France & London 2017, Day 4

Château d’Amboise

Our unsuccessful attempt at a jumping photo

Caroline, Alan, Aaron, Isabel, Elisabeth, Natalie, and Maggie underneath the iconic arched bridge at Chenonceau

Avery, Paiden, Elisabeth, and Natalie inside the labyrinth at Chenonceau

Château de Chenonceau

This morning we visited the lovely town of Amboise in the Loire Valley. Amboise is the home to a royal château. One of the residences of this château was François the 1st. After arriving in the town, we were given time to walk around and enjoy the culture of the town. Some people walked up to Leonardo Da vinci’s final house, which was given to him by François the 1st. After lunch, everyone met up and toured the château. We learned that it was first used as a fortress and then renovated to be a grand palace. We also learned many fun facts like the fact that doors were so short in olden times to prevent heat from escaping the room. We then walked to the chapel on the grounds and saw Leonardo da Vinci’s grave. After finishing the tour of the château d’Amboise, we visited the château in Chenonceau, which Avery is going to tell you about!

-Elisabeth Squillacioti, ’20

After seeing the Château d’Amboise, we took the bus to the Château de Chenonceau. The outside of the castle was beautiful as close attention was paid to details in building the entire castle. A moat surrounded the castle to add an element of defense. Also, there were gardens to the left and right of the castle. The one on the left was definitely small compared to the one on the right, but both were incredibly beautiful. Inside, we saw the bedrooms of kings and queens. Each one had a view of the river, and several paintings and tapestries were hung on the wall. Each piece of artwork had something to make it unique from the others. After the tour we had time to walk around the rest of the castle on our own. My group walked around inside a little more and then we went outside to the labyrinth. Once we made it out, it was time to go to dinner. When we arrived, I wasn’t really expecting the restaurant to be in a cave, but it was really cool. We had sausage and potatoes for dinner and tarte tatin (apple pie) for dessert. Finally, we got back on the bus to head back to the hotel. Luckily, we were able to see the sunset on the drive back. The colors were very pretty, especially the sun itself, which was a bright red. We are heading to Mont St. Michel and the town of St. Malo tomorrow!

-Avery East, ’20

France & London 2017, Day 3

Chartres Cathedral

Alan, Maggie, Isabel, and Natalie touring Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley

Leaving the wonderful city of Paris on Sunday was a very difficult endeavor, but lead us on to new and greater places. After waking up bright and early (actually so early that it wasn’t even bright), we ate once again the wonderful breakfast from our hotel…fresh fruit, baguettes, croissants, Paris ham, emmental cheese, and pain au chocolat). We hopped in our hot pink EF bus and ventured out into the countryside of France. We finally made it to the adorable, small city called Chartres (I can’t pronounce it either), and we visited the Chartres Cathedral. We learned about the interesting architecture which was unique because of the different styles, Romanesque and Gothic, created because of the many fires that destroyed different parts. The Cathedral was ornate with stained glass and contained a piece of clothing that is said to have belonged to the Virgin Mary. We were set loose to shop, eat, and wander around the petite ville, finding many wonderful places. Everyone had a delicious meal of croque-monsieur sandwiches, French onion soup, and other French cuisine. After a leisurely morning everyone piled back in the bus and we were off to Chambord in the Loire Valley to explore the castle for a short time. Although not furnished like many other chateaux, the castle was interesting to walk around in, and got everyone more excited for the other chateaux that we will visit tomorrow. We drove into the city we are staying in, Tours, ate dinner and checked into our hotel. We will update with more adventures tomorrow!

-Caroline Finch, ’20

France & London 2017, Day 2

Eiffel Tower aka La Tour Eiffel

Omar, Alan, and Winston posing with the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Louvre

Avery, Paiden, Kathryn, Winston, Alan, Elisabeth, and Natalie on the second platform of La Tour Eiffel

Our first full day in France was a long day in Paris. Everyone got on the bus and we took a guided walking/driving tour from nine to noon with our guide Karine. We wandered through the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg and saw ponies (my favorite part). We stopped at the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, and saw various monuments, including Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried. Our tour ended at the Louvre, where the group split up and went inside. Afterwards, my group walked to the Ferris Wheel then to La Durée on Les Champs Elysées where we had a wonderful gourmet lunch. After we left, we shopped on Les Champs-Elysées for a few minutes then headed to Le Musée d’Orsay. It ended up being closed to entry, which was unfortunate, but we had a fun time walking near St. Germain. The Shanamans split off to go have dinner with a friend (Aaron would like to include that he had frog legs), so the Finches, Maggie and my mom and I killed time at Le Café du Flore where we spoke in French and took a picture with our adorable waiter. We went to dinner at Aux Lyonnaise, where the Finches and Maggie had the recommended quenelles and my mom and I had beef bourguignon. We’re all pretty sure this was the best meal we’ve ever had. After dinner, we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was absolutely terrifying but we went all the way to the top. It was beautiful to see the tower light up and to be under it. When we got back to the hotel, it was so late and we were exhausted, so we slept well.

-Isabel Dlabach, ’20

On our second day in Paris, we toured the Le Jardin de Luxembourg where we saw many beautiful statues. We then toured around the city of Paris stopping at L’Arc de Triomphe and many other landmarks! The majority of our day, however, was spent in the Louvre. We visited the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The highlight of the day was going to the Eiffel Tower. We went alllllllllll the way to the top!! Being able to see the whole city lit up at night was absolutely magical! While Paris was absolutely stunning, I bet the rest of France has many more beautiful places to explore.

-Natalie Murrah, ’20

France & London 2017, Day 1

Notre-Dame de Paris

Riding the Paris metro

The flight to Paris took eight hours overnight. On Friday we arrived in Paris and went to our hotel in Montrouge. Once we dropped our luggage off at the hotel, we took the metro to the Notre Dame. We toured around inside the cathedral (saw the stained glass Rose Window and gothic architecture, including the famous gargoyles) until it was time to eat dinner. We ate a delicious traditional French dinner (beef bourgignon with haricots verts and Dauphinois potatoes with crème brûlée for dessert) at a café with a view of the Notre Dame out front. After that we took the metro back to the hotel and got into our rooms. For the most part, this was an easy day because of how tired we were and how short the day was. Can’t wait to see more of Paris tomorrow!

-Alan Henderson, ’20