Quick Post. And Hopefully Some Pictures

Hello All!

As evident in the lack of blog-age happening, I do not have internet where I am staying. I am using the Wi-Fi in a crazy McDonalds listening to silly music and pondering the various random decorations that surround me. (Carrots in long beer glasses on display). I have posted something that I wrote last night (see below) but would like to fill you in on what I did today:

a. After class, we got crepes and headed to Sacre Coeur. It is probably the most beautiful Cathedral I have yet to step foot in. We climbed a spiral staircase all the way to the top to check out the view of the city. It was AWESOME! Although frightening because there were over 300 stairs in a spiral…and it was dark and tiny.
b. Visited some local artists around the Cathedral.
c. Went to a cool cemetery and walked around a bit.
d. WALKED A TON
e. Checked out a crazy church that was a combo Church/modern art museum. Still do not really understand. It was interesting though.
f. Did some shopping. May or may not have purchased a Longchamp Bag (yay for no self-control)
g. Walked back to our hostel (quite a long walk).
h. Ate dinner.
i. The end.

Paris is so great. I am loving every moment. Hoping to upload some photos right now. Hopefully the McDonalds’ Wi-Fi is quick and allows me to do so!

I am going to try to get internet this weekend some time. More updates to come (hopefully!) If not, we will just have to talk when I am home in less than a week. Can’t believe it is coming to an end already!!!

Much Love.

Where to Begin…

We left St. Malo early Wednesday morning. I was so proud of myself because even though I have the most luggage, I was the first to load all of my stuff on the bus! About two hours into the bus ride, we stopped in a town called Bayeux. The town has a beautiful Cathedral and also has a museum of a tapestry that depicts the victory won by William duke of Normandy over the English; it is over 1000 years old. We visited the museum and had each part of the very large tapestry explained to us. It was super interesting to see such an old piece of artwork that has such an amazing history.

We got back on the bus and headed to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. The land the cemetery is located on was actually given to American by the French as a token of their appreciation for our country’s help during World War II. The Cemetery was a very moving place; seeing over 9000 gravestones and knowing that all those men died fighting for the purpose was such an unbelievable experience. We left the Cemetery after a while and headed to the other beaches of Normandy. This too, did not seem real. The ground on which we walked resembled that of a different planet. There were huge crater-like pores in the Earth’s surface; scars from a day that occurred over 60 years ago. The German barracks still remain. Many are torn to pieces, but stepping foot in the ones that still stand sent chills up and down my spine. It was so bizarre to think about all of the things that occurred on a piece of land that today seems oddly serene. We could only stay for a short while because we needed to be in Paris by 7:00 for dinner. I slept the entire bus ride…but that’s no surprise!

We arrived in Paris and quickly unloaded our luggage. After eating dinner our hostel’s “sister-hostel,” we began the daunting task of carrying all of our luggage up stairs. Three flights of stairs. Stairs that are curvy. And made out of slippery wood. Did I mention that these stairs slant in different directions too? It was quite the adventure. Luckily some of the boys manned-up and helped us girls with our giant suitcases. I am living with four other girls at the hostel- Sarah, Serena, Mary Anna, and Kathleen. It has been a ton of with them. The hostel is a bit of a change from the beautiful hotel we stayed at in St. Malo, but still pretty nice. Last night we roamed the city for a while in attempt to find a movie theater. Well, we ended up finding all of the movie theaters in Paris; none of which, for various reasons, fit our needs. We finally settled for some nice ice cream beside a beautiful fountain. Not bad. Getting home was too funny. We walked around in circles for about an hour and a half until we finally realized where the heck we were.

Thursday morning we had class after breakfast. Our whole group then went on a boat tour of Paris. It was such a cool experience; I loved getting to see all of the beautiful architecture and hearing about its history. We finished around 3:00 and spent some time by the Eiffel Tower. As I stood under the Eiffel Tower, I couldn’t believe that I was actually there! It almost seems fake at first. Really though, it is probably one of my new favorite places. It is so beautiful!

We headed back to the hostel for dinner after roaming the city some more. After dinner, we walked down the Seine to see the sunset with some other Villanova students. It was such a neat sight; everyone has picnics around the river, on the bridges, in the parks, etc. during dinner. I loved every second of it. Serena, Kathleen, Sarah and I decided to head to the Eiffel Tower to go up to the top. It took us a while to walk there, but it was SO very worth it. The sight from the top was absolutely amazing. It was definitely one of my favorite nights so far. Besides the amazing view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, we had a blast walking around the city and seeing Paris by foot. Hopefully more to come!

Peace and Love

Getting Attached by a British Seagull and Ice Cream that has Changed My Life

Last night I decided to go for a run with Theresa. After the birthday cake = maybe not the best decision. It was still fun though because we ran around the wall of the city twice and got to see all of the amazing views. We ended on the beach around 8:00. It was so pretty! After, I grabbed a quick dinner at a pizzeria with Theresa and after…visited Sanchez, the BEST ice cream place I have ever been to. (Maybe for the second time of the day…) Seriously, this ice cream place has forever changed my life. First off, there are over 60 fabulous flavors. Secondly, the four flavors I have tried have all been absolutely delicious. Lastly, the line is ALWAYS wrapped around the road. Honestly, yesterday there were about 75 people in line. BUT they are SO efficient. It took about 5 minutes. I wish everyone could taste the goodness that is Sanchez ice cream.

