiful sight to behold.

Mont St. Michel

When we first got there we had two hours to just go and wander around. There were a lot of little side streets and staircases and random little sites to see such as a church, a cemetery and more. We got a cheap lunch and went out on a little terrace to look out at the view.

One of the roads in Mont St. Michel

After, we had a two hour tour of the Abbey. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable, and I was amazed at how large it was. She told us all about the history of it and how it has changed over the years. It was also interesting because she started off the tour in French and I could almost understand her French better than I could her English. 

At the top is the Abbey

She took us unto many different rooms, and it was cool because we got to go behind a locked door to see a room built in the 10^th century. Overall, it was amazing to learn about this place built upon this little island, a crossroads between Brittany and Normandy, English and France. It was completely incredible.

The Garden in the Abbey

After, we went over to the fortified city Saint-Malo. Unfortunately it was unbelievably foggy so we couldn’t look out into the ocean, but according to our French professor it usually has an amazing view. Nonetheless, we were able to walk on the wall all the way around the city which was a cool experience. We also walked a little on the beach which was good.

A section of the wall around the city

After we got back in the wonderful bus and headed off to the town where we would be staying for the night, Fougères. Okay, I have no idea who thought of this and why it happened, but we had a super fancy 4-course meal for dinner, and then we get to our one star hotel which doesn’t really have wifi, has communal bathrooms, has no air conditioning, bunk beds and the smallest towels you have ever seen. But oh well.

A portion of one of our meals

Like our meal yesterday, it took about three hours to get through. I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I not known that it cost about as much as our hotel.

À Bientôt,

Claire Hunsaker

Bus Trip Day 1

Bonjour tout le monde!

1^st Day of Bus tour

June 6, 2016

Yesterday was amazing! Well it started out a little rough. Melissa and I thought that we weren’t going to be able to get an uber, and then when we got to the meeting place for the tourbus the bus was an hour and a half late. Finally, we were off in our 50 seat bus with only 21 people. The nice thing about this however is that everyone on the bus has their own row.

The Inside of our Bus 

 It was amazing to me how the second we left Paris, the sun was out and shining with clear blue skies. After a quick stop for lunch, the first stop on our tour was the Tapisserie de Bayeux, or the Bayeux Tapestry. This Tapestry was amazing. It was 70 feet long and over a thousand years old. It told the story of William the Conquerer in his conquest of Europe, and the battle of Hastings. It was amazing to go through and see the whole story, and I find it so interesting that this tapestry was used to teach people the story of William the Conquerer to people that couldn’t read. It was truly amazing to see.

The Bayeux Tapestry

We went and looked at the Cathedral de Bayeux real quick and then it was back on the bus. Our next and last stop for the day was the D-Day beaches and the Normandy American cemetery. It just so happened that when we went it was the 6 of June, the actual date of D-Day 72 years ago. We went into the visitors center and watched a video telling the stories of different soldiers in the war. We walked through the memorial in the visitors center. After, we were able to see Omaha beach. It was surreal to be standing in the place where so many allied soldiers came to fight against the German soldiers. I was able to see just how much of an advantage the German soldiers had from their vantage point, and how far the soldiers had to make it before they reached higher land. Unfortunately, the gate down to Omaha beach was closed so I was not able to go directly on the beach, but after I was able to walk through the Normandy American cemetery.

Omaha Beach

It was interesting how there was kind of peacefulness there, but a different kind of feeling than I’ve felt before. It was overwhelming to look out and see the hundreds and hundreds of graves of perfectly white crosses. I was able to see the ceremony of the American flag coming down off of the flagpole, and it was incredible to see all of the soldiers walking around the cemetery. Knowing that everyone person buried there served our country and gave their lives in order to make the world a better life was a really humbling experience. I am so thankful that they were willing to give their lives so that the world could be a safer, better place.

In the Normandy American Cemetery

After, we stopped in Saint-Lô for our hotel and went to Buffalo Grill for dinner, and we spent almost 3 hours there. Joys of being in a group of 21 people I guess. Overall, it was an incredible day and I am so excited for this week.

À Bientôt,

Claire Hunsaker