tangled.

Life is a perfect time to stargaze.

Soo, the internet here is kind of horrible. The pictures I would've uploaded for this post won't upload with how sketchy the Wifi is, so my apologies for no pictures this time. This starts from the 27th of September.

We are now residing in the countryside of Amboise. We’re staying in what are basically cottages split up into four sections, two rooms on bottom and two rooms on top. There is a small wooden staircase that leads up to where my two roommates and I are. What we would consider a bathroom is split into two rooms—one with the toilet and one with everything else.

This place is ADORABLE. There are probably 30 or more little cottages in a big grassy field. We seem to be out in the middle of nowhere and I love it. It is so green here, it’s like I’m still in the Northwest. There are little trails and gravel roads that meander all over the place. One of my current roommates and I went for a short walk down one of the trails.

 We’re about a half an hour away from any sort of store and the surrounding area is all fairly flat. The fact we’re in the middle of this open field is making me wish I had a soccer ball. SO BAD. I’ve already decided I’m buying one in London since we’ll be right next to Hyde Park. I’m trying to find a perfect adjective for this hotel. It’s…quaint. I think I’ll stick with that one.

The weather here is perfect, too. Its fall, you guys. FALL. Although I’ve come to realize that I prefer using the word ‘autumn’ instead.

I had a really cool experience on the bus with my friend who I roomed with in Chartres. We both weren’t feeling very well and were only halfway to Amboise. We ended up stopping at a rest area to get gas, use the bathroom, and stretch. We walked down and the grass area next to theShe and I both sat back down in our seats next to each other on the bus, looked at each other, and I said, hey. Let’s read our scriptures. So right there, we pulled out our scriptures and read a chapter before the bus started again. The rest of the ride, we felt just fine. I was even able to enjoy the view while on the road.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, the Wifi here isn’t all that great, hence this post not coming along very quickly. The housing here is lovely though and I went to sleep extremely early.

September 30, 2012

The rest of our stay in Amboise included a day at the Chateau de Chenonceau. It was on a huge area of land that we were able to meander through for a few hours. The chateau itself wasn’t even my favorite part—the whole place was surrounded by gardens and forest. The chateau was built over a river, making it look somewhat like a bridge at the bottom of it.

We drove from the hotel to church, to another accommodating and friendly ward. We more than tripled the size of how many members were attending. They were so kind to us and had the cutest kids. I love how the gospel is everywhere and is always true.

We’re now in St. Malo! We stopped by the beach near the town itself, which is medieval. I would be putting up pictures from it, but the internet here isn't all that great...

We went back there in the morning on the first of October and it was crazy to see it at high tide. Yesterday, when we had gone there, the beach went out a few hundred yards from the wall but today it was splashing up against the wall and onto the sidewalk. The stairs we had just used yesterday were mostly underwater and it was terrifying to walk down them. I would put a picture of my terrified face here, but the internet is awful. Can you tell I'm bitter?

After a couple hours of walking around we then went to Mont Saint Michel, a town and abbey originally built for those making pilgrimage to avoid persecution. The abbey is what the castle in Tangled is based off of, just in case you were wondering. Apparently there are a still a couple monks that live there too, although I didn’t see any. It didn’t exactly have a “homey” feel to it though, but maybe that’s just me.

 

Maybe I’m just more of cozy, family home kinda girl.

We walked around there for a few hours, taking a tour of the abbey itself and just walking around the town surrounding it. Soo many stairs. It was really cool how the whole place was set up, getting higher and higher on the island until it reached the abbey. It really did look like the Tangled castle, I promise. But the town itself has mostly become a touristy area. We’re constantly walking around on cobblestone streets, I’m starting to get used to it.

After we were there for about five hours, we drove the two hours to Bayeaux, staying at a hotel on the harbor for two nights. Tomorrow, the 2^nd of October, we will be touring the Normandy beaches.

That will need its own blog post though.

There ya go.