Today we visited Jersey. We had to wake up at 6:30, which was not fun. But thankfully, we got to eat a great breakfast before we departed. I was quite bummed on our way to the ferry because it was raining and really cold. The ferry was a ton faster than I had imagined. I slept for the entire hour and a half it took us to get there. Thankfully by the time we arrived, the weather had cleared up. We went to the office of tourism to figure out exactly what we wanted to do. After talking with a woman, we decided on renting bikes. It was way too much fun!

We rode bikes along the coast, past several beaches, through little towns; saw the countryside, amazing parks and gardens, cliffs overlooking the ocean, and ended at a BEAUTIFUL place that overlooked the ocean and the most spectacular lighthouse I have ever seen. I could not take enough pictures to do the view justice! Speaking of pictures, as I was taking a picture, I got attached by a British Seagull! I had a piece of bread in my hand as I was taking a photo when all of a sudden a HUGE bird flew into my head. It, no joke, landed on my head and stole the bread out of my hand. I still cannot believe it. It was utterly terrifying.

We ate lunch at a really nice restaurant on the top of the cliff, overlooking the lighthouse. It was delicious. After lunch, we headed back to where we rented the bikes. Overall, we biked for 15 miles! The second 7.5 miles were a lot easier because they were slightly downhill compared to the 7.5 on the way to the lighthouse that were slightly uphill. We walked around the town center for a couple hours, browsed through some shops, got ice cream (not nearly as good as Sanchez) and then headed back to our ferry around 5:00. We got back to St. Malo at 8:15 (b/c of the time change). I am not really sure about plans for tonight. I am exhausted!

Much LOVE!

First Day in St. Malo

Last night was fabulous. We ate a great dinner at the hotel we are staying at. I had a cheese puff appetizer, beef burgundy, a cheese plate after the main course and a delicious apricot pastry for dessert. The restaurant was so nice and I was pleasantly surprised to find that our waiters were very kind to us. (Patricia had told me that they weren’t going to feed us here because the waiters don’t like ‘young people’ and insisted on giving me loads of food before I left Rennes.)

After dinner, a few of us walked around the wall that surrounds the city to see the sunset. It was beyond beautiful. The tide gets very high during the evening so there was no beach. The rocks that we had hung out on earlier in the afternoon were completely submerged; only the peaks of the highest rocks were visible. It was honestly the kind of view that makes you get kind of emotional. I didn’t bring my camera, because I wanted to try to appreciate every minute rather than attempt to take tons of pictures. I think I will be returning tonight so I can take some pictures; although I am confident that even the best pictures will not do it justice.

After our walk, we wandered into the center of the city and found a little gelato place to grab a (second) dessert. I got raspberry sorbet. It was AMAZING because they shaped the ice cream into a rose on my cone! One of the girls took a picture- it was too cool. Shortly after devouring our delicious sorbet, we met up with some other Villanova students at a bar down the road from our hotel. We stayed for a while, but I was so tired!

This morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. It was fabulous. Fresh squeezed orange juice, croissants, yogurt, fruit, crepes, etc. It was one of the best hotel breakfasts I have had. Last night a girl named Daina and I discovered a beautiful cathedral down the street from our hotel. We decided to attend mass this morning and I am so happy we did! The cathedral was absolutely breathtaking; the music, too, was astonishing. Seriously, I had to hold back the tears during the beginning of the mass. It felt too amazing to be real!

After church Daina and I wandered around the center of the city for a little. We found a little café to eat lunch at. It wasn’t too expensive and I had one of the best sandwiches I have yet to have! I ended up meeting with some other girls and we bought tickets to go to Jersey tomorrow. Jersey is an island off the coast of England. I am so excited for tomorrow!

Off to celebrate Molly’s birthday. Dr. Rigaud bought a cake!

quick blog

We have arrived in St. Malo! It is absolutely amazing. From my balcony, I can see the ocean and the very old wall that surrounds the city. This afternoon, there was a man right below our balcony playing guitar. We spent most of the day exploring the beach- there are tons of huge rocks that we hung out on for most of the day. Highlight = old men in Speedos. Totally kidding; it’s actually quite disturbing.

We left Rennes this morning and stopped close to St. Malo to eat lunch. Leaving Rennes was actually a little easier than I had imagined. Patricia did get a little teary-eyed, but did not cry like last night, so I was all good.

Tonight we have dinner with the group at the hotel. I am really excited because we all are getting a little dressed up and the food is apparently really good.

I obviously have internet, so I am going to try to update this thing as much as I can.

Oh, by the way, there is a cockatiel in the hotel lobby. Oh, joy. Even when I am not at home Jack the Devil Bird haunts me!

Last Day in Rennes

Today:
1. Woke up and ate breakfast with Patricia
2. Thought about packing
3. Played piano for Patricia
4. Thought about packing again
5. Did Pilates
6. Ate lunch with Patricia. Guess what I ate? A WHOLE piece of salmon and some type of tuna bread. Mom, Dad- I hope you are proud.
7. Went for a super long walk with Patricia. We walked down a path I found the other day; it leads to the countryside and is so quaint and beautiful.
8. Stopped for coffee at Patricia’s friends house on the walk back home
9. Actually packed
10. Went for a run
11. Ate dinner with Patricia
12. Gave Patricia her gift. She started crying; I got really sad because when I leave she is going to be all alone. Tomorrow is definitely going to be tough to say goodbye.

I spent a lot of time today reflecting on my past month in Rennes. I kept thinking of the things I was going to miss: going on runs through Chantepie and the surrounding countryside, dinners with Patricia, Patricia making fun of me for saying something stupid, Esmeralda and her delicious food, my favorite Patisserie down the street, etc. I could go on forever. I have loved every moment I have been here and although I am very much looking forward to St. Malo and Paris, it is definitely going to be difficult to leave the place that I have called home for the past four weeks.

