Leaving Oizé

Posted July 4, 2015

Because the kids had school on Thursday when we left, Christine brought them over Wednesday evening to say goodbye. I'm so grateful we got to spend time with them!

Thursday morning we cleaned up, so it was safe to take pictures. Here's the room the four kids shared:

And our room:

The shower room (the toilet was separate, as is usual in France):

The kitchen and laundry room:

It was hard to say goodbye to Pierre and Solange, we love them!

Hopefully it's just á la prochaine foes, not au revoir!

Chinese Buffet

Posted June 20, 2015

We wanted to take the Mezzasalma and Sequin families out to dinner to thank them for their kindness to us, and asked them to suggest a restaurant. They said this Chinese Buffet was one of their favorites, and so we went.

The highlight of the evening was that we all tried frog legs. Some tried before knowing what they were, and others braved it with full knowledge. :)

The verdict? Tastes like chicken. :)

Afterward the girls got to have a "soirée pyjamas" (sleepover) at Alexia and Émeline's. Special exception to our rule. :)

Chambord

I think Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. It's a royal château, and although not quite as opulent as Versailles, it is intentionally impressive. Although it's beautiful, it was apparently not very comfortable (especially cold in the winter) and seldom used. Being there in the off-season meant the roofline view was ruined by repair work, but it still looks pretty amazing.

This staircase was pretty cool, it's like a double helix, so you go to a different floor depending on which side you enter.

The girls thought the canopy beds were cute, and learned the drapery was important in keeping out the cold.

The roof is really cool, great views and French renaissance architecture.

Even the "utility" room was fancy.

Probably an appropriate end to our Parade of Châteaux. We had actually intended to go to Chenonceau as our grand finale (I remember loving it when I was here in college, it's built right over the river) but we ran out of time. Learned that saving the best for last is not always the right thing to do. :(