" Si tu veux, tu peux"

Today we went to Fontainebleu chateau. A place only about 40 minutes outside of Paris. We met Jenna on the steps of our house and headed for the metro. We arrived at about noon and quickly set out for a place for a picnic. The French LOVE picnics. Although, they really don't love when you sit on the grass. Its really strange how that works. Anyway, we had a lovely little picnic and then headed inside the Chateau. Jenna arranged for all of us to get the audioguides which was an AMAZING addition to the experience. This chateau is really neat, while a lot of it still makes me feel really weird, knowing that Kings and Queens used to ACTUALLY parade around places like this, the chateau still has a lot of furniture and really looks set up. Most of the rooms still look how they would have and its a pretty incredible place. It has seen many Kings and Queens of France come and go.

The most incredible part of the visit was the chapel that you could sit and hang out in. A pianist came in the room and sat down. At first, he looked like someone who just walked off the street into this chateau to play the piano. He sported black and white striped shorts, a tank top, and a pair of chucks (Converse All Stars). None of which really added up to "pianist who should be playing at this chateau". But then he started to play; it was amazing. The first piece he played was completely for memory and at least 10 minutes long. I sat with Jenna and listened. Silently. People walked in and out; audio guides pressed to their ears, not even realizing the BEAUTIFUL music that FILLED the entire space and echoed throughout! It was really amazing to hear and a lovely way to spend some time.

We walked around the gardens for a while before heading back to the train home. Early in the day a bunch of us decided Indian food seemed like the best plan for the evening. So we searched for a place and found one. Pretty delicious. Then we headed for Hotel de Ville which holds free concerts during the summer. Listened for a while, but, unlike the beautiful pianist at the chateau, this band didn't really have it all together. So our group ventured out to seek better company (mostly for our ears!) Tonight was rather chilly, but we ended up at Pont des Arts (the "cool" hang out) and sat, chatted, for quite a while. Headed home and here I rest. Hopefully I am going to go to some markets tomorrow(Sunday)!

Last night, Jess and I headed out for a late night crepe at St. Michael. When we arrived one of the many club promoters approached us and asked us if we wanted to "party" we were like..."ummm No." We just wanted to eat, walk, and take the metro home for sleeping! But we ended up having about a 10 minutes conversation in French with the promoter... We told him how we were studying and all those little details. He was rather impressed with our French and then proceeded to tell us that if we wanted to learn French, we were certainly in the right place! We both agreed. He left us with a "Si tu veux, tu peux" which means "if you want, you can" (Speaking about French... speaking and such) I thought it was pretty cool, and sounds pretty in French. It sort of stuck with me. That club promoter had some pretty good words of wisdom! With a "Enchante" he sent us on our way to happily find our chocolate and banana crepes; a really great little outing for a Friday evening!

Until tomorrow

Bisous,
Amy