Fête des Familles

Thursday evening was the Fête des Familles, a little spectacle of singing, dancing, and skits put on by the exchange students to thank the families. Tomorrow morning very early we say goodbye to our host families and leave Saumur to spend a couple days in Paris before returning to the US.

My host family and I

My friend Rachel and I in costumes

A last photo of my balcony

Abbey Fontevraud et Île de Ré

My friends, Eva, Chelsea, Abbi, and I at Abbey Fontevraud

A rollercoaster-like elevated pathway in the courtyard of the abbey

Saint Martin de Ré

Macarons!

All of the American students at Île de Ré

Today, my family and I visited a nearby town for a medieval festival (like a Renaissance fair).  The highlight was exploring the subterranean refuge underneath the ruins of a 3rd century castle.  I also got to watch the French TV coverage of the 100th Tour de France finishing in Paris.

Jour de la Bastille

July 14th was the national holiday, or the independence day, for France.  All throughout the day, singing could be heard from some part of the city (the acoustics of centreville Saumur are such that we can clearly hear all noise produced in the city in our appartment on the other side of the river).  The fire works for the city-wide show were set off almost directly in front of where we live.  We actually went to the other side of the Loire to watch, and the main bridge in front of the castle was flooded with people.  Not a single French flag to be seen though, a big difference from the US' independence day.

Angers et Hommes

Last Friday, to celebrate Fourth of July, all of the exchange students and families had a huge, really fun picnic in a nearby town, where we were greeted by the mayor.

Traditional music at the picnic

On Saturday, my host family and I took a day trip by train to Angers, the capital city of the region.

Chateau of Angers

I've seen so many castles, I've lost count, maybe in the teens.  We would be driving on a narrow country road through a little village, and my host mother would "oplah" to point out just another chateau on the side of the road.

We spent Sunday enjoying a tiny lake with a gorgeous beach a couple towns away (in Hommes).

Mont Saint-Michel

Saint-Malo, a fortified coastal city in Brittany (also where the 100th Tour de France is tomorrow)

A seaside castle at Saint-Malo

My friend Abbi and I in front of the island of Mont-Saint Michel

«Seule, l'abbaye escarpée, poussé là-bas, loin de la terre, comme un manoir fantastique, stupéfiante comme un palais de rêve, invraisemblablement étrange et belle.» --Guy de Maupassant

Climbing to the cliff-top abbey that rises from Mont Saint-Michel

The chapel at the high-point of the maze-like abbey

Stumbling upon one of the many gardens and courtyards tucked in between the abbey's chapels, chambers, and towers

Outside the youth hostel in Normandy where we will spend the night.  We ended swimming in the (really cold) ocean later that night.

La Normandie

All the exchange students visited Normandy on the Fourth of July, a very moving experience.  For Independence Day, we had temporarily returned to American soil, as the WWII cemetery was gifted to the United States by France after the war.  On Omaha Beach, the site of first debarkation on D-Day (Jour J), we sang the national anthem, our sole contact with English after half the summer.  I had never before visited the memorial, and the sight of so many perfectly aligned white crosses covering the lawns was powerful.

Upon entering we were each given a flower and the name of a soldier to locate who had never before received flowers on his tomb.

Parade militaire et beach handball

On Saturday we were caught in the streets as a huge military parade was passing by.  We were so close we could touch the paraders.  Saumur is the home of a military base and an elite military equestrian school, so there are always either personnel in fatigues walking around or police riding around on horses or military students on a run.

On Sunday we attended a beach handball tournament on the banks of the Loire.  The weather has been wonderful, luckily.

This week is also La Fête des Films.  Thanks to the French minister of culture, all the movie theaters are discounted!

My host brother carrying my backpack as we walk home from school