experience: the château de chantilly

today was GRAND.

--> woke up super early to get to class by 9am. esther and i had an epic adventure RUSHING through the metro system to arrive on time.

--> sat through a pretty excellent lecture [slideshow included] about a myriad of things... gender roles in medievel france, louis the XIV, french architecture, etc.

--> hopped on a REALLY NICE BUS [yale takes care of us] and drove through the city toward the outskirts of paris.

--> arrived in chantilly at a BEAUTIFUL château (castle) complete with stunning courtyards and a brilliant moat. [pictured above] SO FUN!

--> realized that yalies are sort of jaded in terms of great european architecture... at school we are surrounded by it everyday! though, of course, that fact doesn't take away from the ridiculously gorgeous buildings we were visiting.

--> went through the château with a quiet, old french lady with a really thick accent. got to see incredible art [my favorites included two rapheals]. it's the second most important art gallery in france, after the louvre. STUNNING.

--> had lunch at a fun little sandwich stand. almost everyone ordered a ham and cheese. [french style--a really long, thin half-loaf of french bread filled with a few pieces of ham, swiss cheese, and butter... DELICIOUS!]

--> learned that french skittles are good, but taste a bit different than american ones do. [same goes for the peanut m&ms!]

--> went to a horse show near the stables. seven women performed coreography with horses. it was really interesting, but sort of not my thing. the horses looked incredibly uncomfortable, which made me uncomfortable. i took a slight nap during one part. it's still fun to say i went to a professional horse shoe on the french countrysie.

--> went up a hill to get a BEAUTIFUL view of the château and its gardens. sat on the grass and listened to a guest lecturer [a friend of the professor] who specializes in the history of sixteenth and seventeenth century french dynasties. AMAZING. added INCREDIBLE significance to the château visit.

--> had a few hours to kill before dinner. relaxed on the steps of the château. hung our feet off the edge of the moat. walked through a beautiful forest.

--> had an INCREDIBLE six-course meal with the professor and our guest lecturer. the finest french cuisine! the meal was over NINETY EURO A HEAD. [that's somewhere around $120 per person!] IT WAS ON YALE. which made it utterly perfect. =]

--> discovered again how big of a deal wine is here. our table went through SO MUCH WINE. red wine, white wine, and champagne! all rather beautiful. i made plenty of people happy by offering them all of mine. =]

--> started really bonding with everyone in the class, as opposed to just the small groups we've been hanging out with all week. our group is really diverse, but we get along great. and there is NEVER A DULL MOMENT with so many interesting people around.

--> rode the bus back. I HAD TO GO THE BATHROOM SOOOOOOOOOO BAD. longest bus ride of my life. though it was fun to see the suburbs. and we had a great time laughing, etc.

all in all, a perfect day in france.

=]

[m]