Guedelon
Guedelon is a castle being constructed using tools and techniques from the thirteenth century. When we arrived, we watched a quick animation of how the castle was being built and the progress they had made on it. Then, we had a tour guide who worked at the castle to walk us around the grounds. It had just rained, and everything was a bit muddy, but that just added to the experience. The castle was beautiful, but definitely not a place I would want to live. The toilet there is just a hole on the second story of the castle that leads outside. The experience was so amazing because I could connect everything I had learned in history class about castles and medieval France with the castle I was exploring. After a nice tour, we carved patterns into rocks and colored them at the stone cutter's workshop. Then, we had some free time to explore on our own. I hung out with Eden, her mom, and my family. We found many animals, plants, and interactive areas around the castle. After a fulfilling morning spent at Guedelon, we were off to visit St. Fargeau.
The Wonders of St. Fargeau
We took the bus into St. Fargeau, a cozy area near our hotel. After walking around for a little while, some people on the tour decided to visit the Chateau de Saint-Fargeau. It was very interesting, if not a little creepy. Some of the rooms were lined with wax figures and dead animals hung from the ceiling in the basement. We explored for a while before heading to a quaint ice cream shop. I got the mint ice cream, but it was not what I expected! It tasted like fresh mint leaves from a plant. We rushed back to the bus and soon found ourselves back at our little hotel. Most of the kids wanted to take a dip in the pool, but Taylor, Ari, and I had a different idea.
A Refreshing Afternoon Swim
My friends and I headed out with our assistant tour guide to a lake near the hotel. After strolling down a road lined with beautiful fields, we arrived to the lake. Covered by trees, it was the perfect place for an afternoon dip. We slowly waded our way in and soon found ourselves engulfed by cool, refreshing water. We swam until we couldn't swim anymore. When we were back on land, Taylor and I noticed a muddy area near the lake. We decided to give each other mud facials. I'm not sure if it did anything for our skin, but it did a lot to our friendship. After the swim, Taylor and I were best friends, and we spent most of our time on the tour together. The rest of the night was spent eating dinner, calling my parents, and spending time outdoors. After such a full day, I was more than happy to fall asleep in my adorably unique hotel room.