the adventure begins

It's been four days since I first arrived in Acquigny, and already, I am on the fast track to learning French. It's tres bizarre, a cause de I never thought I'd be learning this language. Because if you ask me, there is not really a point unless I intend to live there. So...I started really trying to learn French. Because, I think, I may want to move to this country! Never before in my travels so far could I imagine living in any of the places for an extended time. But between the food, the customs, the language (so romantique!), the manners (okay so maybe I am living and dining with the top 5% and my house is a chateau...but the speculation is a reflection of all the frenchies I have encountered so far.

Well I know you're all dying to see where I live, so I will start with some pictures and descriptions as my first post:

Chateau de Acquigny

I live at Chateau de Acquigny with the Baron and Baroness d'Esneval, as well as with Jennifer, a student from Princeton University studying French and Pre-med. Jennifer is helping me understand and learn French. You can visit the Chateau's webpage at http://www.parc-et-jardins-acquigny-27.com/.

taking pictures at my window

My bedchamber is located on the third floor over looking the lawn expanse with a tributary of the Seine to the left and the church and L'Orangerie to the right.

the view from my window

Le Potager (the Kitchen Garden) in located past the forest to the left. I think the Potager is my favorite place on the estate so far. I spent a few hours there on Sunday, sketching, and journaling. And then today, all day pruning vegetables and flowers with Adrian. Adrian is the twenty-six year old gardener that has won awards in Normandie for his botanical techniques, and is the gardener here. He barely speaks English, and I barely speak French, so we communicate with a dictionary, our hands, gardening techniques, latin terminology, drawing pictures, and laughing a lot. It's really nice working with him, and its funny how we both try to have real conversations with each other and struggle to get the other to understand!

my room

I love my room. I feel like I'm Juliet when I'm looking out my window. When I was picking a room, we came into this one and I immediately fell in love. Oh! Speaking of love, I accidentally told Adrian I loved him. I was trying to tell him that I loved the Dawn Redwood next to him, but I said J'tem, instead of jem!!! He kept looking at me, and I finally got it when Jennifer told me yesterday that I was saying in wrong. How embarrassing, but funny! Go me to tell the gardener I love him on the first day of meeting him!

I love the wood inlays in the furniture. Daddy would have loved the burled sleigh bed I sleep in at night. I think that's why I picked this room, because I knew he would have thought the furniture beautiful. I have a little closet/wash-up room where I place my belongings, as well as any toiletries. It's great having a closet! It's almost as big as my room on Long Island!!

Below is the hallway on the second floor where Madame et Monsieur live.

the kitchen where Madame D'Esvenal makes the most delicious food I have ever had!

Really! I have never eaten so well in my life. I think I'm going to do a blog entry just on the incredible meals :)

Okay, that's all for now. More to come, many funny stories that have happened. It's funny because when I don't understand what people are saying I make up what they're saying. For example, tonight I first thought that the D'Esneval's were going to Paris for dinner. I thought Jennifer and I would just heat up some leftovers and I would work on my blog and write in my journal, and write thank-you notes for graduation gifts. Then at lunch I think Madame D'Esneval is just going to take Elizabeth and Mike back to Paris (a friend from Cornell in Landscape Architecture that did this program 6 years ago, and her new fiancee, he proposed to her on the Grand Canal at Versailles on Monday!!!) and then she would go to dinner and come back in the morning. And then, on the way to the post office with Jennifer this evening, we passed by a beautiful little restaurant, and I think Jennifer tells me that we're going there tonight for Aperitif for Madame and Monsieur's 50th wedding anniversary. Well, no. I finally got the real story when I was taking a picture of Jennifer in front of the Restaurant (because it was so perfect) on the way back from the post office and this woman pulls up in a car (we're in her way), and I say pardon and she responds to me in English! And I'm like, wait you speak English? Shocked, I know. And she's like, of course! I'm English. And I'm like oh, ha ha. And I'm like, we're coming here tonight. And she's like, no you're not, it's closed. And we're like, we know, we're at the party. She's like it's my birthday party. OH! you must be the two American girls! And she laughs, and we laugh, and introduce ourselves and tell her happy birthday. Oh, how I do love small towns :)