I am not sure about my internet situation in St. Malo and Paris. I am going to try to update this blog as much as I can, but there really are no guarantees. I plan on writing a bit every day and posting all updates when I have internet. For the last time, peace and love from Rennes. I wish you all could have experienced this amazing city alongside me.

It has been a while…

It has indeed been quite some time since I last blogged. For that, I apologize. As my time comes to an end here in Rennes, I have been doing everything I can to savor each moment. Unfortunately, my blog has been pushed to the backburner. The last few days have flown by; I have spent my free time running all over the city and attempting to hit all of my favorite spots one last time. I get so sad when I think about the possibility of never visiting my favorite Patisserie again! I will l try my best to recount the past few days. Please ignore the fact that the following few paragraphs will most likely not make any sense, as I am quite exhausted!

Monday- I had class as usual, except we didn’t get out until 7:15 because we had a film class. The first class was actually hysterical because we had this awesome professor who explained to us all of the reasons why he finds the movie “Titanic” to be utterly catastrophic. We laughed so incredibly hard during those two hours and class flew by. Unfortunately, we had a three hour film-viewing class in the evening that was not as enjoyable. The movie we watched was quite strange- a full length film, that was a cartoon, and did not have any words. And no, it was not WALL-E, which I enjoyed thoroughly, for all of you haters out there. I got home around 8:00, ate dinner with Patricia, and spent the rest of the evening studying for my final exam that was on Tuesday.

Tuesday went by super quickly. We had our final exam in the morning and it was not too difficult. Serena and I spent our lunch breaks Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday visiting the Longchamp store and contemplating potential purchases. I have not made one yet (self-control!) But am pretty confident that I will be making one in the near future (at least I tried!). Tuesday I came home after class, read a bit, went for a run, and spent the rest of the evening with Patricia. She is too sweet- Sarah had made a comment about how her dad collects shot glasses from all of the places he visits. She has wanted to get him one, but hasn’t been able to find one anywhere. Patricia surprised her on Tuesday night with one that she found at a store by the beach. She had it all wrapped and everything! She also had presents for Sarah and I, but told us that we had to wait to open them. I told her we can do a “gift exchange” tomorrow because I bought her a Vera Bradley bag before I left the States. Sarah left around 10:30 and I passed out. Good thing, because Wednesday was a VERY busy day.

Since Wednesday was our last day of classes at the University, we had a reception in the evening to receive our certificates and say our final goodbyes. We also had a meeting with Dr. Rigaud. I didn’t end up getting home until about 6:30. I had planned to spend the night at Serena’s because a bunch of students wanted to celebrate the end of classes in Rennes. I had to get on a bus at 8:00 to get back to the city. I had to explain to Patricia my plans for the evening and didn’t end up getting in the shower until 7:15. I had to shower, get dressed/ready, pack my things for Serena’s house, eat dinner, and get to the bus stop by 8:00. I ate two galettes in seven minutes. Serious indigestion after that meal!

Serena and I grabbed dessert in the city with a friend who we had class with. Her name is Jane and she lives in Hong Kong but is going to be studying at Boston University this year. We are hoping that we have the opportunity to drive out to Boston sometime this year to visit her! After, we met up with the Villanova students at a bar. It was tons of fun- they played funny music (a mix of Michael Jackson, music from Grease, British Pop Music, and French techno). Serena and I got on the Metro at 12:30 to head back to her house.

We woke up this morning and Serena’s host parents had bought us the most delicious croissants. Her host mom also had this fabulous apricot jam that she had just made the previous day. It was SO enjoyable. After breakfast, we headed out to the city for the day. We visited a museum called Les Champs Libres. It is actually a huge library/museum with several different exhibits. We visited the Planetarium (saw a cool show- I think it was more exciting that I got to learn about the solar system, in French!), the Musée de Bretagne (a museum of the history of Brittany), and another really cool exhibit that had three different videos on display. Each video featured a certain question; for example, “When was the last time you cried?” “What are your dreams for the future?” “Do you believe in life after death?” The questions were then answered by several people from around the world. It was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen; I was really moved by the reality that as human beings, we are so incredibly similar to one another. We may be from opposite ends of the world, speak different languages, look completely different, but we are all human. Cool stuff.

I left the museum and headed back to Chantepie around 5:00. Patricia and Esmeralda planned a party for us for tonight. It was too sweet. Patricia told me a couple days ago to invite Serena. They made tons of food: barley salad, of course tons of French bread, yummy Costa Rican food (Esmeralda is Costa Rican), and two amazing desserts (a fruit tart and this delicious banana bread/cake dish that I must get the recipe for). It was such a fun night! We ended up eating dinner during the span of about three hours in Esmeralda’s beautiful backyard. Serena was too funny- one glass of wine before dinner and she was already not feeling well. Patricia just kept giggling and saying “poor thing,” in French.

I must go to bed/ am sure that I have thoroughly bored whoever reads this thing! I am getting so sad about leaving on Saturday morning…I want to savor every moment of tomorrow.

Peace.

oh mon dieu!

The fast few days have been an absolute blast. Friday night I got back from class a little late. Patricia and I ended up talking a ton during dinner and didn’t finish until around 10:00! It was a blast getting to talk to her. Her son stopped by and told me about the U2 concerts he went to in Paris and Nice. It got me so incredibly excited to see U2 this fall!

