Les Chateaux and Moelan sur Mer

On Thursday, all we did was go to chateau after chateau after chateau! It was so tiring. Of course there were absolutely breathtakingly beautiful but after awhile we were chateau-ed out!

The first one we went to was Chateau Chenonceau. It is this beautiful chateau that is built over the river!! I had been here with T.Ray but it was even prettier this time because the gardens were at their prime! The flowers here are absolutely amazing! It makes me think of Colorado because we always see the flowers looking fresh and alive when ours at home are dead - that is what it's like here. Anyways the chateau was nice but we spent most of our time in the gardens walking around and then just sitting in them talking. The weather was absolutely beautiful!

We then decided to walk back to the bus. On the way, a guy in our group named Jason wanted to show us the frogs in the moat. We really weren't that interested in seeing some frogs but we went with it to please him. We are so glad we did!! This moat is full of tiny green leaves and the frogs float right below it so not to be seen (I said it was so the French people did grab them to eat! Yum, frog legs! ;) haha) Anyways this on frog comes up and starts croaking. His neck is puffing out these little clear white sacks as it croaks louder than anything I have ever heard before!! Next thing we know probably 7-10 frogs are popping up everywhere croaking soo loud!!! And then as if it were a performance they stopped and all went back under. It was soo weird/hilarious/pretty cool! Then we found a labyrinth so clearly we walked to the middle and there was this cute little archway. Inside we found escargot! (a snail) It was a beautiful place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_de_Chenonceau

Next we went to Chateau Chambord. This is another one I had been to with T.Ray but it was just as spectacular as the first time! And portions were open that hadn't been back then and some new things were on display. This chateau is easily the biggest castle I have EVER seen!! And the best part is it was built just as a hunting lodge!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord#Notes

It's amazing inside with this double staircase that Da Vinci invented. The two staircases never touch each other but they are spun around together so it's like a double helix that never touches! It's INSANE!!! And very confusing! My favorite part of this chateau was the opera dresses that were on display. They were to die for!! I sometimes wish we still dressed like that - like get all dressed up just to go out with some friends! It would be crazy fun! This chateau had a lot more stuff on display - like carriages, furniture, beds...it was really fun! We spent the entire two hours just walking around.

The next chateau we went to was Chateau de Blois. Here we had a french tour guide tell us the history and I honestly didn't catch a lot of it. What I got though is it's built up of 4 pieces. With each new king it was partly torn down and we built to fit that king's style. It was pretty cool but by this point in the day we were all sooo dead tired! I didn't get to see much either because I was very confused on how to get around inside. I wish they would have put this chateau on the next day's plan because 3 chateaux in one day was just WAY too much!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_de_Blois

Then we returned home for our last night in Tours. It was a good night. A small group of us went out to walk around the town one last time. I will really miss Tours! It was kind of like Wichita. It was a semi-big city but still felt safe and had a fun scene for college kids.

The next morning we lefta t 7:30 am. And yes I was up, packed, and out the door! Then we traveled to ANOTHER chateau. This one was cool though. Very Medieval Times! It was the Chateau de Angers. It is celebrating it's 600th Anniversary this year!! 600 YEARS!!! It was built in 1409. It just blow my mind to think that this building that I'm walking in was built before my country was even founded. Before the continent I live on was even known! Before they knew the earth wasn't flat! It is insane! But that's how everything here is - the history is so long and so rich. I love it! We went up in the tallest spire and we could see the entire city! The cities are weird here too because you see these OLD churches and chateaux but then there is a new age apartment building between the two. It's just funny how the city changes but still stays the same too. I wish America new how to preserve things like Europe does!

On Thursday, all we did was go to chateau after chateau after chateau! It was so tiring. Of course there were absolutely breathtakingly beautiful but after awhile we were chateau-ed out!

The first one we went to was Chateau Chenonceau. It is this beautiful chateau that is built over the river!! I had been here with T.Ray but it was even prettier this time because the gardens were at their prime! The flowers here are absolutely amazing! It makes me think of Colorado because we always see the flowers looking fresh and alive when ours at home are dead - that is what it's like here. Anyways the chateau was nice but we spent most of our time in the gardens walking around and then just sitting in them talking. The weather was absolutely beautiful!

We then decided to walk back to the bus. On the way, a guy in our group named Jason wanted to show us the frogs in the moat. We really weren't that interested in seeing some frogs but we went with it to please him. We are so glad we did!! This moat is full of tiny green leaves and the frogs float right below it so not to be seen (I said it was so the French people did grab them to eat! Yum, frog legs! ;) haha) Anyways this on frog comes up and starts croaking. His neck is puffing out these little clear white sacks as it croaks louder than anything I have ever heard before!! Next thing we know probably 7-10 frogs are popping up everywhere croaking soo loud!!! And then as if it were a performance they stopped and all went back under. It was soo weird/hilarious/pretty cool! Then we found a labyrinth so clearly we walked to the middle and there was this cute little archway. Inside we found escargot! (a snail) It was a beautiful place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_de_Chenonceau

Next we went to Chateau Chambord. This is another one I had been to with T.Ray but it was just as spectacular as the first time! And portions were open that hadn't been back then and some new things were on display. This chateau is easily the biggest castle I have EVER seen!! And the best part is it was built just as a hunting lodge!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord#Notes

It's amazing inside with this double staircase that Da Vinci invented. The two staircases never touch each other but they are spun around together so it's like a double helix that never touches! It's INSANE!!! And very confusing! My favorite part of this chateau was the opera dresses that were on display. They were to die for!! I sometimes wish we still dressed like that - like get all dressed up just to go out with some friends! It would be crazy fun! This chateau had a lot more stuff on display - like carriages, furniture, beds...it was really fun! We spent the entire two hours just walking around.

The next chateau we went to was Chateau de Blois. Here we had a french tour guide tell us the history and I honestly didn't catch a lot of it. What I got though is it's built up of 4 pieces. With each new king it was partly torn down and we built to fit that king's style. It was pretty cool but by this point in the day we were all sooo dead tired! I didn't get to see much either because I was very confused on how to get around inside. I wish they would have put this chateau on the next day's plan because 3 chateaux in one day was just WAY too much!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_de_Blois

Then we returned home for our last night in Tours. It was a good night. A small group of us went out to walk around the town one last time. I will really miss Tours! It was kind of like Wichita. It was a semi-big city but still felt safe and had a fun scene for college kids.

The next morning we lefta t 7:30 am. And yes I was up, packed, and out the door! Then we traveled to ANOTHER chateau. This one was cool though. Very Medieval Times! It was the Chateau de Angers. It is celebrating it's 600th Anniversary this year!! 600 YEARS!!! It was built in 1409. It just blow my mind to think that this building that I'm walking in was built before my country was even founded. Before the continent I live on was even known! Before they knew the earth wasn't flat! It is insane! But that's how everything here is - the history is so long and so rich. I love it! We went up in the tallest spire and we could see the entire city! The cities are weird here too because you see these OLD churches and chateaux but then there is a new age apartment building between the two. It's just funny how the city changes but still stays the same too. I wish America new how to preserve things like Europe does!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_d%27Angers

Well I have to go get ready but I'll write more later.

-Katie