So we spent this weekend admiring the beauty that is the Loire Valley. The Val de la Loire is basically Chateaux Valley in France; I think it's something around 560 chateaux are located in the region. I might be lieing...I was only semi-listening during our little info session on the bus, but I do remember for sure it's some ridiculous number in the hundreds. So essentially, every other corner, every time you turn around, you will see a different chateau.
We left bright and early Saturday morning (Nina and I off to a great start oversleeping by about 40 minutes) and headed straight for Chenonceau. Chenonceau is absolutely beautiful; it's known as "le Chateau des Dames," "the Castle of the Ladies." Throughout its history, Chenonceau has been presided over by five prominent women, thus resulting in said name: Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici, Louise de Lorraine, Gabrielle d'Estrees, and Louise Dupin. Diane de Poitiers was the first mistress of Chenonceau as well as the mistress of King Henry II. (Random, slightly awkward fact, Diane de Poitiers was also the mistress of Henry's father, King Francis I.) Henry II was actually married to Catherine de Medici, but he loved his mistress Diane more, and thus gave her control over the chateau. When Henry II died in 1559, the crown was left to his son Francis II who was too young to rule. Catherine de Medici took control and ruled as Regent for her young son; with this new power she was able to expel Diane de Poitiers from the chateau. These two women were probably the most infuential in turning Chenonceau into what it is today. Before Diane the chateau was smaller remnants of a fortress previously owned by a noble family; she had the bridge built that joins the banks of the River Cher. When Catherine took over, she had the Grand Gallery constructed on the bridge which led to the eventual full structure that is seen today. Under Catherine, Chenonceau was a center for high court life and lavish parties. After Catherine the chateau was ruled by Louise de Lorraine, wife to King Henry III. When Henry III was assassinated, Louise fell into a state of depression, made her bed chamber a room of 100% black, and brought nuns to the chateau to make it a convent, praying for her husband's soul everyday. Gabrielle d'Estrees was a favorite mistress of King Henry IV who controlled the chateau for a time. The next significant woman of the chateau was Louise Dupin, who saved the chateau from destruction during the French Revolution. During WWI the Grand Gallery constructed by Catherine de Midici was used as a hospital ward; WWII saw the chateau used as an escape route from the Nazi occupied territory on one side of the River Cher to the free Vichy zone on the opposite bank.
After exploring the beauty that is Chenonceau, we ventured to Amboise and visited le Clos Luce, the mansion of Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci spent the last few years of his life living in the French chateau as a guest of the king. It's a beautiful house with amazing gardens. And really good ice cream at the restaurant/gift shop. Then we headed to Tours where we spent the evening.
Sunday we visited the Chateau de Chambord, the man's castle of the region. It was constructed under King Francois I and is the largest chateau in the region. It's located in a clearing surrounded by woods, because it was constructed as the king's hunting lodge. The plan for the chateau is contributed to Leondardo da Vinci by some, but no one really knows for sure. The "double helix" staircase in the center of the chateau, however, is a known creation of da Vinci. We were able to go on a little boat trip around the moat after exploring the chateau; an interesting feat for 4 girls who aren't too skilled in the art of rowing a boat. We had a good time serenading everyone in the vicinity, though, while we were on the water.

Monday I had class, then we met Dr. Clark at l'Opera Garnier for the afternoon. The opera house was commissioned by Napolean III when the previous Paris Opera was burned. I am completely, totally in love with this building. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It also happens to be the opera that inspired Gaston Leroux to write Le Fantome de l'Opera; there really was an under ground lake that had to be emptied when they began construction, and there was a performance once when the grand chandelier crashed into the audience and killed one person. After l'Opera Garnier we walked to Place Vendome, the Bourse de Commerce, Place de Liberty, and the Jardin du Palais Royal.

Today after class we met Dr. Clark and took the metro to the Musee Gustave Moreau. I've never seen his work before, but some of it is pretty amazing, and I think I'm slightly in love with it now. We then trekked up to Montmartre, through the rain (because guess what, it rained again today...all day...). If you ever want a good day's worth of exercise, walk up to Montmartre; it's lots of uphill and lots of steps. We walked by the Moulin Rouge (a must see :p ), the "I love you wall," and then on up to Sacre Coeur (again, even more stairs and also a must see). And all of it in the rain! I just love the rain so much...however, despite the rain, it was a good day with many great sights!