day 14

and Today we went to a couple of Chateaus today. The first one we went to was Chambord. It hasbeen everything from a home to a prison to a residence for Louis the 14th. It was very impressiveit had this really cool double spiral staircase. Maybe you have heard of it?? The name hasbeen used on everything from cars, caskets, cigarettes, liquer and coffee presses to baby cariges. They had a realy neat exhibit that showed all the things that have used the name of the estate. We rented bikes and rode along the canal. I ate lunch at a nice restaurant and had rack of lamb....YUM!!!! After we went inside and looked around we went to the other chateau. It is called Cheverny. The inside was decorated very nicely and it reminded me of going to the biltmore house. Later in the evening we went to the Chateau de Blois and watched a light show. It was really cool. They projected lights onto the side of the building and told stories about the people who lived there and things that happened there. Apparently it was where Joan of Arc was right before she went into battle. It was very awesome.
Love you all!!

day 13

This morning we went to the market in Dijon and just wandered around town. We had to check out of our hotel by lunch but our train for Blois did not leave until after 3 in the afternoon. We had to cary our luggage UP A FLIGHT OF STAIRS!!!!!!! Not fun. Not fun at all. We spent 2 hours on the train back to Paris and from there is was almost 2 hours on the next train to Blios. And by the way, the name is pronounced Blah!!! It was very Blah when we got here because it was pouring down rain. We got our keys and went to our rooms. Not a very eventful day. The pictures are from the market and then from the train station.

Eddie rules!!!!

more-day 12

more pictures from day 12....

day 12

Today we did a wine tour. We rode through the burgundy area and through small villages. We went to and old chateau where monks used to make wine and learned how they used to make it back then. The country side is beautiful out there. We went to two winariey after that. The first one was smaller and their wine is sold in the US we tasted 4 reds and 3 whites. The graped used are Pino Noirs and Chardonnays. I bought 1 bottle there. They were very noce to us and showed us their cellers and things like that. Then we went to lunch in Bone and went to this place that used to be a hospital for the poo run by monks. The roof was very colorful. It was a beautiful place. After that we went to the second winarey. They taught us about making wine as well. Their cellers were from the 1400's or earlier and they are still functional. We tasted 3 whites and 2 reds at this place. They were a little snooty to us and figured we were students and wouldn't actually want to buy any wine. Me and 2 other girls went in together to get a case shipped home. I bought 3 of the bottles in it as did another girl and the other bought 6. The wine in France is so so so so much better than the wine at home. We had a tour guide that drove one van and Pac drove the other. We took some group photos of our group with the Appalachain State University banner. I hope to post some of those soon. I had so much fun today but still miss every one badly.
I love you all.....(especially you Eddie!)
Mary
I will post more pics for day 12 soon

day 11

Today was Sunday so I went to Mass at the cathedral in Dijon. It is St. Benigne Cathedral. It was very beautiful and they had one of those giant old organs and at the end of mass it sounded like I was in a scene from Phantom of the Opera. then Erin and I walked around Dijon. We went to an art museum and I had a mini cheese quiche from the pastry shop for lunch and a coca cola light from Mc Donalds because the sodas are cheaper there. In the evening Pac took the whole group to dinner. I had duck and it was so good. For desert I had this white chocolate mouse with raspberry's in the middle!!!! It was amazing. I bought more mustard today as well.
I miss everyone!!!

I love you Eddie!
Mary

I forgot to put that on day 10 we went to this toy shop as well. I got some pictures of the store front.

day 10

Today was our first day in Dijon. We walked around town and I bought some mustard. There was a woman handing out roses to every one who walked buy. I think it was some kind of advertisement for a florist or something. There were so many people walking around. Dijon is much smaller than Paris and has more of the village feel to it. Here is a good example.... the difference from Paris to Dijon is like the difference from New York City to Boone!!! We also went to some chocolate shops. It was Saturday so everything was kind of relaxed.

day 9

Today we got on the train to go to Dijon. I've never been on a real train before (tweetsie and dollywood do not count!!) so I was very excited. It was not anything special. Kinda just like being on the metro. I snapped a few shots of people on the trip with us while we were waiting for our train. I didn't really do much when we got to Dijon. There is almost no one here who speakes English so it's a little getting used too. We ate lunch at the cafe next to our hotel and we looked at a map and figured out some things to do here. We found out the mustard museum is closed. Forever. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting!!

