St. Rémy-lès-Chevreuse

Today, is the first day of Les Vacances de Toussaint.  So, with no classes for a week, I headed out into the countryside town of St. Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.  Stephan and I had first happened upon the city in his Balado "Free Things to do in the Paris Area" book a year ago.  With its beautiful scenery and various walking tours, it sounded like the perfect place to spend an afternoon.  I had written the city down on a list of things to see, but hadn't ever taken any real steps to see it.
Okay, pause.  Let's have a summary of what I've just said: We discovered the city a year ago.  We hadn't ever gone.  Moral of the Story: Tragic, tragic, tragic.
The "hadn't evers" or "haven't yets" are starting to be the story of my life in France.  I tend to get so excited about taking weekend trips to Holland or Ireland that I take the Région Parisienne forgranted.
So, I finally came to the conclusion (today) that I have less than two months left in France, I'm not sure what the future holds (will Stephan and I stay in France for a while after we get married?  If we move to the States, will be back to visit France?), so it's time to start being really aggressive with my To Do List.
And what did I do?  In spite of the eternal strike going on, I found a train heading toward St. Rémy, and began my afternoon adventure.

The train ride from Gare du Nord (in Paris) to St. Rémy lasted nearly an hour, but it was relaxing and fun to watch out the window as the scenery changed from "You are in the heart of Paris" to "Ahhhhh....the countryside."
Once in St. Rémy, I walked from the train station around the small town, snapping pictures of trees and buildings and stores that looked interesting.  The locals stared at me as if I'd lost my mind.  (I'm wondering if they don't get many tourists out their way?)

After walking through St. Rémy a bit, I asked a woman at a bus stop where she suggested visiting.  She said that the chateau Madeleine in Chevreuse was nice, so I followed her advice, and took the bus over to Chevreuse. 
Once in Chevreuse, I found another woman hanging around the city center and asked for directions to the chateau.
She stared at me, baffled, and said, "Why would you want to find the chateau?"
"To see it?" I replied, wondering what other reponse she would have expected.
"Well, just walk up," she said.  "And when you're tired, you just keep walking up."  She looked with a strange smile on her face and said, "Compris?"
I really began to wonder at that point if the chateau was worth seeing.  Asking why I'd want to find the chateau seemed to indicate a certain level of "not-worth-it-ness". 
But I'd traveled an hour from Paris to see St. Rémy, and so, I determined, I would see everything I could.
I climbed the million steps to the top, and once I reached a clearing in the trees (panting like I'd never had a day of exercise in my life) the first thing I noticed was the view.  From the hilltops, I could see over the whole village of Chevreuse.  The crisp fall weather was perfect, and the sky was just clear enough to see for miles and miles.

I wandered around Chevreuse some more, looking at a few of the bridges they're famous for--les petits ponts--and afterward, when the temperatures started dropping, when I had already wrapped myself in my scarf, hat, and gloves, when I had no more layers to add, I got on the train back to Paris.  And in Paris, I met up with my unmotivated Sri Lankan student (who's delightfully the same as always...) and after a tutoring session with her, I was on yet another train, on my way back to Pontault Combault.


Today was a perfect day.  Today reminded me of how much I love France.  France has been occasionally hard on me (I'm thinking specifically of my disagreeable bank and my mugging), but I've decided to forgive her, because there is, after all, really nowhere else like France. It sounds a little contrived to say it that way, but I just get sentimental as the end of my French adventure approaches.
So, here we go again: I love France. 
And with that, let me wish you a Bonne Nuit!