(Friday night continued) So, as we sat at the table eating our "dinner" and saying goodbye to our hostfamily as they left for a restaurant, we just could not control ourselves. What is a former Cordon Bleu professor doing feeding us hot dogs? Why is she not embarrassed to serve that to us? This could not go on any more. We were so angry there was even some tears. It had gotten a little ridiculous, no one can eat like this for weeks. Savannah grabbed a pen and paper and started making a list of food we like to eat for breakfast: cereal that does not have chocolate in it, boiled eggs, whole wheat toast, fruit. For dinner: fresh food, not microwaved food everyday, food that is healthy but has flavor, more stove and less microwave, and most importantly, less microwave. After we had settled down a bit we decided that we needed to have some fun and take Netty out for her last night in the house. We headed out to our favorite place, Le Cardinal, and relaxed with some wine and desserts. It was getting late so Netty headed home but Savannah and I stayed a couple more hours, not wanting to be anywhere near our hostfamily. It eventually got pretty late so we headed home knowing that everyone would be asleep and we wouldn't have to talk to them, we could not pretend to be nice anymore. We walk into our room and notice a note on Savannah's desk. A note from Marie that said, "I read your letter. We need to talk. Please let me know what you need. You cannot have healthy and with flavor, it is one or the other... I'm sorry." Oh my god... Savannah accidentally left our lists of food out on the kitchen table and Marie read them, we did not mean for her to. We had to leave for our weekend excursion to the Loire Valley soon so we quickly wrote her another note saying we were leaving for the weekend and didn't mean to hurt her feelings and we would talk when we got back. We were terrified at what she would say, she is a very intimidating person, but were glad that we would not be home for a couple days.
(Saturday) We left for the Loire Valley early Saturday morning after stopping and getting the most delicious croissants at a random bouillangerie with the whole group on two very large coach buses. The first chateau that we visited was Amboise. It is famous for being the place of many hangings of Huguenots and for being the place where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. The chateau itself was OK, but after being at Versailles the week before, we just weren't very impressed. Everyone then ate lunch in the town and we and some other ISA people ate at a chinese restaurant. All we wanted was some broccoli and some lo mein, but we were brought a plate of cabbage instead of our noodles. Apparently, just because something is listed under the noodle category, it doesn't necessarily mean that noodles are in it. We just weren't having very good luck with food in France. After eating some broccoli and a little bit of cabbage for lunch, we all left for our new destination, the chateau Chenonceau. This chateau was so beautiful, we kept imagining how amazing having a party or wedding here would be. We have pictures of it below. It was built across the river and also served as a bridge. Because of our horrible lunch, we decided to get some ice cream. After enjoying our ice cream, we all got back on the bus and waited for a surprise that was planned for us. It ended up being wine tasting and everyone got to try two whites, a rose, and red. They also had the most amazing goat cheese I wish I could have bought some! Our program directors kept pouring us more and more wine and opening up more and more bottles it quickly turned from a tasting into more of a party. Everyone got back on the bus and we headed to Tours to spend the night at the Holiday Inn.
(Sunday) We wake up and get to eat the greatest breakfast of our whole trip at the Holiday Inn. There are croissants, pan au chocolate, juice, fruit, nutella, and more. After finally getting a good breakfast, we left for two more chateaus. The first one was Villandry and is famous for its gardens. They were so beautiful that we didn't even go into the chateau. We took a small hike into the woods nearby and had an amazing view of the gardens. The last chateau of the trip was Chambourd. It is famous for its architecture that looks like a skyline and a double helix staircase designed by Leonardo da Vinci. It was nice, but the best part was the ice cream. I had caramel fler de sel and creme brulee and Savannah had caramel fler de sel and chocolate noir. It was amazing. Time finally came to leave and we headed home just wondering how our confrontation with Marie would go. We got back, took the train home where luckily no one was there. Marie and Victorio soon got back but we were met with nothing more than a friendly "bon soir." We waited in our rooms and started to smell food. We heard her call for dinner and we slowly walked to the table. We were amazed, chicken that was cooked in the pan, real potaotes, and salad. She even asked if we wanted lemon! During dinner, there was the usual talk about politics but nothing was said about the note incident. There was cereal, fruit, fresh vegetables, eggs, and so much more. We went to bed happy knowing that things were finally going to turn around and we would start eating better.
(Monday) We went to French class in the morning then tried a chinese restaurant again for lo mein, but still didn't get any. We then spent the day at a local pool laying out and swimming a little. For dinner we had hamburger meat with no bun but it was topped with a fried egg. It was soo good, I am always going to make my hamburgers like that from now on. We know started to believe that she could have gone to the Cordon Bleu.
(Tuesday) We went to Les Invalides and Musee Rodin for Art and Arch class then went to a market and had a picnic in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower. For dinner we had salad caprese with FRESH tomatoes, mozzerella, and basil. Then some really good thin ham that we ate with potatoes and creme freche. For dessert we had a fruit salad with strawberries, apples, peach, basil, and mint. It was amazing! I could eat that everyday. So, our food situation is finally starting to turn around and we are actually excited about coming home for dinner!!
