Excursion Sundays
- Alexa Nickandros
- Mar 22, 2019
- 4 min read
Happy Spring everyone, Winslow here to tell you about what we’ve been up to the past couple weeks! First I’d like to ponder a question: should you go somewhere or do something just because you can, or only when you want to? The young one has been wanting to go somewhere over the weekends. You would think that being in the center of France would make everything very accessible, but in fact to get to an interesting part of France (Alsace, Bretagne, French Riviera) it takes upwards of 4 hours by train or by car. And more often than not, we would have to make a connection. Within a reasonable distance are plenty of chateaux, Paris, a lot of vineyards and fields, a really expensive zoo, and a few other cities. Back in the day the young one would have pointed to a city nearby and said « hey look a city, let’s go there! » But now the thought of just walking around a city isn’t so appealing. Been there, done that.
For the young one, a peaceful weekend in Bourges makes her feel guilty after only working 2 days a week. She holds the belief that since she is indeed capable of going somewhere on the weekends, she should. Even if she doesn’t want to, surely the experience would be worth it in the end? Me, on the other hand, think that is ridiculous. Back in the United States neither of us felt an urge to travel on the weekends! Sure she could drive to New York, New Hampshire, or even Canada from Massachusetts. But she never has! This kind of guilt was never an issue before. So in my opinion, traveling (and really any other activity) is done best when it is truly desired, or when an opportunity arises, and most importantly when we are looking forward to it!
The best way to profit from living abroad is to live abroad. That means establishing routines, cooking at home, going to the gym, having lazy days (most days for me!), finding a hobby, experiencing and embracing the pros and cons of where you live, running errands, being able to give directions to visitors, knowing the bartenders and kebab shop owners, making friends, and spending quality time with those friends. Maybe I’m saying these things to make the young one feel less guilty, but I believe they are also very true. After all, we have our whole lives to hop from one place to the next, seeing this and doing that, but in how many places will you really live? That said, me and her haven’t ventured very far from home lately.
A couple Sundays ago we took a day trip to Sancerre, a hilltop town surrounded by vineyards, with a few of the young one’s friends. In Bourges when you ask for the local wine or cheese (which I’ve never done, but hypothetically), you would be advised to try a Sancerre white wine and some crottin de chavignol. I was glad it was Sunday so all of the options for tastings were closed and I didn’t have to go through that. We all simply enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the scenic countryside, walking down the hill from Sancerre to another town, over an aquaduct, and past the vineyards, all in view of the smooth green and gold hills folding into the distance.
I did eventually have to sit through a « pause vin » at the end of the day as the crew sat down at the only open café. It started to rain a little and a rainbow appeared right behind a French flag.
This past weekend, Excursion Sunday continued with a trip to a chateau not too far south of Bourges. It was called Chateau de Meillant. Photos were not allowed inside the chateau unfortunately, and this was reinforced by our tour guide. It was a short tour, I think because some of the chateau is still used nowadays - it’s privately owned and has always been inherited, never sold. What the young one liked most was the decorative ceilings and the little painted characters, alternating with elaborate carved cabbage leaves, along the ceilings. Our least favorite was the creepy woman mannequin laying in the dark, cold bedroom, the only light shining on her stagnant face.
Along the outside of the chateau is a moat, the old ice box, a children’s playhouse, and former stables that now house an antique car and horse-drawn carriage collection.
Lastly, we ventured into a house with miniatures on display. The miniatures showed architecture and industry changes from medieval times to current day. There was also another mannequin to top it all off.
The last thing is something the young one would like to share, since I wasn’t there. She went to do something called laser tag. I guess it just involves running around in a dark room, the goal being to flash your toy gun at as many people as possible. Everyone’s got their own way of having fun I guess.
Apparently it was the boyfriend who was consistently the best at this silly activity. Not sure exactly what that proves.
This weekend I will have the pleasure of getting to know some of the young one’s friends/colleagues! We are heading north to champagne country. I will be letting you know how it went sometime next week! Peace out party people, Winslow
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