A “Real” French Family

Once we left the super touristy spots of London and Paris, we rode a train south to a little town called Saint-Amand-Montrond. We stayed with one of my mom’s college friends, Elisa, and her family. It was a very beautiful town and I really liked it because it felt like we were part of a community instead of being tourists.

Some of my favorite things we did were going to the local market, going to an amazing ropes course in the trees and going to their abandoned “postal” hotel from 250 years ago. Elisa’s daughter, Lucy, showed us around town. The local market was amazing with varieties of chairs and baskets to fish and whole rabbits. The market was one of the best I had ever visited!

Next, the ropes course was called the “Aqua Branch.” It was named “Aqua Branch” because some of their zip-lines dip into the lake below. The highest point of the ropes course is about 75′ up in the air. It was so cool because you have a bunch of fun on the obstacles and you can zip-line over to the other island.

Last on my list is their hotel, which is right down the street from their house. It was originally made for traveling postal workers as a place to sleep and gather mail. It also had a stable in the back to rest horses for the night. Now it is very old and falling apart, the roof is collapsing and some of the rooms are filled with books and suitcases.

My favorite meal was roast chicken and bready potato balls called “pomme dauphine.” They were so good and just melted in my mouth. My second favorite was an amazing leek quiche that Elisa, our host, made. Finally, for breakfast every day, we stuffed lots of croissants into our mouths. My favorite were the chocolate ones. I love chocolate!