Châteaux & Talking to Strangers: France I

The second half of my Spring Break, now a few weeks ago, was in France! From Italy I flew to Paris to meet up with a fellow Erasmus student (my friend Nele), and from there we took the train to Orléans to begin our crazy adventure down the Loire Valley.

This trip was unlike any I've ever taken before, simply because it was unknown. I'm a planner, I like knowing ahead of time how things will work out, and making sure the most is made of an opportunity or event. This trip was extremely vague. Not completely unplanned, and definitely researched, but the only things that were actually set ahead of time were the fact that we were going to stay in Orléans in a hostel for two nights, and that five days later we had to take the train from Tours to Paris, and the bus from Paris to Brussels. Essentially, it was a go-with-the-flow sort of adventure which led to some amazing, and sometimes scary experiences and learning a lot.

We started out with Orléans, at the top of the Loire Valley, a beautiful portion of France that follows the Loire River and which is full of châteaux, or castles, built by France's numerous royalty and nobility over the centuries. I've wanted to see the châteaux since I did a presentation on them in high school, so this was a bit of a dream come true for me. Orléans big claim to fame is Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), a young peasant girl who rose up to lead an army of Frenchmen against the English invaders during the Hundred Years' War and successfully retake several cities. She was younger than 19 at the time, so well done Jeanne!  Orléans was the first city she helped to recapture from the english, and where she lived for a little while. The city is extremely proud of her, and there were statues, cathedrals and even a museum dedicated to her.

Orléans Cathedral to "Saint Jeanne" 

Jeanne d'Arc

Our first view of the Loire River!

The Loire!

The first of several crêpes in France! this one was savory: egg and cheese 

We managed to see Gien and Sully-sur-Loire by taking a bus our second day in Orlèans, as well as attempting to walk over 20km... Turns out the day after Easter in France is a public holiday, which means there is almost no public transportation available, and we somehow ended up hitch-hiking in France to get to Sully-sur-Loire for the only bus back to Orlèans. I have never hitch-hiked before and was terrified. After a few failed attempts, a lovely, somewhat hippie family with three kids gave us a ride half way, and then a young couple took us directly to the château at Sully! We've encountered some incredibly kind people in France and I'm really grateful. People have helped me exit the metro when my ticket mysteriously stopped working, let us in front of them in line for train tickets when ours was leaving in five minutes, given us countless directions and even the occasional ride.

Sully-sur-Loire!

Sully was a beautiful château, and you could explore everywhere inside too

After clean, white Orléans, our next stop was Blois! Blois was my favorite town of the whole trip, and the best way to describe it is charming. The château of Blois is the highest point in the city, and everything descends from there, cathedrals, ancient stone walls, winding streets and the occasional peaceful, green garden or park full of flowers. The Loire River cuts through the city itself, but we only stayed in the more historic half. Through the cobble stoned streets and stairs, we just meandered through the town which was actually our plan for every city we can across- find the Tourism office, get a map and information and go! I loved the feel of this town. Historic and charming, full of cafés and bakeries, restaurants, funky shops (we found the coolest spice and coffee shop and wanted to buy the entire store- the owner agreed), and original art galleries. Plus, it wasn't too touristy or loud, but livable. Since we loved the city so much, we decided to stay there for two nights instead of just one- the benefits of not having a set plan!

The Château Royal de Blois was pretty impressive, and we learned loads of French history through reading a lot in the château, and attending the "Light and Sound" show that evening at the castle, all in French with different narrators telling the stories of the château and those who had lived there. It was really cool and informative at the same time.

Me in Blois, overlooking the Loire River

Renaissance-style staircase in the Château de Blois

There were beautiful little gardens/parks all around the small city

The Château de Blois!

Charming Blois 

The Loire from Blois

From Blois we also took a trip to Chambord, one of the most famous of the Loire Valley châteaux, and it's also free for students! Chambord is incredible. Enormous, and very impressive. We spent over three hours just exploring the inside, where you could see nearly every room. One of the most impressive parts of the castle is the double spiral staircase in the center of the keep. Some people think it was designed by Da Vinci, a friend of François I who designed his castle after coming back from conquering Milan, full of Italian Renaissance ideas. If not, Da Vinci's designs probably influenced the architecture of the staircase.

Chambord!

One of many elaborate staircases in Chambord

view of Chambord's grounds from the top!

I took a walk down the canal (nearly missed my bus), but it was beautiful (Chambord's in the background)

The bus we took to Chambord also stopped at Cheverny, another famous château and the home of a Hergé museum. (Hergé, the author of Tintin, used Cheverny as inspiration for a mansion that appears repeatedly in the comic as Captain Haddock's mansion). It was rather pricey, so we didn't actually go inside, but we did meet another woman staying at our same hotel who happens to be from Brussels and work the University whose gym we use! Small world.

Those first few days in France were definitely an adventure, in which I got really good at talking to strangers, and comfortable speaking French all the time. It was amazing to finally be in France for a long period of time and be surrounded by such a beautiful language. Next up, Amboise!