Birthdays and Castles

Thursday was Elizabeth's 21st birthday, so we all went out to Paris to celebrate.  Michael, Katie, Monika, Michele, myself, and obviously Elizabeth got on the train that would take us from Versailles to Paris.  And once we had sat down in the first car of the train with some other people, this older man walked by us with a suitcase, and as he walked by, we all smelled the most wretched stench that we had ever smelled on a human.  He smelled like a dumpster and old cheese and it was evident based on his clothing and his stench that he probably hadn't showered in at least 2 weeks...possibly more.  His smell lingered for a while and we considered switching cars, but thankfully he sat at another end of the train away from us and eventually the smell faded a bit, so we decided to just stay.  That guy ended up clearing out the entire section of the train he was sitting in--all the people who had gotten there before him had to leave because they couldn't stand it, and any subsequent passengers who started toward his section of the train to grab one of the many available seats in that section, immediately reacted to his smell, understanding why no one else was sitting over there, and either left the car or headed to the other side of the train.  What was most annoying and disgusting about this guy was the fact that he kept moving around a lot so his stench would start circulating through the train every once in a while...it was like he was completely unaware of his stench, which is hard to believe because his smell literally made me gag when I got a good whiff of it.  Then when he sat down, he would raise his dirty sweater up to his neck, exposing his pudgy belly, and just start rubbing all over his chest and belly--he probably did that because he was so dirty.  That was definitely one of the longest train rides and we were so happy to get off.

We went to a place called Abrakadabar and ordered some drinks and listened to the live music playing.  About 15 minutes after we arrived, the band stopped playing and then they just played recorded music.  A bunch of people were just standing around while we were drinking, and by the time we finished our drinks, a lot of the people had started to clear out.  We all decided to dance, and we were the only ones doing it.  Eventually everyone cleared out and we were the only people on the dance floor--all six of us.  It was fun though and we didn't care we were the only people out there.  Eventually, we inspired some other people to come and join us (or the alcohol inspired them).  Either way, it was good to see more people out there.  Unfortunately, we encountered a creeper with bad teeth.  He started dancing with Elizabeth, but then she escaped him, and then he moved on to Katie, and he seemed to like her a lot.  She eventually escaped him too, by just flat out stopping dancing with him.  Soon after we all had to go to catch the last train to Versailles, but Creeper tried to talk to Katie and get her number, and even after she said she didn't have a cell phone or number to give him, he continued to stalk her so we all had to run away.  Thankfully, we made it back to the train station in time, and while we were running to get on the train, Katie stumbled, lost one of her high heels in the process, and this lost shoe ended up falling onto the train tracks.  Katie was pissed she lost her shoe like that and thought she'd have to walk home barefoot, but thankfully, someone helped her retrieve it before the train left.  Then we all got home at like 2:00 in the morning.  It was a fun night.

Then I spent the next day packing for my 10 day tour around the south of France, and this morning, I woke up at 5:15 AM to get our bus at the train station at 6:45 AM.  I had to carry like a 20 pound bag for 20 minutes walking from my house to the train station.  That was annoying.  Eventually I made it and got to sleep on the bus as we headed to Tours to see the Chateaux de la Loire.  We first visited the Chateau de Blois which was inhabited by various French kings during the 15th century.  The castle was very colorful on the inside, and the architecture was really beautiful.  We then visited the chateau de Chambord, but only saw the outside of it.  It was a beautiful castle with lots of towers located in a gorgeous location full of hunting grounds, since that was a popular pastime of many of the French kings.  It was a nice day too, so the beauty of the area was more pronounced.  We then ate lunch at a little restaurant and ate so much food--pate and meats for an appetizer, salmon for the main dish, cheese, and then dessert.  It was really good and really anticipated because we were all starving by the time we got there.  After lunch, we visited a third chateau called the chateau de Chenonceaux where King Henri II lived with his wife Catherine de Medecis, as well as his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.  I'm sure that wasn't awkward.  Despite that strangeness, the castle was really cool.  It was built on water and the interior and surrounding gardens were really pretty.  We visited the chapel, the various bedrooms, the kitchens, the salons, etc.  I'll post pictures to show what they looked like because it would be too hard and boring to describe it here.  

After a long day, we all arrived at our hotel and got dinner on our own.  And now we have many more long and early days to look forward too.  Should be interesting.  Until next time...