Saturday morning, Patricia, Trisha and I went to the market in Rennes. I am so sad that this visit to the market was my last (because I leave next Saturday!). I ate so many delicious things- kiwis, flat peaches, flat nectarines, mango, bread, pastries. Yum. And the smell of the flowers is beyond anything you can imagine. Overall, I just adore the environment of the market on Saturday mornings and I am definitely going to miss it a ton. I ended up running into a bunch of Villanova students at the market. A few of us really wanted to tour the Parliament building in Rennes because it is absolutely beautiful. Patricia took Trisha, Matt, Serena, Sarah and I to the office of Tourism and we were able to reserve a spot for a tour. The building was so amazing! I took tons of pictures of the paintings and architectures inside the various rooms. The building actually caught fire a few years back and we got to learn about the renovation process and how all of the artwork was restored. It was a blast.

I returned home with Patricia after our tour, showered, ate dinner and got ready to spend the night at Serena’s house. Patricia offered to drive Sarah and I to the Metro station because of the bus situation. We left around 8:30. The following hour was probably one of the most hysterical hours of my life. On our way to the Metro station (it usually only takes about 10 minutes to drive there from my house) I saw a girl hitchhiking. I was literally about to ask Patricia if hitchhiking was legal in France when she swerved over to the side of the road. Well, if hitchhiking is illegal, I guess I can now saw that I have broken a law while studying abroad. Patricia exchanged a few words with the hitchhiker (just for visual purposes- she had dreadlocks, was dressed in baggy clothes and smelled kind of funny) and then unlocked the door for her to come in! She hopped in next to Sarah and fastened her seatbelt. I was dying. Trying so hard to hide my laughter…but I was in absolute shock that before I could even figure out how to ask Patricia my question about hitchhiking, there was a real, live hitchhiker in our car! So crazy. Patricia just continued to have a normal conversation with her. I found out that the hitchhiker works at Speedy Rabbit Pizza and was headed to the center of the city to hang out with her friends after work. We listened to music, Patricia sang as usual, everything went on as it normally would. But I could not stop laughing.

The funniest part is that Patricia decided that she wanted to stop by Esmeralda’s house to tease Joey (she totally likes to take advantage of the fact that he doesn’t speak any French. And I am pretty sure she has a crush on him). So, she asks the hitchhiker if she would mind if we took a quick pit stop. She responded that she didn’t mind at all. What. The. Heck?? So we pulled up to Esmeralda’s with the hitchhiker and waltz into her house as if it were just another day. Patricia immediately started talking to Joey who had two friends over for dinner. She then proclaimed “Perfect! We have three boys- Joey, Brian and Benji, and three girls- Kelsey, Sarah, and….” Esmeralda chimed in that she had just talked to the hitchhiker and her name was Pauline. Oh hey, nice to meet you Pauline. Glad you could spend the evening with us! Too funny. The boys were SO confused. They kept asking me to explain what the heck was going on, but though I can understand French much better than they can, I really could not even begin to comprehend what was going on. I kept saying that I had no idea who Pauline was- none of us did! Patricia then started to flirt with Brian, asked him if his dad looks anything like him, and if so, was he available. She is crazy!

Meanwhile, Pauline is standing in the corner, actively participating in the conversation, as if she had known us all for years! We eventually left Esmeralda’s and dropped Pauline off in the center of the city. She was actually quite pleasant. However, I don’t think I have been convinced that picking up random people on the side of the road is always a great decision.

I spent the night in the city with some Villanova students. We hung out on a street that is full of bars, restaurants and clubs for a while, but then it got kind of lame. Serena and I decided we wanted to go to the café that sells all the different kinds of hot chocolate to play cards. It was a blast; the atmosphere in the café is so fun. It totally reminds me of the Griffin Café in Wayne- aka I’m pretty much in love with it. We hung out there for a while and then headed back to meet up with all the Villanova students. I walked back towards Serena’s house with Serena and Matt around 2:00; Serena and I ended up talking until almost 3:30 in the morning. Didn’t get much sleep!

Today, Serena ate lunch at my house with Patricia. It was so fun. We mostly teased Serena about how much she uses the phrase “Oh mon dieu” (“oh my God”) while conversing with people here. Regardless of the severity of the situation, those words are almost guaranteed to come out of her mouth at least three times/hour. Too funny. After lunch, we went and picked up Sarah and Esmeralda. We all headed to this really amazing town, La Gacilly, for the afternoon. It was probably one of the cutest towns I have ever been to. There are SO many shops that sell all sorts of artwork, there is artwork in the streets, and, my favorite, flowers everywhere! Really, so pretty and quaint. Serena and I decided we are moving there…

I have had such a blast with my host mom lately. Today during dinner we talked about our generation’s inability to communicate with other human beings face-to-face because of the many various forms of technology used to communicate. It was such a great conversation! And I was super proud of my ability to have a worthwhile conversation in French. After, I showed her a bunch of pictures on my computer of family/friends. She loved it!

I am off to work on a homework assignment. Serena and I are writing a song that sounds a bit sexual at first, but is actually about the joy of eating pastries. If that is any indication of how attached I am to the flaky goodness that is a pastry…

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

a tad short, but hopefully sweet

Bonjour all. Today has been crazy. First off, I missed my bus in the morning. For normal students (aka those living in Rennes) this would be no big deal, as the metro comes every five seconds. For those of us living on the outskirts of town, the buses only like to visit every half hour or so. Long story short, I was fifteen minutes late to my first class. I had an amazing lunch, so I guess that makes up for the not-so-good parts of my morning. I went with Serena, Sarah, Kathleen and Matt to a café in Rennes. We all very much enjoyed our lunches/desserts!

