does that chateau come with a price charming..

so as i knew, my host family in france had a "house" in tours. that's all i knew. i was quite surprised when on friday evening we drove down this long and winding pathway which led to a magnificent and huge, chateau. that's right, a chateau in the loire valley for a "weekend house". they bought it off of my host mom's grandmother (who also lives in an equally as beautiful chateau a 3 minute drive, or a 15 mins bike ride as i chose to do). they plan to rent out part of it to tourists, and they have already renovated the majorityof the chateau, and needless to say, it looks beautiful.

as i read yesterday on the terrace as a horse grazed in the pasture merely 20 feet from me, i couldn't help but feel like it was a scene from a movie. shouldn't a gorgeous and brave knight be riding up sometime soon like in ever after (drew gets all the luck)!

while taking a canoe ride in the river at the base of the chateau i realized.. i am happy. just utterly and undeniably happy. i couldn't have asked for a better host family, i have made some wicked friends so far from all over the world and i am trying new

things, stepping outside my comfort zone and doing it by myself.

i have always loved the big city and living in a place where there is something to do all the time, never realizing that there is always something to do in the country too. we canoed, we played archery, i read a lot, biked, drank wine on the terrace.. but best of all, i got to explore a place i had never been to in my life. it was nice just having an entire weekend to relax and not worry about anything. even when it rained the sunday there was something so satisfying about it, everything was just so green and lush.

i now understand why people in france love their countryside and never want to leave it. my host mom and dad want to retire at the chateau, and i can't blam

e them. it's gorgeous.