Austin Peay State University - Yearbook (Clarksville, TN)

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From Peay to Paris; 5 APSU students bypass springtime sun and beer for romance of France Above e The Effiel Tower, one of the sights visited by the group, looms over the Paris rooftops. By Chuck Cantrell During spring break, between March 12 and 20, some students of APSU were content to lay out in the Florida sun or consume large quantities of beer and TV. A small band decided. however, to sacrifice their hard earned vacation to study France in springtime. The group consisted of Professor' John Welker of the Modern Language Department; his brother Robert Welker, an English professor at the Uni- versity of Alabama - Huntsville; his sis- ter Elizabeth Christopher; and five stu- dents tPat Stottlemyre, Tracy Culp, Rossan Watts, Mike Helms and Chuck CantrelD to keep them out of mischief. The trip was divided into two parts; the first four days being spent in Paris, and the last four used to travel part of the Loire River valley to visit Renais- sance castles. The weather in Paris was much the same as Tennessee, a bit cooler per- haps. But things were turning green - possibly due to the rain which fell al- most every afternoon for an hour or two, catching the group unprepared each time despite its predictability. The group stayed at the Picard Ho- tel, located a few blocks from the Place de la Bastille near the center of the city. Paris seemed an ideal place for tour- ists. The subway system called Hle metro will take you anywhere in Paris saving taxi fare and feet. Days in Paris were spent visiting famous landmarks such as the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette was heid prisoner before her execution, the Louvre with its fam- ous art treasures among them the sword of Charlemagney, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Foiies Begere, and McDonalds; although we did not go in. HA Big Mac and a Vouvray wine, demi-sec, s'il vous plait madame. Especially pleasant during the time in Paris was an evening with friends of Professor Welker. M, and Mme, Guerin and their two daughters Martine and Isabel prepared a feast of dishes from the province of Burgundy. Fine food, excellent wine, chocolate mousse, a lit- tle champagne e who needs burgers? On the fifth day the group left Paris with its trusty guide Gugenheim, a hired driver, and a 15 seater bus. The first stop was Versailles, home of Louis XIV, the HSun King. where a German man and woman followed along with us and agreed with whatever Gugenheim had to say. In a rush as usual, we left Versailles after a short visit and headed south- west to Chartres, a town of only 30,000 inhabitants, but it is the loca- tion of the famous Cathedral of Chartres. After a leisurely lunch and quick tour of the cathedral, the group continued south to Amboise, a small town on the Loire River. Amboise, the birthplace of Charles VIII was converted in 1492 from the old style castlefortress to a less harsh pal-

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Left - Dressed to the hilt, this snowwoman must have enjoyed a real night on the town, fortunately her Tennessee sipping whiskey didn't warm her blood to the melting point. Bottom Left - tL-Rt Danita Morris, Pam Gray and Lynn Keeton discover that sometimes it's hard work in just sliding down a hill. Bottom Right - This little boy, who resides in the Emerald Hill apartments for APSU married students, has found out that the trouble with snow forts is that they always cave in - sometimes while you're in them. 95

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ace retaining the strength of the for- tress. Italian artisans were brought from Italy to do much of the work, among them Leonardo da Vinci who spent the last three years of his life a few blocks from our hotel. The next three days were devoted to visiting other Chateaux of the Loire Val- ley. The chateau at Amboise; Cham- bord, built by Francois l; Chinonceaus, built by Marie de Medici, and Azay-Ieri- deau were the chateaus visited. Since the visits were necessarily brief, many treasurers were left unfound, even though a great many were discovered. The group did extremely weII despite the handicap that most of the group spoke little or no French. None were intimidated by the problem. Everything was said and understood in two Ian- guages at the same time, and so well, that one began to wonder, HWhy both- er to speak French at all? Maybe the success comes from not being afraid to try. There is no reason why the French and the Americans shouldnit be able to understand each other - we seem to be the same when our mouths are shut. Although the adventure was far too short, the group learned many new things. The water, for instance, is good for drinking, but with so much inexpen- sive wine to be had, who thinks about water. F$H Top - Members of APSU's France tour group included Chuck Cantrell. Elizabeth Christopher, Pat Stottlemyre, John Welker. Mike Helms, Tracy Culp, Rossan Watts and Robert Welker. Above Left e The sword of Charlemagne was just one of the many treasures the group saw at the Louvre in Paris. Above nght - Chuck Cantrell poses at one of the castles the group visited during their two week stay. 97