My afternoon classes were okay. We had to work on a project this afternoon- we are assembling a newspaper for the summer program. Our computers decided to be lame and it took us about 34980394824 tries to finally get them to work. Not to mention, French keyboards are INSANE! I was getting so frustrated because all the keys are switched around. I kept thinking I was typing well, but then I would look at the screen and it would look like this: “K830*& k3IO028 jgqpdcnnn((00.” Needless to say, I got out of class late, took a later Metro than usual and, because of the delay, had to sprint/chase down my bus to avoid waiting another 30 minutes for the next one. Embarrassing? Kind of. Worth it? Of course.

I went for a run when I got home at 7:00 which helped to calm me down a bit. Patricia’s friend from the school she teaches at did a house-exchange with a woman from America. The American woman, Trisha, just arrived in France today. Patricia picked her up from the train station and found out it was her birthday, so as a surprise she thought it would be nice for us to bring her a bottle of Champaign after dinner. We went to her house around nine and she was indeed pleasantly surprised. Trisha does not speak any French…it felt so funny to have a conversation with her in English!

It turns out that Patricia’s son missed his train from Nice (he went there to see U2!) and he asked if she could pick him up from a train station an hour and a half away from Rennes. We consequently had to leave Trisha’s a bit sooner than we expected, so we postponed the birthday celebration until tomorrow night. She was very sweet and I am so excited to hang out with the both of them tomorrow. On Saturday, we are going to visit the market and a few other monuments in Rennes together!

Off to bed. Mucho love!

le 14 juillet

Today is the 14th of July- a national holiday in France (“Bastille Day”). It has been so cool to be a part of the celebration. Last night Patricia took me to see the fireworks in Rennes. Because the sun sets so late here, they did not start until 11:30. Being there totally reminded me of the 4th of July in the United States…especially since they played “Pretty Woman,” the theme song from Star Wars and several other American songs during the fireworks display. Odd? After the fireworks Patricia and I were walking back towards the car. I was expecting to just go home for the evening…

Little did I know, it is tradition for everyone to meet in the center of the city after the fireworks for a huge dance party. It is such a cool idea…There were families with young children, older people, young adults and teenagers. Everyone seemed to be having such a great time dancing to songs like “I Will Survive” and several popular French songs. Patricia and I could not stop laughing at the guy who was singing because he was SO old, had on leather pants and found it necessary to do pelvic thrusts during every musical interlude. It was such a blast- put me in the best mood.

Today we didn’t have any classes; in fact, most of the city shuts down because of the holiday. Kind of like Sundays here…everything is closed. I woke up and did pilates because Patricia wanted to see what it was like. Yes, I did the whole thing in front of her. She found it hysterical. She told me she is going to try to buy a mat tomorrow and wants to do pilates with me! I told her if she likes it, she can keep my video because apparently they don’t sell them here…
I spent the afternoon in the city- found a café that was open and ate lunch with some girls. Afterwards, we walked around for a little and eventually made our way to Thabor.

I don’t have much planned for the evening…I would like to read a little, have some homework to do and will eat dinner at home with Patricia.

Much love!

weekend in a nutshell

I will attempt to cram my wonderful weekend into a few words. I am very tired and want to try to get to bed asap.

My weekend was awesome. So much fun. I got to sleep in on Saturday, which is always the best. I went to the market in Rennes with Patricia. It was absolutely fantastic- the largest outdoor market in the country. I bought some flat peaches. I have never seen anything like them before, but they were fabulous. All of the flowers, fruit and vegetables were a dream come true for me. I could have done without seeing the live lobsters and skinned rabbits though. Yuck.

I met up with some friends at Thabor- the amazing park in Rennes. We had a picnic and just hung out around the gardens for a lot of the afternoon. After, we stopped at an art museum. It only cost a euro to get in…which should have indicated the type of art we were going to see! Okay, so maybe I am being a little harsh. Let’s just say, it was no Art Institute of Chicago. Regardless, we had a blast. And at least got to see a few pieces of good art.

After the museum Serena, Sarah and I went and got some galettes for a late lunch. YUM. Galettes are like crepes, except they are eaten as a meal. I got a galette with potatoes, onions, cheese and ham. It was so delicious. After our lunch, I headed home. Did some pilates and packed my bag to spend the night at my friend Kathleen’s house.

After dinner last night, Sarah and I met Kathleen at her house. Her mom was so sweet- set up beds for us and everything. Her house was so French too. I loved it! I went with some girls to a little café for the evening- they had over 30 flavors of hot chocolate! We ended up staying until after midnight…at which point we came to the conclusion that we had probably overstayed our visit and decided to leave. On our way back to Kathleen’s, we walked through the center of the city. They had a movie projected on a huge screen and there were SO many people outside watching it. It was so awesome. Totally wish we had known about it.

This morning, Sarah and I headed back from Kathleen’s pretty early. My host mom and I decided against the spa. Sarah and Serena didn’t want to go anymore and my host mom was really doing it for us girls. I decided that I should go for a run- as I have probably eaten half of my body weight in carbs in the past week. We ate a delicious lunch together and then left for the rest of the day. I really had no idea where we were going…I didn’t really ask. We stopped at Esmerelda’s house for a little bit. Joe was still sleeping (at 2:00!). Esmerelda, Patricia and I left around 2:15. An hour later = heaven. Come to find out, Patricia and Esmerelda wanted to take me to this amazing town on the coast- Dinard. It is really close to where our group is staying in between our stay in Rennes and Paris. I am so so so sad I did not have my camera. The pictures I took on my cell phone just don’t do it justice! It really was one of the most beautiful places- huge cliffs over the ocean with old buildings built into them. We walked around for a couple hours and then stopped to eat some AMAZING ice cream. Really, it was probably some of the best ice cream I have ever had.

