Adventures with John!

For my February vacation, I was with John the first week and in Spain the second week.

John arrived in the afternoon on the 12th in Bordeaux. It was certainly a joyous reunion, and many adventures ensued. The first two days he was here, we spent some time in Agen and Bordeaux. In Agen, we went on a bike ride along the Canal du Midi, and in Bordeaux, we did a few activities -- visited a museum called Les Bassins des Lumières; browsed in one of the oldest bookstores in France, Mollat; and ate some good food, of course.

Bike riding in Agen

Above are pictures from the museum we went to in Bordeaux: Les Bassins des Lumières, which is an old submarine base built by the Germans during the Second World War. Bordeaux was occupied by German troops at the end of June 1940 -- it was a strategic base for them because of Bordeaux's location near the Atlantic Ocean, its port facilities, and its distance from the British enemy. The city of Bordeaux now manages pens 1 to 4 of the submarine base that they have transformed into the largest digital art center in the world. Inside, there are four wet docks submerged in darkness to evoke the painful memories of the darkest hours of the Port de la Lune (port of the moon). Since the 1960s, this space has attracted artists, filmmakers, and artists who keep it alive with their fascination of the site's atmosphere.

After the museum, we went to a bookstore called Librairie Mollat. Mollat was the first independent bookstore in France, opening its doors in 1896 in Bordeaux. They have quite the selection of books in different genres, even with a section in English.

And of course, I had John to try cannelés, the special French pastries that Bordeaux are known for. He liked them quite a bit!

We ended our day in Bordeaux with some yummy Italian food at a trendy restaurant in town: Osteria Palatino. The waiters sang to us in Italian before we entered, so it was quite the welcome!

For the next three days, John and I visited the Loire Valley, a valley located in central France around the Loire river. This area is known for the châteaux that number over 300. These châteaux housed French kings and nobility, hence its nickname: Royal Chateaux Country. While we visited these châteaux, we stayed in a town called Tours because it is a central location in the midst of all these castles and it has a train station. It is also a lovely historic town that we explored as well!

The city of Tours

Château de Tours

Tours Cathedrale: Cathédrale Saint-Gatien

The restaurant we ate at after our first day in Tours was called Les Gens Heureux. Here, I had John try foie gras (on the left), which is duck liver that you usually spread on bread or crackers. I love foie gras and John thought it was interesting. We also got a chocolate and peanut butter cream dessert (on the right).

In the Loire Valley, we saw two castles: the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire and the Château de Chenonceau.

The Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, located between Amboise and Blois, was founded around the year thousand by Odo l (973/978-996), Count of Blois, to keep watch over the border between the county of Blois and the county of Anjou held by Fulk III Nerra (978-1040). Queen Catherine de Medici, who married King Henri II, bought the château in 1550. After Pierre d'Amboise rebelled against Louis XI, the king ordered the castle's destruction. Later in the 15th century, the château was rebuilt by Charles I d'Amboise. The Age of Enlightenment and Romantic Era were marked by two exceptional figures at Chaumont: Jacques-Donatien Le Ray, Governor of Les Invalides of Louis XVI, and Germaine de Staël, a woman of letters of the 18th and 19th centuries. Marie-Charlotte-Constance Say, heir to the Say sugar refineries, was the last private owner of the château from 1875 to 1938.

We took this photo on the bridge over the Loire River that leads to the castle. It was very windy that day.

The surrounding gardens and the rooms in the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire

We ended Day 1 of castle touring at a restaurant called The Dakota in Tours. We had a wonderful taste of America here, with John getting a cheeseburger and me getting a pastrami bagel.

The day after Château Chaumont-sur-Loire, we visited Château Chenonceau, my favorite out of the two. This château is nicknamed the "Ladies Château" as it is one of the most majestic châteaux of the Loire Valley and because of the number of important women involved in its building and growth. Katherine Briconnet, wife of Thomas Bohier, was the true developer of the original chateau. In 1547, King Henri II donated Chenonceau to his favorite lady, Diance de Poitiers. Renowned for her intelligence and sense of business, she created the gardens which were some of the most spectacular at the time and she was responsible for the famous bridge on the River Cher. Henri II's widow, Catherine de' Medici, removed Diane, made the gardens more magnificent, and pursued architectural works. During the Age of Enlightenment, Louise Dupin gave renowned splendor to the chateau -- she started an outstanding salon with the elite among writers, poets, scientists and philosophers, such as Montesquieu, Voltaire or Rousseau. The château's arches gracefully bestride the River Cher, supporting a double galley. As John and I toured this château, we read about the richly furnished rooms that the chateau contains: the kitchen, the bedrooms of Louise de Lorraine and Gabrielle d'Estrées, Henry IV's mistress, the Medici Gallery, the Francis I room, the Five Queens room, etc.

Oh hey there donkeys! All the donkeys were named, it was quite cute.

The surrounding gardens and the rooms inside the Château Chenonceau

Preventing châteaux-fatigue by refueling with éclairs and coffee!

Day 2 of castle touring ended with some delicious pasta. I got pasta carbonara and John had pesto.

We also walked in Tours that night and saw some lovely views of the Loire River on the bridge.

After touring castles for 2 days, we were set to go back to Aiguillon with the trains. However, the train workers decided to go on strike, so that meant no train-riding for us. Unfortunately, this happens quite a lot in France and can really disrupt travel plans. After slightly panicking, asking many questions, and making a few calls, we decided to go with option B -- renting a car.

Driving a car from Tours to Aiguillon went smoothly and we were able to see some nice views of the French countryside along the way.

The next day, we returned the car at the Bordeaux airport before John got on his plane to return to Georgia and before I flew to Spain.