What a whirlwind it has been. I am currently enjoying the luxury of Emily's beautiful apartment in Rennes - complete with a place to set my bags, delicious french food, pink toilet paper, and of course the surroundings of an historic French city. Let me backtrack to how I arrived at this heavenly place...
After leaving my hostel in London I ventured into the Borough St. Market which hosts a selection of the most amazing produce in London three days a week. As luck would have it, Thursday was a bustling market day. Having eaten just about as much food as possible at my free hostel breakfast, I was in no need to purchase any of the wonderful offerings by the local merchants but boy was I tempted. Any type of fresh food imaginable was there - fruits, vegetables, cheese, bread, meats, desserts, and gourmet meals. The most impressive display had to be the fish tables which offered such a diversity of ocean delights. Instead of snacking, I tried to snap a lot of artsy food photos which I'll get around to post in due course. They may not be cookbook worthy, but I'm working on my compositions.
From there I made my way to Rennes; it's about a seven hour journey in total from London. When I arrived at the train station I was informed that the tickets I booked in advance were for trains that were no longer running thanks to the fire in the Chunnel about a week ago (Fire in the Disco! Fire in the Disco! Fire in the...Chunnel?) The associates at Eurostar took great care of my booking though and diverted my plans so that I'd still be able to arrive in Rennes. I had pictured what seeing Emily standing at the top of the escalator would look like but the rush of joy I felt when I saw her smiling face was overwhelming. We had talked about this moment, and the days to come, for months on the balcony at 1.3.5 and it had finally come.
Upon arrival Emily and I had a major freakout (obvi) and she proceeded to welcome me with a bottle of traditional Brittany cider consumed legally on a bench outside the train station. I can definitely get use to the ability to drink in the streets - responsibly of course, Mom and Dad - without having to avoid the 'po'. However, with this new found freedom 'roadies' have lost a bit of their sneaky appeal. After catching up, we made our way to Emily's hip pad. I don't think Emily could have found a more warm and caring roommate than Cynthia, another lecturer at the University. Not only did she call me 'Doctor' from the moment I arrived but she prepared a big 'gourmet cheese, baguette, sausage, and vino' feast. Rest assured mutual friends - Emily and Cynthia are going to have a great time here in Rennes.
From the welcome feast we proceeded to rue de la soif which is Rennes' infamous Thirsty Street. Emily had tried to prepare me for the shocking hilarity that would ensue on this pedestrian only street where there are as many bars as there are cobblestones. For those of you who know Queen's picture the craziness of Aberdeen Homecoming, minus the copious broken beer bottles and the occasional burning car, and add the surrounding architecture of 16th century buildings. For those that don't, picture a bunch of drunken hooligans after an important soccer match in the UK. The astounding reality is that this scene is enacted every Thursday evening where the masses party late into the night. Em, Cynthia, their friend Meryl, and I ordered a few pints and watched a parade of 'Freens' (Emily's nickname for French teens) stumble their way from bar to bar.
After our getting our fill of Freen watching, we headed to an after hours club which was open until three. Now I had heard the French like their house/trance/techno but I had no idea how much they like to dance. We North Americans are certainly a bunch of toe-tapping wallflowers in comparison to our European peers. Highlights of the night, among many, include:
un) storing the girl's coats in the basement where Emily and I stopped to realize that the bar we were partying in was over 400 years old
deux) hearing Michael Jackson's Thriller amid a sea of French techno only to realize it was a remix with not one MJ lyric
trois) Emily taking off the pants she was wearing under her dress - obvi it was hot.
quatre) meeting a whole bunch of new French people who love to speak English.
cinq) Emily running into one of her Freen students who she teaches every Monday. Not only was he overjoyed that his teach remembered his name but he called her 'freaky' for her affinity for walking barefoot. He really wanted to talk with me about the NBA and was completely jealous that I had seen LeBron James play against the Raptors.
The night was everything I could have asked for as an introduction to one of the world's richest cultures.
Today Emily and I explored yet another aspect of French culture - afternoon chilling. According to our dear Miss Hincks, the French don't take things 'to go' because they are perfectly content to sit on a patio and sip their coffee. The highlight of the afternoon had to be our quick journey to the 'slum motel' where Emily spent a week before moving. We were all right about one thing - if Emily was complaining about it, it must be bad. The room itself wasn't all that unlivable, aside from the uninspired decor and the lack of furniture, but it was the building, and I'm told the occupants, that gave my stomach a sick feeling. It looked very 'Dangerous Minds-Michelle Pfeiffer-Gangsta's Paradise feel (circa 1995) but with the cigarette and stale coffee smell. She's one brave girl lasting as long as she did. After we took some pictures in the fridge (we both agreed a new tradition has been born) we ventured to a patio and had coffees while we basked in the sun. I met three more of Emily's friends in addition to Pascal and Hosseon, it's fun to see the characters come alive, and before we knew it we had wasted away three hours in the city streets. C'est la vie.
I've been in France less than 24 hours and it feels like a dream. Tonight we are going to go the chill route - sip on some wine and venture out for a walk. Tomorrow night we go out. In the meantime I'm still trying to get a hold of this blogosphere and its plethora of design features. I also have to prepare for my course induction at Warwick which begins on Wednesday. In my next blog I'd like to set out some of the initial observations I've had about Europe as opposed to just 'Frommer Guide Narration' of my journey thus far.
Doc's Prescription for the day: Have a solid pair of walking shoes - my feet ache and it's only been three days. Although I'll take cobblestone streets over pavement any day.
4 comments:
I miss you dearly. Here's your raincheque for a footrub when you get back. How intimate.
Have fun tonight! xo
Hey! Really enjoying the blog, and Emily's as well. Thank you both for sharing these times with us. Enjoy it all ! Luv Mom & Dad
if there's one thing better than writing a blog, it's reading one.. seriously.
you're sleeping now, and i'm reading yesterday's post as if i haven't already, or wasn't there.. loving it.
I think there should be a new prescription from the Doc every day. Missing you both immensely.
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