On the way home, we stopped for a short while at Patricia and Esmerelda’s friend’s house in the country. I was exhausted, so trying to take part in their conversations was quite difficult! Patricia and I didn’t get home until around 8:45. We just finished dinner- pasta with cream sauce and a raw egg yolk cracked on top? It was surprisingly good considering I don’t even eat egg yolks when they are cooked!

Love to the moon and back.

Je suis très fatiguée.

Golly gee. I am so darn tired! The past two days have been so busy. Last night, the show I went to was a bit bizarre. It involved the following: two women, tree costumes, the removal of tree costumes, bird calls, tight red outfits under the tree costumes, and opera singing. Crazy? Yes. Worth it? Of course! It was free and in a beautiful rose garden. In addition, I saw the cutest baby! She was less than a year old and had glasses. She was dancing the whole time, too!

By far- one of the funniest things I have ever seen…On our way to the show we saw, there was another performance. Except it was a performance that involved the audience. Imagine this: a huge gazebo under which a band was playing and about 300 audience members. No chairs. Choreographed (except not) dancing. Apparently everyone in the audience had an instruction booklet to guide them through the dances they were to perform. It was hysterical! Totally looked like something out of a movie. Everyone was skipping around the gazebo and then they would stop and start another dance move. I wish everyone could have seen it!

The overall environment at the park last night was so nice. It was one of the most relaxing/carefree environments I have ever been in. So amazing.

Today we had to get up SUPER early for our excursion. Our professors failed to tell us that we would be hiking up a small mountain the whole day. I had on Sperry’s and jeans...Hey, at least I wasn’t the girl in high wedges and shorts! It was a blast hiking and being in the beautiful forest. However, I did not understand much of the “magical”/”mystical” elements behind the forest because our guide spoke very fast French.

Tonight, I am going to eat dinner with my host mom and probably watch a movie. Tomorrow, we are going to the market together in Rennes. A host mom of one of the girls in our group offered to have Sarah and I stay at her house tomorrow night so we can hang out with the Villanova students past 8:00. Haha. Apparently, summer hours for the bus have started. AKA Sarah and I have not mode of transportation from our Metro stop past the hour of 8:00 pm. We walked the two miles the other day, but I would not want to do it late at night!

Sunday morning, I am going to take the bus back to Chantepie with Sarah and Serena. My host mom is taking us to some sort of Spa. Apparently, it’s a giant Jacuzzi where you do exercises and get water massages? I really have no idea. All I know is you need to wear a swim cap, which is funny enough in itself.

So tired. Off to eat. Bon soir!

highlights

hello all. i don't have that much time, so i will keep this short and sweet.

yesterday during lunch i went to a beautiful park in rennes called Thabor. it was so so so amazing. first of all, it was HUGE- with so many different gardens and statues. secondly, it had the most amazing flowers i have ever seen. i will definitely be going back because the two hours i spent there were not nearly enough! we got caught in the rain on the way back to school. nothing new! last night i went for a run and hung out with my host mom. after dinner, we went to her neighbor's house. he is a priest. it was a lot of fun. when we got back, my host mom invited me to go to some sort of spa with her on sunday...should be interesting! all i could really understand is that there are big jacuzzi-style pools to swim in?

tonight i am going rennes for tombees de la nuit. it is a week-long festival type event in the city. they have a bunch of musicians and many other performers. today, i will be going to Thabor again for some sort of show. i am really excited!

tomorrow, we have an excursion to Broceliande. It's a forest, but that is the extent of what i know! still, i am really excited. saturday, i plan on going to the market in rennes with my host mom...and sunday the spa? ha. should be a fun weekend.

oh, by the way. francisco manuel is too funny. today he brought me a lavender flower. and he was 20 minutes late to class. and he told a blonde joke... in french. haha. he's awesome.

much peace and love from rennes to you!

"Francisco! That's fun to say"-Buddy the Elf

Today was a great day. The sun was shining in the morning, which is always the perfect thing to wake up to. I had three classes today, two in the morning and one in the afternoon. We had our typical two hour lunch break, which was amazing…Sarah and I walked to a nearby Boulangerie Patisserie for lunch (A deli/bakery. They are everywhere here- very popular for lunch/breakfast). I had an amazing chicken sandwich on a fresh (and HUGE) baguette. For dessert, I had a pastry that was similar to a croissant, but it had raisons and a little sugar on it. YUM. I eat so much bread here- it’s insane. Probably not the best diet; but hey, you only live once.

My afternoon class was SO fun. There is this very old man in our class who is from Brazil. His name is Francisco Manuel and he is absolutely hysterical. He gave a presentation today about Brazil and it was the most incoherent/funny/adorable thing in the world. We all tried to sneak pictures of him during the presentation. After class finished, he taught us a song he wrote about Rennes and we all sang it with him. Too funny. Serena got it on video. To the left is a picture we took with him at Le Mont-Saint-Michel!

