I arrived in France almost two weeks ago, but instead of going directly to Paris, everyone in the Sweet Briar Junior Year in France program is stuck(?) in Tours, France. We’ve been going through a sort of pre-orientation, and it has actually been quite lovely, but I’m getting anxious for Paris.

Every weekday we have courses in the morning, and every afternoon is like a challenge to see how we can amuse ourselves for eight hours until dinner time. I live with an older French couple who are strict catholics (Mary, Jesus, and an olive branch are hanging above my bed as I speak), but who are easy-going and funny. My host mom is such an amazing cook–so far she has made french fries for us four times.

I title this post “The Valley of the Kings” (think Egypt), because La Vallée de la Loire is known for its numerous castles. I visited three châteaux while here: Chenonceau, Villandry, and Amboise.

Voilà, les photos:

Chenonceau

Villandry (I’m thinkin’ Tim Burton should film “Alice and Wonderland” here…)

Amboise (where Leonardo da Vinci died)

ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT ©2008 SARAH