The story continues....

It has been awhile since I have written; not much was happening and then I was sick. I left York and arrived early evening in London. My hostel was near King's Cross Station (home of the Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 for the HP fans) and I arrived in St. Pancras which is the same station. I found my hostel alright. The lobby looked nice enough but it took me ages to discover my room! None of the signs included my room number on it, which doesn't make any sense, I know. It turns out that it was through the kitchen and around a corner right beside an exit in the basement. Awesome. I opened the door to find things strewn everywhere. There were shoes and shirts thrown about and suitcases took up most of the floor. The beds were set up side by side with dividers in between for privacy. Both top and bottom bunk climb in at the end and of course on the bottom there is also the ladder to squeeze in beside. There were beds the whole width of the room, 5 across and 2 on either side of the door. And I'm talking bunk beds so that is a grand total of 14 beds/people in a room. Since the only floor space was at the end of the beds where people got in and out you can imagine the problems that could occur when everyone has a backpack or suitcase. I was feeling pretty crummy by the time I got to the hostel so I pretty much went to sleep, trying not to think about what might be crawling among everyones personal belongings.

I woke up early, got ready, ate breakfast (thank goodness for breakfast being included) and set out to Victoria station. I wanted to pick up some lunch as my bus ride was a whole day affair but half way to the metro station I realized that I actually had to be an hour early not just 30 minutes because it was an international trip. Oh man! I boogied my way to Victoria and made it about 45 minutes early which turned out to be just fine, I even had time to grab some food from a shop in the station. With the company I was using you don't need tickets, just your reference number. I whipped out my trusty notebook to find I had written everything BUT the reference number. Oh great! Thank goodness for wifi! Finally settled on the bus I relaxed and read my book. A 90 minute ferry ride between Dover and Calais and we were on our way again. I luckily was able to sleep for most of the ride between Bologne and Paris. The walk to the metro once in Paris took forever and at this point I felt pretty lousy, was extremely tired and hungry...it was after 7 at night. I arrived at my hostel close to 8, dropped off my bag and my first stop was the pharmacy where I bought vitamin c.....little did I know I should have just stocked up on all the drugs!

I slept wonderfully and woke up feeling rested. I had breakfast (also included) and did some research for my trip before heading to the train station for my trip to Tours France in the Loire Valley. Arriving mid afternoon I found the tourist office, got a map and some directions and set out to find my hostel. After checking in, and buying a membership :( (too bad it was the only hostel in the area) I found the first floor (really the second) in darkness. I got the key in my lock anyways and found I had a room to myself. A sink and everything. I set out in Tours to do some exploring and to see about a tour to the castles in the area. Tours is a picturesque town with medieval architecture. I was lucky enough to be staying in the old area where some of the buildings were still made of the original wood beam and plaster. Working my way back to the tourist office I booked a castle tour for the next day. I stopped at the grocery store for some dinner, my lunch for the tour and some snacks. Back at the hostel things were pretty dismal. The hallways are dark and only lightup when you hit the switch and then are timed to stay on for only a minute or two. The kitchen was all portable appliances and then a separate room with tables and chairs and a tv. Luckily I bought something microwaveable so it was easy to fix. I met a guy in the dining room who told me a bit about the area. He was really friendly and gave me a bag of apples as he was leaving and wouldn't be able to eat them before. And he was the only person I met in my three nights there. Depressing. As nice as it was to have my own room, I was definitely missing the company. And my room at night was downright creepy!

Saturday I woke up, enjoyed a great breakfast and headed out on my castle tour! First stop Azay Le Rideau. A beatiful chateau built on the foundations of a medieval fortress which is surrounded by water on 3 sides. The inside is as amazing as the outside. While not big in size, as far as castles go, it was actually built by a rich man and not by royalty. After that we saw Villandry, more known for its gardens than for the castle itself. While the inside is fabulous, the gardens are exquisite. The castle was built in 1536 by the Minister of Finance for King Francois I. The keep is the only thing that remains of the original medieval castle. It was redesigned in 1754 and then in 1906 the new owner designed and put in the 16th century gardens of which there are 7. Leaving the chateau on the second floor you come out overlooking the ornamental garden(fancy shrubs), the vegetable garden (designed with colour and use in mind),  just a glimpse of the water graden to the left and the woods are all behind you. There is also a sun garden, a maze, and a herb garden. The vegetable garden was by far the most amazing. Using the colour of the legumes to create pieces of art. In the summer, these gardens must be excuisite.

After a pick up back in Tours we continued on our way to  Chambord, the most breathtaking of the four we stopped at. The roofline of this chateau is marvelous and beyond description. It is a square building with four large rooms built around a double winding staircase, with three floors built the same. The staircase leads all the way to the roof terrace! From this main buidling wings come out on two sides and are built to make a rectangular shape with a courtyard on the inside. I later discovered that the stables are in one of these wings! It was started by Francis I in the 1500's and finished by Henry II and Louis XIV. It has 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces, amd 426 rooms. It is truly a masterpiece. Last stop was Chenonceau which I was originally the most excited about seeing but after seeing Chambord, not much else can compare. Chenonceau was built on the River Cher in the 16th century. The tower, from the original fortified castle was all that was not demolished. The great hall, called the gallery, is a long narrow room that juts out across the river. Almost every part of this castle is open to view, including the amazing kitchens! This chateau was supposedly given by a king to his mistress and when he died the Queen took it over. Each one added their own touch to the castle and so it is known as a ladies castle. Louise of Lorraine who was married to King Henri III retired to Chenonceau after he was assassinated and lived in a black bedroom (floor, walls, celing, curtians, bed, everything!) to mourn her husband's death.

After the wonderdul tour of the chateaus, I stopped for some dinner and headed to use what was left of my 24 hour/€4 wifi. I extended my stay so that I could rest on Sunday, and thank goodness I had my own room! I coughed the night away. After getting up for breakfast, I spent another several hours in bed. I got up to go to McD's to use their wifi, and to buy my train ticket across the street and then back to bed. Another night full of coughing. So first thing this morning I went to a pharmacy and got cough syrup, which I have already taken twice and doesn't seem to be working. Unfortunately, I am on a sleeper train, which is good for the overnight trip but bad because I am crammed in with three other ladies like sardines in a can. Between my backpack and their 5+ suitcases, getting the beds down were a challenge. I am hoping for a cougless night, for their sake..and for the sake of my future room mates in the hostel in Barcelona! Off to bed!