After class, I walked around the city for a bit with Serena, MaryAnna, Sarah, and Matt. It was a blast. (Actually, I’m quite sure that Matt wants to kill us girls. We have a lot of trouble deciding what we want to do/eat/buy. He is actually in the fourth hour that I am facilitating next year for the Service Learning Community—so he can’t kill me!) We stopped by an ice cream shop and got some treats. I got some raspberry sorbet—so amazing. We tried to make our way to a beautiful park/garden in the area, but none of us really knew where it was. Plus, it was getting super cloudy and we could tell that it was going to rain at any moment. Sarah and I decided to make the trek back to Chantepie before we got stuck in the rain. Again. Perfect timing. Right when we got on the bus, it started storming like crazy. The weather is so crazy here; one moment it is beautiful and the next there is a torrential downpour.

My evening has been filled with pilates, journaling and watching 430598230498 news programs about Michael Jackson. Seriously, the French are OBSESSED with him. After dinner I will probably study a bit and read some of my book. Pretty legit evening. PEACE.

Kind of like escargot...

Today at dinner, I found a live slug on my host mom's salad plate. I am not kidding. She got a bunch of vegetables from a friend and washed them all, but apparently this little guy was hiding in a head of lettuce. She was so upset-felt really bad about the situation. I was (surprisingly) okay (perhaps the sausage incident has made my stomach tougher) and kept eating my food. She got really quite and kind of disappeared to her bedroom after I finished dinner (she said she was too ill to eat). I think she is embarassed. :( Third times a charm--maybe tomorrow's dinner will be more sucessful than the last two.

Oh, p.s. I have mysterious bug bites all over me. Patricia is convinced they are mosquito bites, but I have a somewhat irrational fear that it's from some scary/nasty French bug. Let's hope not.

the spark notes version

Hello all. I don't feel like writing all that much, so below is a spark notes version of my day:

1)woke up around 8:00
2)it was pouring....yay!
3)took the bus and metro to class
4)class from 9:30-12:00
5)lunch break from 12:00-2:00. went to the supermarket to buy some shampoo. ate a delicious salad at a cute cafe w/ serena, matt, and dina. went to the historic area of town and got crepes for dessert. yummmm. bananas, rum, caramel, and ice cream :)
6)class from 2:00-4:00
7)took the metro/bus home
8)went for a run. almost died because of the crepe I had eaten
9)read outside for about an hour
10)about to do pilates.
11)my host mom is blasting jason mraz and savage garden throughout the house. haha
12)currently, praying that we are not having sausage for dinner. ever again.

beacoup d'amour mes amis.

Pics of excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel

Awkward solo shot.Our trek to the sea.The posts where the fishermen harvest the mussels. What our guide found in the sea...Mont-Saint-Michel

A Day of Walking

Yesterday was absolutely amazing—truly a day I will remember forever. We left fairly early in the morning from Rennes Universé II and everyone was super sleepy. Mont-Saint-Michel is about an hour-long bus ride from Rennes, but we stopped on the way there to learn about how fishermen harvest mussels from the ocean. None of us could have imagined the adventure that was before us at the fishery. The group of students in the program was split into two and we were each assigned a guide that spoke to us about the process of harvesting mussels. The beauty that surrounded us was truly amazing- behind us were the cutest little French houses, surrounding us was a large prairie-like area with tall grass and multiple different types of flowers and beyond the grass was my favorite- the ocean. We learned from our guide as we were standing on a road right behind the houses that the tide from day to day can vary by over a mile! Insane. We made our way into the tall grass, completely unaware that the plan was to walk all the way to the sea. Being that there was very low tide, we had to walk about a mile and a half. Did I mention that beyond the tall-grass was the exposed ocean floor? Aka for the next mile and a half, our feet were going to undergo the ultimate spa treatment- sea shells, fish poop, and clay up to our ankles. Obviously, everyone was told to take off their shoes. The mile and a half trek to the ocean was an interesting one. Everyone was ankle-deep in the ocean floor and when the clay hardened, we all looked like we had matching brown shoes on! We finally made it to the ocean and got to see how the mussels and fish were harvested. It was so cool/really pretty too! Because the tide changes so much, there are wooden planks in the ground that the mussels attach to when the tide is high. When it goes back down, the water disappears, the mussels remain and the fishermen harvest the mussels (at least that’s what I understood from our French guide). Oh, so random-our guide found a marijuana leaf floating in the water! I will post a picture!

We were exhausted and very hungry by the time we walked back to the buses. We arrived at Mont-Saint-Michel after a short break for lunch in a cute little town about 20 minutes from our destination. Lunch in France is so fun- typically, sandwiches on WHOLE baguettes. My sandwich was so delicious. I am way too in love with the bread here…not good. We arrived at Mt. St. Michel and it was absolutely stunning. I still can’t believe that its history dates back to the year 708. It was so neat to walk through the walls of such an amazing place and literally feel the history that exists within its walls. The amount of staircases throughout Mt. St. Michel is insane, definitely a great workout to climb to the top! We explored the many cathedrals and chapels that exist within its walls. One room was more amazing than the next. Our guide explained to us the history of each room, although I was so preoccupied with the extraordinary architecture to fully pay attention. I took many pictures (including a few dorky “solo shots.” I just really want to remember what it felt like to be there!)

By the time we got back to Rennes, everyone was super exhausted. Sarah and I made our way back to Chantepie to shower and change before heading back to the city to meet up with the other students. Sarah’s host dad Jean-Paul drove us to the Metro station. (The buses stop leaving Chantepie at 8:00 pm on Saturday nights…???) Jean-Paul is too funny. He has hearing aids, so not only does he not understand our French because of our heavy American accents, but he also has a great deal of trouble hearing us. Example #1- Sarah had dinner with Jean-Paul the other night and was trying to explain a movie to him. She went on and on, providing as many details as she could. After several minutes he said, “Ah, tu vas au Mexique?” (You are going to Mexico?) The movie Sarah was trying to explain had absolutely nothing to do with Mexico… Example #2- last night I asked Jean-Paul if he had any recommendations for restaurants in Rennes because Sarah and I were going to eat a late dinner last night. He responded, “Sorry, but I can’t join you guys for dinner tonight.” Haha too funny.

