This weekend Anna and I became official European travelers by taking a train to Tours (about 2 hours south) and staying in a hostile for the weekend. The region is known as the Loire Valley and is famous for it's many royal chateaus set in the countryside amongst picturesque French villages. Saturday morning we went on a tour that took us to see Chenonceau and Amboise (pictures below). My favorite part was wandering through the halls of these royal estates from the 16th century and imagining what life must have been like for those who walked there so many years before. It actually reminded me of our preoccupation with royalty, and how fascinated most of us have always been at the thoughts of great rulers from the past...but then I realized that this actually is evidence that we are meant to live in eternity with the highest King of Kings that the world will ever know, God Almighty. I believe He is the one who puts these desires in us and that He is the one who will fulfill them when we get to meet Him one day. Strange that a trip to the French countryside would remind me of my love for Christ and my desire to be with Him in heaven, but further evidence that He is goes with me and is ready to teach whenever I am ready to listen. The rest of the weekend was spent wandering around the old part of the city of Tours...taking in some cafes, dining at a great Irish restaurant (that could have passed for a Bennigins where I had a juicy ribeye steak), attempting to go to a concert, reading, and getting a lot of rest. Ahh, it was a great weekend.