Continuing with my travel essays series, this week I bring you: how a week in the tower room of a French chateau with my sister taught me the secret to family harmony.
chateaus
Wanderlusty Wednesday: The Pros and Cons of Traveling Off-Season
The reason people like to travel in warm weather is obvious. But I don’t always like to do this, and here’s why…
Wanderlusty Wednesday: The Loire Valley
Wanderlusty Wednesday
Don’t major in French, they said. It’s useless, they said.
What “they” failed to take into account was that someday, a relative could win a trip to stay in a French chateau for free. And that this relative may need a translator. And then, as the sole French-speaking niece in the family, you will be invited to spend two weeks at said chateau. For FREE.
Wanderlusty Wednesday
The current story I’m writing is about a group of high school kids on a school trip to Paris. It draws largely on my own experiences. I just wrote the part where they take a day trip out to the Loire Valley to see the chateaus, and writing about seeing those amazing places for the first time just sent shivers down my spine. I remember that everyone else liked Chenonceau the best, but my favorite has always been Chambord. It’s the one that makes you think What could I possibly do with this many rooms? and then your imagination goes into overdrive trying to supply the answer. When I retire I’m becoming a tour guide at one of these places, you wait and see.
Chateau de Gudanes
Have you heard about this? An Australian couple is restoring a 94-room chateau in middle-of-nowhere, France, blogging about it, and even Instagramming. File under “to do once I make my millions.”