Sarah and I had a delicious dinner at a little café in Rennes and enjoyed some amazing desserts as well. After, we met up with some Villanova students at a bar down the street. We had a great time, laughing about all of the stupid things we have said or done since we have been here. The last bus leaves Rennes at 12:30 am on Saturday nights, so Sarah and I got on a Metro with some other Villanova students around 12:15. I was SO tired when I got home...fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. Today, Sarah and I went and got some (delicious) pastries for breakfast and worked on some homework. Oh—btw, my host mom just made me a late lunch/early dinner. Probably the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. It was some type of sausage, but it tasted like fat and I could see little pieces of organs in it. Seriously, so nasty. I had to eat each bite with some rice and bread and concentrate on not letting myself gag. Awful. I was going to see a movie with my host mom tonight, but I need to write a paper for tomorrow…better get working on that! Mucho love.

some pictures of rennes

Classes

Wow. The past couple days have been so busy! We had our placement tests on Wednesday at Rennes Université II. The test was all written and oral- I can’t imagine what the boys who know ZERO French did! After our placement tests we had a two hour lunch break during which several of us went to wait in a HUGE line to buy our Metro pass for the month. In Rennes, you can purchase a pass that is good for one full month (starting the first day of the month) of unlimited Metro and bus rides, so there were TONS of people in line at the office. It is so fun trying to communicate with other people- whether it is to ask for directions, purchase something, or just make friendly conversation. I am sure that a few people have grown quite impatient with my inability to speak clearly; however, there have also been many people who take their time and do their best to communicate. This morning, I was waiting at the bus stop and a woman asked me if I knew what the new bus schedule was. I told her that I was not from Rennes and was not exactly sure about the bus schedule. She took great interest in me, making sure to speak very clearly. She ended the conversation with “Bienvenue à Rennes” and a huge smile. She was so warm and welcoming despite my difficulties with the language. Awesome.

Back to Wednesday—we took another tour around the city after our lunch break with a guide who pointed out several significant buildings in the area. It was so neat to hear about the history of the buildings. Although the woman’s French was a bit difficult for me to understand at times, it was such a cool experience. My favorite part- a really old jail that has been transformed into a discotheque and some restaurants! So cool. (Left- Entrance to the discotheque)

We were on the tour with other students in the summer program who come from all over the world. It has been interesting to observe the differences that exist between us American students and the students who come from different countries. No offense fellow Americans, but in comparison to the students from other countries, American students seem to be a tad bit rude and annoying. So many students from America complain for hours on end about the required tours and the longs classes, speak in “Franglais” rather than try to improve their French, talk to each other while our professors are talking, and spend more time texting on their cell phones during class than they do attempting to learn. The students from Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Poland, on the other hand seem much more disciplined and a lot more thankful for the opportunity they have to learn. For many Americans, I feel like the opportunity to study abroad is viewed as a vacation- do the least bit of work possible so as not to put a damper on one’s social life. I do not get the impression that the students from other countries feel the same way...

It was SO hot Wednesday night. We had a reception for all of the new students at the University at 6:00. Sarah and I decided to make our way back to Chantepie in attempt to de-sweatify ourselves before the reception. We made it back to the University just in time for the reception. At times, it is a kind of annoying to live so “far” away. Although we are really not too far, it takes about 30 minutes by bus and Metro to get to our town…whereas it takes everyone else from Villanova anywhere from 5-15 minutes to get home. Oh well, I can’t complain. Too much to be happy about : )

After the reception on Wednesday night, several of us went to the grocery store to pick up some food and drinks for dinner. We had a little picnic outside- so fun. I tried some French beer but it tasted like cough medicine and butterscotch…not a good combo. I declined the offer to have more after the first sip. We made our way to a pub in the historic area of Rennes and met up with some more Villanova students for Dr. Rigaud’s birthday party. Unfortunately, the birthday boy was unable to make it to his own party! It was supposed to rain that night, and in fear that the Metro would shut down again, he decided to stay in. Sarah’s mom is so sweet- Sarah and I took the Metro to the last stop and her mom picked us up to drive us home since the buses had stopped running. We talked for a while on the way home- she’s hysterical!

Thursday we had our first day of classes. I have friends in all my classes, which makes it really fun. I have been enjoying class immensely! I am so eager to get better at French- I want so badly to be able to speak fluently. Sarah, Serena and I try to speak French all the time, but we usually end up laughing a ton at something someone said. Today I had my language lab with Serena. We have to put on these huge headphones and speak into microphones. Before class started, Serena and I were sitting on the opposite ends of the room and both simultaneously thought that we looked like astronauts in our headpieces; we started to laugh so hard- really, could not control ourselves! I almost had to excuse myself as Serena tried to take a picture of me in the headphones. So funny.

Yesterday I had class until 6:15. Today, only until 4:15. I think my host mom and I are going to eat together tonight and maybe go for a walk through Chantepie or watch a movie. Last night, we ended up talking (me, in very broken French) for about two hours. She is too funny- laughs at me all the time, but not in a mean way. We talked a lot about Michael Jackson again…Tomorrow, all the students in the program are going on an excursion to Mt. St. Michel. I am SO excited (minus the fact that we have to get up super early!) Beacoup d’amour!