Road Trip!

Last Tuesday I set out with two of the other assistants (the Spaniard backed out at the last minute) to set a new world record - 11 chateaux in two days. Ok, so maybe it's not a record, but an ambitious feat nonetheless. The idea came about a month ago as we sat around discussing what to do during our Spring vacation. The realization hit us that despite being within two hours of some of the greatest chateaux in France - we hadn't seen a one. That had to be rectified.
So, we rented a car and set off to see the world - or at least the Loire Valley. Ciara doesn't have any driving experience and I don't know how to drive a manual (spoiled American) so that left it up to Fiona to get us where we needed to go. After a couple of near misses with other cars and not-so-near misses with the curb she finally got the hang of driving on the right side of the road. I was co-pilot and as such only got us turned around once (though to my credit it's the map's fault as it showed a dead end where there wasn't one). A few false starts and a couple gallons of coffee and we were ready to go.
Our first day on the road took us through five and a half chateaux (the last one was closed by the time we got there). We crossed the drawbridge at Langeais, toured the torture chamber at Loches and saw the castle that inspired Perrault to pen La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty). In Tours we dined at the Buffalo Grill - an attempt at an American steakhouse - and took our repose in a Mister Bed hotel.
After a semi-restless night (there was a major dip in the bed and Fiona and I kept rolling into each other as we slept) we set off for day two. Wednesday was even more impressive than Tuesday. We started by picking up the chateau from the day before. Then we strolled the gardens of the "plus beau jardin dans le jardin qui est la France" (the most beautiful garden in the garden that is France), checked out the largest and most extravagant chateau at Chambord, and snapped photos of troglodytes (cave dwellings that are still inhabited) in Amboise. The most exciting part of the day was Chenonceau. Perhaps the most well-known of the chateau, Chenonceau has stolen the hearts of many with its great ballroom that spans the Cher River. It is the image of French chateaux.
We returned home Wednesday night exhausted but content. We did what everyone else said couldn't be done - 11 chateaux in two days. Ok, so we cheated a little. We didn't enter each of the castles (cost prohibited this even with the students discounts). Some of them we contented ourselves with snapping photos through the gates. Even still, we spent 36 hours on the road, covered 600 kilometers and have pictures from 11 chateaux. I think a little vini, vidi, vici is merited.