...But its no espresso in front of a chateau

Or maybe it is.

This past weekend, three other girls and I decided profit from our time in France (and our free Friday) by visiting something uniquely European.
Early Friday morning (very very very early) we met up in the lobby of our hotel and hustled on over to the metro. We sprinted through the hallways and arrived to our connecting metro line just in time to see the doors close, and with it our hopes of making it to our train on time. Ok, so maybe that was a little dramatic, but unfortunately since it was so early, the next metro didn't come for another 15 minutes. At this point we were slightly resigned to the fact that we were going to miss our train. However, through team work (there's the composter! quick the tickets! we are on voie 17! where IS voie 17? there's voie 17! On y va!) we made it. From that point on, our two day adventure was the most relaxing part of my time so far in France.

We watched the sun rise over the countryside trough our train windows and arrived in the sweetest town where - get this - people in cars STOP for YOU to cross the street. Are we even still in France? I wondered. Our hotel was a leisurely 5 minute walk from the station and we were greeted by the most helpful hotel guy, Jerome. He talked with us for roughly 20 minutes while our rooms were getting ready and gave us fantastic dining suggestions and good logistical information. We walked across the garden to our huge room and could not help but literally jump up and down with joy.

After walking around downtown Amboise (which includes a chateau, by the way), Jerome called us a taxi and we visited Le Chateau de Chenonceau. We spent FOUR HOURS just looking around the chateau and its grounds, going through a little farm and a hedge maze, and stopping for some espresso at a tiny immaculate white table situated in front of the chateau. We decided this was the experience to which every experience after would have to be measured. Like, Thats pretty cool, but its not exactly espresso in front of a chateau...
And after all this it was still only 4 o'clock! The next day we spent in a similar fashion, at the Chambord Chateau.


Needless to say, we had a wonderful time. We didn't stop laughing nearly the whole trip, and it was a rejuvenating outside-the-city experience.