Day Five

Chambord-Chambord was built in 1500’s by Francis I in the French Renaissance architecture. It is HUGE!!! IN the middle of the chateaux is double helix spiral staircase designed by Leonardo de Vinci. The rooftops are elaborate turrets and spires with carvings of salamanders, clouds and geometric motifs in slate. There was a chapel with pretty stained glass windows. The acoustics in the chapel were amazing as a man came in and sang a chant. The kids enjoyed exploring the castle and walking out on the terraces even though it was raining. The grounds are immense and you could spend days walking around the area. We were a little disappointed that the carriage house was under reconstruction so we were unable to see the elaborate carriages the royals used. The dancers were amazed by the size of the building and I heard on say “this is insane!” Brooke was excited to see the moat around the castle.
Chenonceau was originally a fort but the land and buildings were sold in 1512 and in 1521 the new castle was finished. The castle eventually was given to Diane de Poiters who was the mistress of Henry II. (I loved this Chateaux, it had my room and my gardens!) The chateau sits IN the River Cher and you could walk out over the water. Since it was spring, the water was moving quite rapidly. The rooms in this chateau more elaborately decorated and the kids enjoyed exploring this castle. Downstairs there was a kitchen area with butchery, bakery and a room with fresh herbs and larder. It was lined with shiny copper pots and pans and clay pottery. Outside the castle, there were two elaborate gardens. The flowers were in bloom, but due to the cloudy weather, many were not open today. One garden had a beautiful fountain in the center. The kids enjoyed the hedge maze which wasn’t very challenging (our corn fields are more challenging!) but they had fun once they got to the small gazebo in the center.
Dance class-Emily taught a ballet class and Sophie taught a modern class. Even though the room was very crowded the dancers enjoyed class with both teachers and the French dancers.
After dance class, the kids had a short break before heading to the Farewell Party. They were all somewhat tired (and hungry) from the past four days of travel, sightseeing, dancing and late nights. Jane and Emily had a sing off to break the three way tie from the scavenger hunt. Afterwards, they thanked the families, dancers, and Heinrick for the wonderful time and time invested in the exchange. It was then time to DANCE!!! (And I don’t mean ballet!) The DJ had a variety of American and French music for the kids to dance to. At one point a group of the girls did a hip hop piece for the crowd. Later in the evening all the American parents were even dancing (yes, we dragged Jori and Kathryn out for a short dance). It was after 11:00 when the last dancer head out the door. There were tears as they realized they would be leaving their new friends in the morning. It’s amazing how strong relationships can form in such a short amount of time. The French host families have been wonderful to everyone and it very nice to know that we have helped bridge a gap between the dance parents here in France. Some of the parents had never met or talked to each other before and by the end of this exchange they were getting to know one another.
We hope those kids are all packed and ready to go on the TGV for Paris!!!! Lee and I are waiting for them, as we had to return our rental car by 10:00 am this morning. Lee successfully filled the car with gas-we weren’t even down to ½ a tank and she put 20 Euros of gas in the car which would be about 30.00. This was NO minivan either. It was a small car, you don’t see SUV’s here in France. Tommy’s host family has the biggest family car we’ve seen-an n old yellow Volkswagen bus! He rides in the McCarthy Bus in Bangor and the biggest vehicle in Vendome!