day 8

So, I finally figured out that I need to save the pictures I'm using on my blog in a smaller form so they will load easier.....I should have known that. Today I walked around with some of the people from our group and we did some shopping. More them than me, but I tried a lot of things on. I packed also as tomorrow we will be getting on the train for Dijon. I slept in very late today. Not on purpose, it just kinda happened. The picture is of a statue I saw while walking around today.

more pictures from day 7

day 7

Today we went to the Picasso museum and another museum that has some of Monet's work in it. It had the water lilies. If you don't know what they are you should look it up online....it is amazing. They are huge paintings of water lilies on lakes and there are trees and there are so many amazing colors. I could sit and look at them forever!! Then, we went back to the hotel. A lot of the group went out to the pirate bar ( it has a nautical theme) but Erin, Ashley and I went to the Basillica in Paris. We went and took some day time pictures. That is were we walked up on these two guys and one of them was playing an instrument that looked like a banjo but sounded like a mandolin. They let us take their photographs. We went inside and it was so beautiful but they wouldn't let us take pictures. I lit a candle. Then we got back on the metro(which is the cleanest I've ever seen) and went to the moulin rouge. Then, we went back to basilica and took some photographs at night with a tripod. It was so beautiful and the view from there was amazing. The picture with the bunny is telling people to be careful that the doors will smash them on the metro. I'm sure Jessica would have liked to have seen that before her hand was smashed in the doors!! I love you all!

again the internet here is stupid so I will add more photo's later.
Mary

one last photo from day 6

more pictures from day 6

here are 2 of the photos that go with the last post. The internet at this hotel is sketch and does not like to work.
More to come!

Day 6

Today we went to Versailles. It was so beautiful!! There is so much property there. We didn't go into the house because the line was very very long! However, the gardens were free, so we went there. There were so many statues and so much to see! The gardens were beautiful and there was a hedge that was like a maze! It was amazing. As I was leaving, I saw two of the other girls that had not been into the gardens yet, and i didn't want to leave, so I went back with them. We rented bikes!! (even though I was in a dress!) It was so amazing. The grounds were beautiful and we were able to see so much more than anyone else because we were on bikes. We saw Marie-Antoinette's get away home, and the formal front gate to the property, and some swans, and a great view of the house. We had so much fun. This is the coolest thing I have done so far(well, the Eiffel tower ties!)

I will post the pictures for this day later. For some reason the website is not letting the pictures load!!??!

I love you so much Eddie!!!!
And, I miss you!!

Day 5

On Mondays most museums are closed in Paris so we went the center pompidou....... It is this building that has all it plumming, electric, air ducts, ect. on the outside of the building and painted bright colors. Accross the street there was a neat fountain with moving sculptures. It is where I took the shot of the man with the lips behind him. A lot of people eat lunch outside by fountain or in the park. The picture of me was taken at the same fountain. After that we walked to the flower market. On the way we saw more street performers. When you start taking photographs of them they usually give you thier undevided attention. I always try to have small change on me to let them know I appreciate it. The flower market was not as large I though it would be but it was still really cool. I took just a few pictures of flowers. There was a man there painting, so I took his photograph. (as you can see.) Then a funny thing happened.....I went to take a photo of some orchids......next thing I new I had been left (they were looking for me but we kept missing each other!) So I went to the Luxenbourg Gardens because that is where they were planning on going. Well they were not there so I went back to the hotel. That is usually a 15 min. walk. However, I got lost and was walking around for almost 2 hours!!!!! I finally made it back to the hotel. Then we went to the Eiffel tower!!!!!! It was sooooo amazing! I loved it. We went all the way to the top. The view was amazing. The last picture is a guy that was talking to our professor on the metro. Then, we had to switch trains on the metro. We all get on and then everyone starts running off because we were on the wrong train. By the time I figured out what was going on, the death buzzer went off signaling the doors were about to close. I didn't make it off and had to ride to the next station and get on the return train. I miss every one at home! I love you Eddie!!