Chateau Augerville Augerville-la-Riviere

... friend Amira, saying that her alarm went off. Luckily our resident director was cool, and we waited for her, and then we were off in our large, tour-sized bus. It's actually quite humorous when you think about it that 9 people get this huge bus to ourselves. It was definitely spacious. 
The first chateau we saw was Fontainebleau (pronounced FontainBlow. Not FontaineBlue). We got out of the bus, and of course it started ...

... to doubt Fouquet's loyalty and was positive the fundings to build it had come from the country's wallet. Its still not completely known but many believe the King arrested and exiled Fouquet and his family due to his jealousy and not the missing funds.

Vaux le Vicomte is a relatively small chateau with a small footprint but extensive servants buildings and an elaborate garden designed by Le Notre for entertaining. We were able to tour both the house and ...

Thurs. 9th Jul. Lanaken - Bouzonville aux Bois. 578ks. (11 hours in the truck).
Woke up early, fully clothed (again) to 10 deg. Brrrr. Too cold to have a lukewarm camp shower so we were packed up and off in record time. Well, almost off. We were ready to depart at 8 but had to kill an hour, wandering around a nearby town until the camp office opened so that they could return our Euro25 deposit.
We decided to go across ...

First of all, let me say the French are great people.  Contrary to the widely held belief that they are a rude people, they are polite, kind and helpful (and better looking than the Brits).  In the event they are rude is as a response to the rudeness of the visitor.  So if you plan to visit France, be nice.  The friends I am staying here are great hosts, and I appreciate Grace's time and help in Paris ...

Here are finally the news!! Of course, to make sure that everyone will be confortable with the langage, I will also translate it in french! Here are a few pictures of our first training course in Melun. Between party time & work, these two weeks were really exhausted!! But doing Karting & going to restaurant on the Champs-Elysees was also part of the job. Hehe it was really really herd believe me (this is for my french friends, I told them I ...

... we took the metro over to her uncles house, he lives in an apartment with a view of paris and the Efil Tower. It is absolutely beautiful. Agathe, me, her dad, and her uncle had dinner together. We drove down the Champs Elysee en route back to Agathe's house and spent the night here. I'm dead tired and must go to sleep now. Bon Soir!

... and we went to a small French restaurant with life French music. With only about 20 people able to fit in this place it was very local and a family like feeling. Poor Helena translated nearly every song for me. After dinner it was about midnight, we took the long way home, through the city and came across the Effil Tour at 23:55. Lighted up in a majestic blue ...

... Sarah eating snails once again!) Rainy ...

Eelnevalt olime oma teekonda miskipärast ka ära märkinud sellise koha nagu Montargis. Kohapeale jõudes ei meenunud aga kummalegi põhjus, mida me sealt otsisime. Kuna seal oli mitmeid chocolaterie'sid, siis otsustasime, et järelikult need olidki põhjuseks. Mitte, et me sealt mitmekümne euroseid šokolaade oleks soovinud osta! Cappuccino vahukoorega läks õigesse kohta see-eest.

Chartres is only 20 min south of Paris. What is there to see? Other than a photo supply store and some cheap shopping, the only thing in this town worth the visit is the Chartres Cathedral and it's crypt. The cathedral is known all over the world for it's stained glass windows. The windows survived both WWI and WWII, unlike many of the statues inside and jambs on the outside of the building. If you look closely at all the sculptures, you will ...