Avril en quelques mots: Castles, Belgians and
Skulls
Posts are dwindling…Ruh-oh. The past three weeks have been filled with
the usual Fondation/course grind, but the past weekends I have had my share of
fun. The end of this week marked my 8th week at the Fondation. I am
now on SPRING BREAK for two weeks.
Master plan:
leaving tomorrow to the South of France (Montpellier) with Egg and Sarah
Martinez(Geneseo’er visiting from Cadiz)
We're starting off by going
to Cadiz(South of Spain) along w some day trips.
then going
to Sevilla (South of Spain)
then going
to Barcelona (Central Spain)
and finally heading back to ol’ Paris
Can’t wait for eating the fresh produce, hiking, and reading
on the beach.
After France/Spain vaca, I will return to work/course jam
for two weeks then I’m outta hur! April flew by. In a month, May 29th,
I’ll be saying my final ‘à la prochaine’ to Paris. But, I’m not quite ready to say
goodbye yet!
CASTLES:
SUNY group trip to
Loire Valley, France.
CHAMBORD: “le reve royal, grandeur nature.”
-Biggest chateau of the Renaissance.
-Constructed in the Early 16th Century.
-Hunting lodge for King Francois I.
“Fs” engraved all
over the Castle…for Francois (and Fiona)
Salamander : Emblem of Francois I
-Salamander=symbol of both fire&ice
-Medieval iconography alludes to the salamander as the
“righteous ones who never lose the peace in his soul or his confidence in God.”
-Francois I adapted this motto to be:
“Nutrisco et extinguo”
“I nourish the good and extinguish the
bad.”
Leonardo da Vinci’s
Double Staircase
-Designed by da Vinci and located in the center of the
castle.
-Called the “Lovers Staircase”
-It is a double windy staircase.
-It allows you to see someone else on the staircase in
passing without ever meeting that person. Reasoning? It was designed so that
King Francois could have his own staircase and wouldn’t have to cross paths
with the servants.
Chateau d’Amboise
-We stopped by Amboise(the town) for an hour and a half and had free
time to roam.
-I did meander into the castle... but only for 5 min or so.
Majority of time in Amboise was spent: eating, exploring,
buying chocolat and a pretty ring.
Tea-ing à Pierre Gerard
-Went to a patisserie with Ryan and Cailey (pic above) and I got a pot of Coconut tea. Miam!
Exploring
-Cute, quaint, cobble-stoned little town. Favorite French
town I have been to thus far. Not giving
it justice right now but I recommend that anyone visiting France should swing
by.
Chocolat-ing à Bigot
-Bigot chocolaterie d’Amboise.
-Created in 1913.
-Delicieux!
Shopping
-Met a jeweler (quirky old man) and bought a cute turquoise ring
with a pressed flower in it. Not expensive, really unique. I’ll probably lose
it eventually but I hope I don’t.
Chenonceau
-Romantic fairytale castle.
-Built in the 16th century.
-Fresh flower arrangements in every room.
-Beautiful wild English-style gardens.
-King Henry II’s chateau but Francois I originally owned it.
Louise of Lorraine’s Bedroom
-After the assassination of her husband, King Henry III,
Louise of Lorraine retired to Chenonceau to pray and meditate her grief.
-Her bedroom was eerily symbolic of her pain. It is all
black room (black wooden ceilings and black wooden walls) with a portrait of
Henry III on one of the walls and a Jesus headstone on the mantle.
-Visiting the room, her pain was resurrected for me .
-Louise was forced to war a white dress everyday but she made sure her room reflected her voided heart.
Kitchen
-It was huge!
Villandry
-Also built in the 16th
century, in 1534.
-During the reign of Francois I.
-The descandants of John Villandry owned the castle until
1754.
Intricately manicured maze hedges. Nap on the lake. Merci Céline.
BELGIANS:
Went to Athus with Lena two weekends ago for Vio’s early 21st
bday party. Nice to see old friends that I haven’t talked to in three years and
so great to be back with the host family for a few days.
SKULLS:
Sarah has been in Paris this weekend. In two days she has
seen a lot of the touristy sites, from la Durée to la Tour Eiffel. Today,
Lauren S., Sarah and I woke up early to see the Catacombes. It was the first
time for all of us.
Very brief history:
-Municipal Ossuary created at the end of the 18th
century.
-Bodies from the ‘Cemetary of the Innocent’ ( near les
Halles, Paris) were dumped into this old underground quarry (The Catacombes)
because the Cemetary of the Innocent was the origin of infection for inhabitants
in the area.
-November 1785, the State of France decreed the removal and
the evactuation of the cemetery of the Innocent.
-From 1786-1814, the
Catacombes was used to collect the bones of all the cemetaries in Paris.
The skulls on skulls were fascinating and disturbing. More
alarming, from my perspective, were the morbid philosophical quotes about death
etched into the stones. Sarah took some pics of them. They creeped me out.
After the Catacombes, I took Sarah to Monsieur Alain for a crepe . I have been going there quite a lot for lunch. I love him.
DEMAIN:
Finished packing. Just bringing my school backpack with me.
Ryanair has the dang one-bag limit (but
worth it for supa cheap flights). Katy and Maddy are hosting us in Montpellier,
can’t wait to see them! I brought a little journal to keep track of some
memories. Next post will be a South of France/Spain update.
À la prochaine, FSC.
