Vacation by the Sea

J’adore les vacances. So a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have a nice ten day vacation (thank you, France – seven weeks paid holidays) in Bretagne. My friends and I first visited St. Malo which is a beautiful seaside town. You can imagine it as the place that actual French people flock to during the summers. Its less touristy than Nice but equally as beautiful with that more rustic, northern feel. We were lucky enough to be there during the Route de Rhum, a catamarn race that happens once ever four years. It rrecreates the original route taken to bring rhum into France from Gaudeloupe. There were lots of skipper’esque people and traditional Gaudeloupe dancers in the streets. We quickly discovered Kouign Amann which is a delicious buttery pastry, fried or something and then rolled in sugar. Ohhhhh my life changed.

The next day we visited Mont St Michel which was overwhelming from afar and underwhelming upon arrival. It’s a beautiful place but overrun with touristy trash and overpriced coffees. The abbey was beautiful with spectacular views - it makes you amazed people could accomplish such things without the help of modern machinery.

The following day we decided to ride horses on the beach! Quite frightening and exciting. The tide was very far out but it was spectacular view that took us away from the city. Plus there were countless moments of trying to convince our horses to follow along and stop eating the grass ("Mange pas l'herbe!"). My horse Lulu was so good until he ran me into a truck in the end… that was not as fun.

We spent an evening in Rennes with our new friends which included an incredibly late night dinner starting around 10:30. Still these boys can cook up random delicious pastry treats that I am seriously impressed with.

I went on to Grenoble, on the opposite side of the country, to visit my friend. Grenoble is the mountain town we all wish existed in Colorado. A beautiful mix of Italian and French buildings, with jagged mountains coming straight out of the ground. Incroyable! We went to a spectacular Halloween party in a cave. A cave! What?? We were the worst Americans (the only ones who actually celebrate the holiday) and didn’t have costumes but it was wonderful all the same. A DJ plus dozens of French people in serious costumes (dinosaurs, Kenny from Southpark, cowboys, a rabbit) made it a night to remember.

And now back in Angers its things as usual. Teaching is getting easier, but still a challenge every day to keep those kids interested enough. I’ll make sure to tell some of the best stories in my next update. A la prochaine!