So I guess I'm getting pretty busy and have run out of time to update the blog daily. Oh well...here is an update from Friday and Saturday.
Friday morning was our last "class" of the week, though this course never really ends as we go on mandatory field trips (complete with quizzes) during the weekend. Friday afternoon, I chilled out for a bit and tried to do some homework but was pretty out of it from the late night Thursday night. We watched the US-Slovenia game at a bar (we were robbed!!), which was full of other Americans.
That night, I had another nice political discussion with the host family at dinner, this time about international politics, more my expertise. We talked about WMDs, Iraq, Bush's stupidity, etc. It was a jolly good time. Also, I finally met the other kid who lives in the house (I think he goes to boarding school during the week?) named Martin - he is 19 years old and studying for the last year of the "bac": a mega-test that each high school aged kid has to pass.
Friday night, we went out with intentions of drinking some wine and then going to a discotheque (so European, I know), but the disco looked rather lame - we learned earlier that Europeans don't go clubbing on weekends - only Wednesdays and Thursday. Weird. But we spent some time at a nice bar outside in a busy place called "Place Plum," where all the locals hang out on weekends and eat and drink. It was nice but I did stay out rather late.
Saturday was packed with field trips - one to Vouvray and another to Amboise. At Vouvray, a small town 7 km east of Tours, we toured a wine cave and had another wine tasting (white this time). It was okay...I could barely understand the tour guide (who was of course yapping in fast French).
After a long lunch, we travelled to Amboise - easily the coolest place we've been so far. It's a little bigger town than Loches and has more tourists, but it is quaint and awesome. There were chocolate shops everywhere and live entertainment (though it was eccentric - a bunch of clowns playing instruments and messing with the crowd). But what makes Amboise special is the historical castle/chateau: home to several former kings (dating back to the 1200s) and Leanardo da Vinci. da Vinci lived here the last 4 years of his life and was actually buried here. It was eerily cool to see his grave. The gardens at Amboise are tremendous too, complemented by an outstanding view from the top of the hill down to the town, the Loire Valley, and beyond. Incredible.
Last night Hansky, MT, and I worked a bit on our mega-trip planning and then some of us went out to a bar for a bit before peacing out early to hit the sack to get ready for today's adventures beginning at 9:30am: Langeais (another fortress) and Blois (a historical city on the Loire).
Peace,
Andrew
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