Loire Valley

Marty and I woke up in the middle of the night, and couldn't sleep so we watched "Ratatouille" at 2:30 am. We fell asleep afterwards, but didn't have an alarm set so we woke up around 10 am.We darted downstairs in our half-awake zombie mode just in time to grab a quick breakfast before it shut down for the day. 

We came back upstairs and got ready for the day and FaceTimed Emi. She seemed not to care much about us on the call, but when we went to say goodbye she melted down. Grandma let us know later that it would probably be best if we didn't FaceTime the rest of the trip. So cute pictures and videos of her throughout our trip will have to do!

We spent most of the day at the Chambord. It's the most famous castle in the Loire Valley and is ginormous. We did the audio tour, but I would say it isn't super necessary for this site. There's plaques you can read instead.

Some highlights of the Chambord were a double-helix type staircase. Marty and I tried going up the intertwined staircases at the same time and it was really fun.

I spy Marty.

We both liked the moat. I've read about moats in books, but have never seen one in person. That was neat!

The view of the gardens from the castle.

Some more views of the castle.

On our way back from the castle we tried to find restaurants that were open, which is a bit tricky to do in the middle of the afternoon in the countryside. So we ended up at McDonald's. Their fries taste a little weird to me, but besides that...not bad!

In the early evening went exploring around the property of where we're staying. They had bikes for us to use, which made exploring more fun. I forget how fun bike riding is!

We've seen so many daffodils. They're so pretty!

For dinner, we had a reservation at the restaurant in the chateaux. They only had a few fancy dishes to order, and one was "guinea fowl" which made me nervous. It's just birds they raise on the property but sounded...scary, so I went with the fish instead. The fish was cooked well, but the seasonings weren't my favorite. But we also had bread and appetizers and dessert which made up for it.

Dinners here are different then the United States. You order a drink, appetizer, main course, dessert, and then finish everything off with coffee. Marty and I have shocked our waiters these past few meals by not ordering an alcoholic drink or coffee. Seriously. 

Meals are also leisurely. In the US, it seems like you get a badge of honor when you're in and out of a dinner place quickly, but it feels opposite here. You're encouraged to take your time and enjoy your meal. And when you're ready for the check, you have to track the waiter down.

We'll see if it's the same up in Paris, but that's been our experience here!