Tours around Tours and the Return to Nantes

Hello friends!  Well, the other students and I have returned to Nantes* after a 3 1/2 day orientation in Tours, a city in the Loire Valley that is close to many chateaux.  In all, we visited 5:

• Loche: A mideaval chateau overlooking an adorable little city.
• Chenonceau:  Had a lot of beautiful grounds but we were given entirely way too much time to explore.
• Blois:  Completed during different epochs and so it has different architectural styles all around it and right next to each other in the same building (all of which I know nothing about, but for an architecturally-inclined person, I'm sure it's even more fascinating).
• Chambord:  A very large chateau that housed the Mona Lisa and some other paintings/cultural artifacts ("les otages de guerre") during World War II to protect them from the Nazis.  The historical, cultural, and human consequences are almost too much, positively and negatively, and a cause for contradiction of the heart (saving paintings over people?).
• Usse':  We only visited here for about 15 minutes and didn't go in because it was on our way home but it was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle! (shown below)

The absolutely amazing thing about these chateaux is that in addition to people having actually called them "home," there are also people who live right next to them.  Can you imagine having a chateau in your backyard?  Sure beats the court house...

We also ate A LOT.  Every meal was already paid for in our fees for the program, and so we ate at the hotel a lot and at different restaurants en route to the chateaux.  Each meal had at least three courses (there was one in which 5 were apparently necessary: beef egg roll-type thing, fish course, lamb, cheese course, dessert) and the dinners also included wine.  Since the administraters decided to eliminate red meat and pork (not a problem for me) from what we were served (we were all served the same things unless vegitarian and this was just easier to fit everyone's choice of diet) we ate a lot of fish, which is already a very popular food here.  As far as food goes, it should also be noted that the chocolate mousse is absolutely divine, or at least it has been the two times that I've eaten it--dark chocolate and delicious.

We returned Sunday night and then today started our on-sight orientations.  I learned to use the tram, which was much easier than I anticipated and even, since I've lived forever in small towns, a little adventure.  Today when I got off the tram to return home I also went into the supermarche' "Carrefour" to look for some shampoo and a notebook.  As simple as that sounds, that was also quite fun: looking at all of the food French people buy.  Don't worry, I found the chocolate aisle--Lindt out the wazoo and all kinds of yummy-looking little chocolate cookies and such.  I also found the coffee/espresso/hot chocolate aisle--mmmmm.

Then I returned for dinner with my host family (salad, mini quiche, cheese, and yogurt) and gave them some little gifts that I brought, which I think they had fun with and with which I could explain more about Ohio, Miami, and Napoleon. 

And now I think it's time I got to bed so that I can be ready for a very long day tomorrow (9:00-6:30).  Bonne nuit!

*everyone say it with me: nawnt; in IPA: [na~t] with the ~ meaning the [a] is nasalized