11:31PM RST - Weekend Adventures

Had a blast this weekend.

On Thursday we drove straight from Poitiers to La Rochelle and looked around briefly before going for a seafood lunch. Having already packed a lunch, I just had a couple of things off others plates that they offered me. They all shared three plates of seafood with shrimp, mussels, crab, etc. Not as exciting for me as for some of them who had never tried, let alone seen, some of the menu. We then traveled to Ile de Ré, a small and lovely island not far from La Rochelle. Quite deserted at this time of year, but Latisha (the French girl we traveled with) said that it is even nicer in May.

Friday and Saturday was spent traveling to see different chateaus and castles.

On Friday, we first went to Loudun, where both the church and tower we went to see were closed. Nice sites, nonetheless. We then took a quick jaunt to Richelieu, where it turned out that the castle there had been demolished in WW2. The grounds were still vast and many buildings still standing. Our next stop was to Chinon. Chateau de Chinon had a fair amount of history to it and also provided a great view of the town and river. We did, however, almost get locked in there overnight. Haha. The final town we visited was Saumur which had one large and very nice castle. Unfortunately, the day had passed by too quickly. As would be expected, it was too late to get in, but I was able to get a decent photo out of it despite the darkness.

Yesterday, having only so many kilometers left, we tried to stay nearby. We first went to Chauvigny and saw a glassblower, a nice church, and a castle. We then traveled to Saint-Savin to see the Abbaye de Saint-Savin. We were not able to get into the actual church due to renovations, but there were several exhibitions set up and a lovely courtyard and watermill. We went back to Poitiers around 5pm, filled up and returned the car, and used our extra cash to indulge in a quick coffee/crepe/ice cream, etc. Then, Louis and I went to Leclerc to pick up a few groceries. Was not too far to walk and I may end up walking there more often rather than taking the bus. Though, I also found out yesterday that you can buy tickets in multiples of 5's at Tabac shops which make the tickets cost .80€ instead of 1€20.

When I got back last night, after being told by Latisha that it is cheaper to order online, I began ordering my tickets back and forth to Paris. Sarah will be here at the end of the month and it should be a load of fun. Cannot wait. I decided to go to Nantes on the 27th to see a concert and then spend the night before going straight from there to Paris. Will be nice to see another city for the day, but it also allows me to arrive in Paris earlier that morning as well. All of my train tickets, hostel stay, and concert ticket are paid for save for the tickets from Poitiers to Nantes and Nantes to Paris. I purchased all of the other train tickets and then, when I went to purchase the others, my credit card would not work on the SNCF site for some reason. I went and purchased my concert ticket and hostel and they both worked, but I am still unable to purchase tickets from the SNCF site. Must be a problem on their end. I will wait a few days and then, if it is still not working, will venture down to the train station to buy the tickets.

I had no plans for today, but received a text message from Paul asking is I wanted to go to the museum in Poitiers. M. Gervis, our landlord, told him that it was free on the first Sunday of every month and today was the last day of an exhibit here in collaboration with the Louvre. I met Paul at the bank, as I had to get cash out to pay my rent, and we then went to the Musée St-Croix. A small museum, but it had some great art for the price. We then toured around town as it was a gorgeous day outside.

Phew, that was a long one. Night folks and take care.