Yesterday started off on a bad note for me.  Prior to leaving for a day trip to Amboise, France, we decided to pack our own lunches and bring them along to save some euro.  I went to a grocery store before the train station that morning to get some things.  I brought my things to the check out, but the woman picked up my apple and started speaking to me in rapid-fire French, using words I didn't know, and I was SO confused.  Eventually she took me back to the fruit and I figured out you had to weigh the fruit and get a sticker to put on it that would say the price...something that never happens in grocery stores in the US.  Little to say, I was embarassed and she hated me....probably will not go back to that grocery store again haha.
The rest of my day was fabulous though!  Le château d'Amboise was gorgeous and the views were amazing.  It belonged to a few French kings in its time--Louis I and Francois something-or-other.  Leonardo da Vinci is buried there in a crypt, so we got to see that, as well.  We had our lunches and champagne by a creek, and then found la maison de Leonardo da Vinci.  It was a small château itself!  The gardens were massive, and they had taken some of his inventions and brought them to life--a playground, fake guns, a tank, bridges, etc.  Very interesting.
For le dîner, we ate at a local restaurant and had the best food of our trip!  I had a une cocotte (casserole) with ham, potato, mushrooms, and local cheeses.  Words cannot describe how delicious it was!  For dessert, I had une crêpe nutella...just as amazing.  It was jazz night, and the owner played a piano in the window and sang.  The atmosphere was unbelievable.  Very French and relaxing; we didn't want to leave!  It was the perfect ending to a great day.

un crêpe nutella

the crypt of Leonardo Da Vinci

le château d'Amboise

la maison de Leonardo da Vinci

Amboise, France