Chenonceau et Strasbourg

So, this past weekend was quite busy! I decided to get out off Tours for the weekend-it just feels like we’ve done everything there is to do around here, except maybe go biking along the Loire River, but that’s not entirely necessary. Donc, Saturday, I headed off to Chenonceau (see pics below). What a wonderful château! Seriously, I think it may be my favorite, even though it’s typical of tourists to make the same claim, but it’s true! I really liked how it was constructed over the Cher River; plus, it just felt different from the other château we had already visited. For the others, you always had to walk thru every room to get anywhere else-there was never a central hall with rooms branching off it. If I had a château (and I don’t think I’d want one, too snobby), I don’t think I could deal with that. At Chenonceau, it was just the opposite: every floor had a central hall with rooms branching off, just the way it should be! Finally François I had some reason!

Sunday, I headed to Strasbourg for the day. The train left at 8:50 and got there at 1:05, with the return train going back home thru Paris at 19:00, so I only had six hours there, but it was a six hours well spent, and constantly on the move! It was a little tough at first, because of the lack of a map, but the iPhone was very helpful with that! The city was very beautiful, and it actually reminded me a lot of Zermatt in Switzerland, where the Matterhorn is found, especially in terms of the architectural style of the buildings. Zermatt is definitely much smaller, but you can really see the German influence of both cities. I went to le Cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, which was the tallest building in the world from when it was constructed in the 1600’s until 1874. Very beautiful, and one of the best cathedrals that I’ve seen. I then headed, sort of out of the city, to the EU Parliament, just to say that I’ve seen it, because there really wasn’t anything to do but walk around it. After that, I finally got a map at the Office de Tourisme, which ironically was right next to the Cathedral, and walked around a bit more, admiring the architectural design. I also got to see a bit of the University de Louis Pasteur and its Hospital and Med School (from the outside only, again, since it was Sunday)-yes, very nerdy and very me, but oh well ;) At the end of the day, the train took me back to Paris l’Est; from there I had to catch the Metro and get to Paris Austerlitz for my late train home.

On another note, I’ve also had a bit of home with me, though that’s not to say that I don’t miss everyone and everything back home. Over the past week, I’ve been working my way thru Super Mario Bros 3 with all three of my French siblings, and I gotta say, they’re pretty good. They know all the tricks (like the magic flute in the 3rd stage of the 1st world) and other such things, and they pretty well over all (or “bon fait,” as we say when you do something good, though I often joke and attribute all of their skill to luck, or “la chance,” haha!). It’s been fun, and it’s kept me outta trouble, as if there was any to been had ;)

Peace

PS: We’ve still been keeping up with the street ballin’. Still perfect, at 6-0. I think Tony Parker is unique in coming from France…