My First Stop Cholet, France
My first stop during my career was Cholet, France. Having never traveled abroad before I really didn't know what to expect, needless to say I was looking forward to the journey and expanding my horizons. What I happen to believe was sheer luck the flight attendant saw me struggling in my coach class seat and decided to give me an upgrade to a seat with much more leg room(first class). In the seat right next to me was a fellow pro athlete also traveling to France, who had more experience than I in traveling the world at that time. By the time the flight concluded my confidence level had significantly increased to say the least.
Cholet is a quiet French city with just over 54,000 people living there. Cholet was the site of the most cataclysmic battle during the French Revolution in 1793. That battle was called the Battle of Cholet which was won by the republicans which triggered a period of brutal government oppression. But as the years progressed the city evolved into one of France's largest textile manufactures producing some of the most unique hankercheifs the country had to offer. Today the Musee du Textile et de la Mode offers a summary of Cholet's historic run in the textile industry. The original building which was built in 1881 still stands where you can walk through the galleries and experience what it was like during Cholet's golden age of spinning, dying and weaving.
I was lucky to have a great group of teammates who loved to explore. So on our days off from practicing we would always research a new place to go and experience. One of my favorite places that we discovered was the Parc Oriental de Maulevrier a Japanese garden designed by the Parisian architect Alexandre Marcel. This place was simply awsome Alexandre's love of oriental styles unknowningly caused him to create the largest Japanese garden in France. It featured over 300 plant species, a plethora of bonsai trees and water features that will make any designer blush. It is still to this day one of the best gardens I have ever seen.
Thinking back on my first apartment in Cholet I remembered it like it was yesterday a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom flat with a balcony overlooking a roundabout. One of the coolest things I remember when I spent time on the balcony was watching stage 5 of the Tour De France. Watching all of the bicyclist literally ride past my front door all of them fighting for the opportunity to wear that yellow jersey. It didn't dawn on me at the time but thinking back it was an amazing opportunity that I still take with me to this day.
After searching the market of Cholet I came across a property appropriately named Architect House. This home features 9 rooms total including 5 bedrooms, a outdoor terrace and an indoor pool. Simply architechture at it's finest check out the photos.
