Willy Wonka's Got Nothing On This Guy

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I can honestly say that I have never seen a love so true in my life. I have seen many couples, in many styles, but Christoff (idk how to spell it) and chocolate have undoubtedly topped it all.
Today was our first full day in France. I began the day with an amazing run. The trails here at awesome!! Mrs. Bradley and I went on a rather long and adventurous run this morning. We ended up splitting up on the second half. It was heavily wooded, and rather scary... you bettcha I hauled ass out of there as fast as my little heart would let me, then the next thing I know, I was on a levy, trees towering over me by at least 100 ft, and just beyond, perfectly laid crop rows... It was fascinating. Since I finished a little early I decided to a little ab workout, which by the way, did not feel very good with my back against the ground. The bugs ended up really liking this idea and all decided to join me. I began to feel a little overwhelmed so I decided to call it a day. :p We took the bus into the city and first went on a boat tour down the Ill River. It was very cool. We were able to see some of the earlier parts of French history this way, and considering I let those things go in one ear and out the other (I'm an excellent history student, what can I say), it was all new! After a while, however, my hourly sleepy spell began to take over and I had to lean on my dearest Elz for a bit. Once the tour was over, we headed to a choclatier named Christians. I had no idea that I was about to have a whole new light on chocolate! We were escorted up two flights of stairs and into the baking area, where we met Christoff, the French King of Chocolate (or so I have just labeled him). He was a thing man, with big blue eyes, and the biggest heart... for chocolate of course. He began at the age of 14 and ever since then has been in the business, not for the money, but for his own passion. Although not world known, I am sure that if he were to accept any of the offers that he has so reluctantly turned down, he would be. My favorite quote from him was when he mentioned that he no longer had a wife. He said, "She told me to choose between chocolate or her. The choice was too easy!" We all laughed, and he said that he was just playing a bit, but his chocolate has made him who he is, and there is nothing that would take him away from it. It defines him, and I think because it is such an overwhelming part of him, it makes him so successful. After trying many, and I mean manydifferent chocolates, (I would say about 12 different kinds), he presented us with some water and a few minutes... Then he brought us to the ice cream!!! This man made my day! As he was telling about the choices that we had, he said "and here I have red pepper and ranch".... excuse e muah?!? For those of you that are not aware, I love red peppers!! I also love yellow and orange, but that wasn't an option. You bet that I was alllll over that. The thing about it is that it was actually good!! It tasted like an ice cream that someone would want again! It still had its red pepper flavor, but it also had more than that, something that made it sweet, creamy, and desirable. Although technically it was a community picnic of ice cream, with everyone eating out of everyone else's cup, the other ice cream that I tried was the lilac? I am not sure, it was some kind of vanilla and flower. It was just as good. This guy was incredible. I loved it! But like all things in life, the fun had to end somewhere, so we let him finish up his day and headed to the cathedral.
Yes, to the cathedral, but on the way there was Baquet, Gena, some other store, the Tie Rack, and probably one more! I was in heaven! Have I mentioned that me and shopping come in second place on the list of intense love relations? Haha, however, ours is more so a fatal attraction. :P So I will correct myself and just say that it is lust. I did however, also find the perfect gift for my mom, so that makes it all worth it in the end! We did end up seeing the cathedral. It was constructed in the Gothic period. Although I have taken a history of design course, I have sadly forgotten the specific names and things like that of interior architecture, but I was still able to appreciate and recognize all of the differentiations and beauties that were laid within the making and design.
And on our way out, there was one last shop that reeled me in 😊
We made our way back to the Chateau, and although most people were dropped off at the local market, I was not, for my 5 bags (one being of an unusually large size) would have made it an impossible task. Elz and I decided to have a date night and make our way down the path to the restaurant that we had eaten at the night before. We split a bottle of wine by cost, but only had a glass, then I had a smoked salmon salad, while she had veal, with a side of fries. We both found that to be incredibly comical!
After that, the night was pretty much over with. The first day in France was complete!

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