Saint-Amand-Montrond, France

Bonjour! We are in a little town called, Saint-Amand-Montrond in the “heart” of France. My mom’s college friend has kindly invited us to stay at her old stone house. The house is 5th generation, if not more, and they got it after it was left abandoned after her husband’s grandfather had passed away. Her family also happens to own an old abandoned hotel a few doors down. The hotel was a “postal hotel”. It was for people who worked in the mail industry. They would deliver/collect mail and they would need somewhere to sleep and rest their horses. The hotel used to also be the best restaurant in town now the roof is falling down and there’s rat poop everywhere but it’s the best place for hide and seek I’ve ever been to. The hotel also is for sale, by the way.

My mom’s college roommate has two awesome children. Her daughter is about the same age as me and her brother is a few years younger. They were really fun to hang out with and were great hosts!

Her daughter took us into town where we went to the market which had hand-woven baskets, fresh veggies and fruits, fish, and I saw an entire turkey plucked with its head still on. Later that day we went to the coffee and tea shop and bought delicious chocolates. They were amazing! While we were there, we went to a really cool zip line and hanging obstacle course and it was tons of fun. All-in-all, this part of our trip was awesome and I like traveling better when I know someone who lives there because then I get to feel like I am part of the community too. Thank you to my new French friends!