On Friday we went to Chateau Chenonceau and Tours. The chateau was beautiful. Seriously, I think I was born to the wrong century... Well, maybe not, I like indoor plumbing and women's rights too much... Chateau Chenonceau is the second most visited chateau in France, with Verailles being number one. These chateaus are floor to ceiling (and on the ceiling) oppulence. Every part of the chateau was filled with gorgeous paintings and amazing tapestries.
After the chateau tour we went to Tours. The city of confusion... I say this because googling Tours in France comes up with, you guessed it tours in France. Finding any information about the city can be difficult due to it's name, but that aside it was cool. Those who needed French cellphones got them in Tours, so now we can contact each other. Those of us who didn't need a new phone went with Dr. Netter to the Musée des Beaux-Arts with Dr. Netter. We had to find a painting that spoke to us and write 300 words about the experience. The museum had so many wonderful paintings that I thought it would be hard to choose... Until I saw her, the “Folie de la fiancée de Lammermoor” by Emile Signol, she captured my attention immediately. After the museum we had till 8:30 to explore Tours. Most everyone found stores with good prices and they bought shoes. I didn't find any good prices, and even if I had, I wear a size 11, which is next to impossible to find in Europe. Besides I'm vegan and don't wear leather, so most shoes are out right from the get go... That's okay though, I have tons of shoes at home that fit and were not made with animal hides. Jaycie and I did however find a music store that had Daft Punk, and I was able to replace my cds that got lost some years ago.
Saturday some of us went to Blois. I needed to go there because of a natural food store that carries vegan food. It was a long, long way away from where Steve parked the bus. Blois is built on the banks of the river Loire, and therefore is uphill. The bus parked at the bottom of the hill, the store I needed was at the top. It took around 30 minutes to walk across town, but when I got there. It was like ascending to heaven, finding vegan food in France. Even yogurt and ice cream made without dairy products! Expensive yes, but then again specialty products like vegan foods are expensive in the states too.
Sunday, the day of rest. I think everybody slept in... It was Anna's birthday however, so we had to go buy some supplies before the store closed for the day. Cooking here is quite a bit different than at home. First off, not everything we can get readily at home is available here, like cheesecake ingredients... Gaby wanted to make a cheesecake, problem was not graham crackers for the crust and no cream cheese for the filling. So, what do you get when you do not have these vital ingredients? You get dip, a strange, brown dip. But, everyone who was brave enough to taste it said it was good. Michelle made a flan (that came in a just add milk box), but it didn't set up properly, so it was flan soup, on fire. Yes I said on fire, you see because we didn't have a cake we put candles in the flan(it was frozen, because it was thought that it would set faster in the freezer) and when Michelle brought it out it looked like a bowl of fire. Good times, good times. John (the amazing cook) made a penne with alfredo and chicken and it nearly dissappeared before Anna got to have any. Definitely no leftovers there... We also found canned scalloped potatoes, and made fried apples with cinnamon. Add a baguette and some wine and you have a birthday meal. Strange how everyone else's birthdays are today... Murray, the owner of the Abbey, opened the "after dark" for us last night for Anna's birthday. The after dark is a hidden space under the kitchen that is reserved for special parties for the Abbey students.
So the weekend went well, and now we are into week two of the Abbey experience. Things are quiet today because the Holocaust class has a paper due and many people are still working on their's. I don't know what I'm going to do with my afternoon, maybe go for a walk in the other direction than I went on Wednesday...
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