Monday last week my mom and I started off our morning with some amazing pastries (baignet chocolat) and the typical French coffee, Espressos. It was crazy because the night before I had found my favorite bakery that was in Chambéry in Tours. So naturally I told my mom that's where we were going to eat breakfast and get our sandwiches for lunch! Then we waited at the Tourism Office for our castle tour which left at 9 in the morning. The first castle we went to was Villandry which is a castle known for its gardens, seven different kinds. Only having an hour there, I suggested that we should just walk around outside in the gardens. My mom absolutely LOVED this castle. She kept on getting ideas to maybe put in a garden of her own someday. It was such a relaxing hour to just enjoy the beauty of the flowers, fountains, and vegetation. Next, we headed to a castle called Azay-le-Rideau which was a smaller one but surrounded by moats and a forrest to walk around. We went inside and my mom finally got to see what a castle looks like on the inside. A good thing was this castle was very unique so I didn't get bored walking around myself. Then we walked around outside for a little bit enjoying the perfect weather in the shade of the trees. This was my favorite thing was to just sit outside and look at the castle at all angles. After this we headed back to Tours and ate our AMAZING food. After lunch we headed to the next two castles called Chambord and Chenencou which was quite far away so we had to drive an hour to get there. But the cool thing is that we drove through Blois which was the city that I had stayed in four years ago with my French family. This was a great opportunity to just reminisce about the past and tell stories. At Chambord there were A TON of people, so fighting the crowds we walked around inside. Chambord is most famous for its double helix staircases which two people can walk on the staircase but never run into each other but still can see each other. My favorite part was being on the roof and looking out at the grounds. Mom really enjoyed learning some of the history of this "hunting get away" for the King. After this we had another hour drive to get to Chenencou which was probably my favorite castle of the day. It is the one that has the Cher River flowing through/underneath it, a lot more simple on the inside but has some beautiful subtleties. My favorite part was the staircase because the windows were open to the river and the sun hitting the river caused the staircase to shimmer and have a feeling of water. Here are a few photos of the day and the castles.
On Tuesday we headed to Paris early morning and arrived to our hostel at about 11. After dropping off our bags we walked to the Sacre Coeur which is a big white church on top of a hill in Paris. After a few photos and eating our Croque Monsieurs, we made our way to the artists area nearby. This is one of my favorite parts of Paris. I could spend hours looking at all the art and the artists sketching people's faces. After a few hours of looking and shopping we made our way back down the hill and to the metro. We decided to go to the Louvre and the Notre Dame. My mom was amazed of how HUGE the Louvre was and once again I had the surreal feeling that I had four years ago. We walked along the Seine to the Notre Dame and made our way into the church. We sat down in silence and just had time to relax our feet and minds. We also decided that once you see a typical French church, you had seen them all! Which I agree for the most part (but thankfully I had the chance to see more than just French churches this summer). After all of this walking and touring around we decided it was time to make our way back to our hostel and just hang out sitting at the table along the sidewalk. My mom was tired and I was just ready to leave. This time Paris hadn't amazed me as much and more annoyed me than anything because I was comparing it to my time outside of the city. I had decided that this would be my last time to Paris unless I was with someone who had never gone before. Here are some photos.
So Wednesday, we left really early in the morning because I was anxious about leaving. I hadn't wanted to leave for the last week but now that it was the day that I HAD to go, I couldn't get out of there quick enough. Not because I missed the US but because I wanted to get on to my next adventure of this semester. I have been having a hard time putting this summer adventure to an end. This is why it has taken me so long to write this last post of the blog. I have been trying to figure out a way to sum up this summer but I can't get a clear idea. So I will just spill some thoughts out. First of all, I truly believe that this summer was supposed to happen the way it happened; that God had wrote this chapter of my life before I was even born. I am so thankful and just super joyful that I got this opportunity and it makes me so sure about my belief in my Lord because if God gives me such an amazing present as this summer, why wouldn't I want to be with Him and never leave His side. Another thing is that this summer I have grown and became more of the person that the Lord needs me to be in a spiritual, mental, personal, and intellectual sense. I have doubted my reasons of learning French in the past, but this summer I realized that if the only reason why God had me learn French is to just worship Him in French, then it was all worth it. I have learned that it doesn't matter where you live but the people who you LET to be involved in your life. It was confirmed that I am meant to live and travel abroad, a lot. I have learned that I have a hard time letting people (family and friends) take care of me. This is just a small (very small) hand full of things that I have learned this summer.
I just wanted to say thank you very much in following me this summer and encouraging me in all that I have done. I have enjoyed sharing my adventures and thoughts with you. I want to give a special thank you to my dad who has been very encouraging with writing this blog and has been faithful to reading it every time I post. I also just wanted to officially tell you all that my adventures will NEVER end and my next big one is coming up in January. It is official that I will be spending my last semester of college in Kodaikanal, India to student teach at the International Baccalaureate school there. So a new blog will be set up for when I am about to head off for that adventure. But I won't get ahead of myself because I have one more semester at the University of Montana which will be mostly focused on my campus ministries that I am involved with called Chi Alpha. If you ever want to just chat about my summer or my next adventure just let me know. I am officially back on the grid in the United States of America! I hope you all had a great summer and I wish that you all have a great Fall ahead. Thank you once again.
Mariah
What a beautiful way to end your summer and you summarized your thoughts like a poet. Love you.
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