Joyous Journey

The Loire Valley seldom disappoints. It is just such a beautiful part of France and in my opinion a must-see if one wants to understand some of the magnificent and fascinating history of France and Europe in general. We toured two of the most famous chateaux today and they are just amazing. For the students in French III who spent time this spring doing projects on the chateaux, this was particularly special. I had them in the computer lab using websites to take virtual tours of the various chateaux. Many of them recognized the rooms from those tours and their excitement as they turned a corner and saw a familiar piece of furniture, or tapestry, or ceiling was just incredible. The use of the Internet and new technologies should revolutionize education if it is used in creative ways, and I think that its applications are just beginning to be realized by many. I am always looking for new and exciting ways to use it, and this blog is part of that effort to break down old barriers of time and space and challenge the conventional wisdom on learning.

Speaking of learning, there is just nothing like experiencing the types of things your children are experiencing. It will change them in ways expected and unexpected, and it will continue to provide them with a set of memories that are well worth the sacrifices and inconveniences that have preceeded them. I really do believe that travel changes lives and that is why I have wanted to share it with my own children in their lives and feel the reponsibility and privilege of sharing it too with your children!

Today we had a glorious buffet breakfast fit for a king...how fitting as we were to head to this royal realm of the chateaux. We drove to Chambord. We were greeted by Rachel's grandmother who lives just down the way from the chateau! She had biked down and was able to spend some special time with Rachel and gave her what must have been the most personal and informative tour of the chateau. We explored the many rooms and grounds and then had lunch at the cafes there. After a stop at a biscuit shop with wonderful cookies of every sort and description, we headed down the road a piece to Chenonceau. It is probably the most photographed of all the chateaux and its gardens are lovely as well. We were not the only ones with this idea today. Saturday is a big day for touring the "patrimoine" in France. Chambord has rooms that are just so massive that it doesn't really feel crowded. Negotiating Chenonceau required some wiggling, but was worth it. After this we got a tour of a winery and learned about how wine is made, and then had a few minutes to walk around the town of Amboise. While in Amboise some visited the bookstore to purchase the Harry Potter book in English and alas it was sold out. To my amazement, it seemed as if they took it pretty well. The French version does not come out until October. The kids were puzzled, but I explained that she cannot write it in multiple languages, so obviously it has to be translated after the English version comes out first. Hey, secrecy is secrecy, right? One cannot release that many copies to various translators and actually expect to keep a secret.

We will be having our dinner soon and packing up tonight. I know they will not want to leave this hotel and neither will I. The rooms and common areas are really great and the food is quite good. We will be having another travel day tomorrow and I do not know what the Internet situation will be like as we get into a more rural area. I am glad you are enjoying the blog. Oh, and by the way, Tristan, our tour manager is fabulous. Everyone loves him. He has a sparkling personality, is incredibly knowledgeable and keeps us laughing.

I am looking out my window of my hotel room and seeing the first raindrops of the trip. There were clouds looming this afternoon, but not a drop on us!