On the 3rd of September we took an impromptu trip to a chateau outside of town. Thomas invited us and said we had to leave in 20 minutes so we got out of bed and ready in a rush. We walked to the bus station and met up with two of his friends from the allience française: Estrella from Spain and Bernard from Germany (but he's been living in Norway). At first we thought we were taking a bus but after it not showing up after 20 minutes we talked to someone who worked there and they said the bus wasn’t working today. After that we decided to go to the office of tourism to see if they had any schedueled tour of the place we wanted to go. They didnt but they gave us a list of rental car companies so we could drive there. We called the first one and they said they were out of cars. we thought they had given up but then they decided to take the tram to the train station to find a car place there. we found one but it didn’t open for another 40 minutes. So, we grabbed sandwiches and waited. At the café Bernard ordered an expresso by asking for a noisette. In french that literally means a small nut and since an expresso is small and brown like a nut, noisette is a nickname for it. Laughing like crazy, the waitress brought him a plate with a nut on it then returned a few minutes later with a coffee.
The process of getting a car took about 45 minutes and since we were not going to make it back in time to return it for the day we had to rent it for the whole weekend. More expensive but they really wanted to go. Finally we had to find out who was going to drive: Bernard had no license, Thomas hadn’t driven for 7 years, Estrella hadn’t driven for 7 months, and Jill and I refused to drive because the laws are very different and we don't know how to drive a stick shift. Estrella it was. I was starting to feel like it wasn’t worth it but in the end, I’m glad we went.
The chateau was so beautiful and it had rooms decorated from each century the castle was inhabited. The guide spoke so clearly I could practically understand everything she said besides the castle vocabulary. There was a room that I believe was for quarantining people but now when people stand in opposite corners and talked into the corner, one can hear the person on the other side of the room. It sounded like you were having a conversation with someone right in front of you, it was so cool! And in the kitchen there was a built in area to throw up in after they ate too much. Apparently a sign of a good meal back then was when it came back up! Gross but interesting how things have changed!
Before walking up to the chateau we wanted someone to take a picture of us so we asked a couple near by. It turns out they were Russian and Thomas of course knowns Russian so he got to use his language skills. Actually he got to use every language he knows! He spoke spanish with Estrella, German with Bernard, English with Jill and I, and French with all of us. It is so fascinating how he can switch languages every few seconds while staying so calm and natural. It was SO fun listening to all the languages and learning about how things are said elsewhere.
On the way home, we stopped at McDo and it was fancy, yummy desserts and lounge chairs!
After dinner at home, Jill and I went out with Gemma and met up with Christina. It was so fun! It was my first club experience and I loved it no matter how weird it was! We danced at a Cuban club called Calle Ocho, but it was so hot that I could seriously feel beads of sweat running down my legs...gross! While we tried to cool down in the street lots of people tried to talk to us to practice their English skills, the Moroccans were hilarious. We ran into Romain, walked christina to the tram, then went to another club/bar(?) called Bodega. There they sold GIANT mojitos for either 50 or 100 euros with really really long straws. People at different tables were connecting the straws and drink from each others' tables. It was quite entertaining. After discovering that I was from the United States, someone asked me if I knew of the city Santa Cruz and when I responded that I live there he just said "okay" and turned away. Wait where are you going?! I want to know how you know about Santa Cruz! Why is my small unknown city the first one you ask about when we're talking about the United States?! I didn't have much time to think about it before someone comes up behind me and kisses my back/neck. What the heck!?! Politely told the guy to get away from me but eventually I had to be rude. Oh well, it was a fun and interesting night!
No comments:
Post a Comment