Liebster Award

A while ago I was nominated for a Liebster Award by one of my new blogger friends, Dana from As Told By Dana. I've been a bit lazy and the questions she asked were a bit personal so it's taken me a while to get around to it. Nevertheless, I present to you, the Liebster Award!


1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I wanted to remember every moment where I felt “French.” When French people mistook me for one of them, or I partook in a part of their culture, I wanted to share it. I quickly caught on to the fact that I’ll never be completely French, and now my blog talks more about how weird the French can be (and why I love it).

2. If you could go anywhere in the world, right now, where would you go, and why?

Southern California to spend time with my family and my pets, with a trip to where ever my brother currently is as well. I love to travel and go on adventures, but I have a lot more opportunities to do that than I do to go home and spend quality time with my family. Plus, I could use some good Mexican food.

3. If you had the chance to travel back in time or into the future, which would you pick, and what would you want to see/find out?

I would like to time travel to the future, as Benjamin Franklin said, “The rapid progress true science now makes occasions my regretting sometimes that I was born so soon.” I would love to see the progress humanity has made, not only technologically but also socially.

4. Apple or PC?

Apple. I have a macbook and an iphone.

5. How did we meet?

Through blogland!

6. What is your guilty pleasure?

Right now, it’s Les Ch’tis à Hollywood! I love me some bad French télérealité.

7. At my funeral, I want this song played:

I have thought very little about my funeral. I love Fiona Apple and her album The Idler Wheel is my favorite music so maybe that?

8. What do you think of when you hear, “Wisconsin?”

I think of my cousins. My dad’s sister and her family live in Wisconsin, but it might as well be another country. There are definitely cultural differences between us Californians and them Wisconsinites.

9. What is your favorite season and why?

I think that depends on which country I’m living in! In California, that would definitely be summer. I love spending my days at the beach and nights around a bonfire. In France, it is way too hot and humid in the summer for it to be my favorite. Winter is definitely too cold. I think it rains too much in the Fall, which leaves me with Spring. Spring is probably my favorite season in France because it’s starting to get warm again but it’s not yet humid. Although after writing this I’m coming to realize I might not be all that into this whole season thing, seeing as in Southern California we go from extremely nice weather to a little bit less nice weather during “winter.”

10. I never, ever, want to do this again:

Ride a vomit smelling bus.

11. What do you like most about yourself?

My enthusiasm and excitement about life. I’m a huge geek, love to reread Harry Potter (and read in general), dress up at theme parties, and play games. Sometimes France tries to stifle this part of me, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way, even if it means being a little bit too loud sometimes.


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And so I pass this award as well as the questions Dana posed onto some of my much deserving blogger friends:

Bread is Pain

Kaley... y mas

My Blondering Life

Deux Mille Treize

2013 went by way too fast with me way too busy getting my graduate degree to blog sufficiently. Here's a quick rundown of my year:

January
I finished my first semester of my masters with 7 finals, and started my five week inter semester break (can't complain about French vacation days). The boyfriend and I headed down to his hometown, Grenoble.


Grenoble, a city surrounded by beautiful mountains.
We also took a day trip to Geneva.

February
With vacation still in full swing, we headed north to Lille, Bruges, Delft, The Hague, Amsterdam, and Brussels.


Windmills in Zaans Schans, right by Amsterdam.
We got lost and eventually tasted the best beer in the world, too.

March
Second semester started and life got back to normal.

April
My aunt and uncle happened to be taking a trip to Paris, and I was able to meet up with them for two days. We had absolutely gorgeous weather and even went on a Paris by Mouth tour, where I got to taste delicious wine, cheese, and bread.


Poilâne bread, a Parisian specialty.
May
For Spring break, the boy and I headed back down to Grenoble. This time we went hiking in the mountains to see the Chartreuse monastery.


The monastery hidden among the mountains and fog.
June
Finished the first year of my masters program, and, yes, headed back down to Grenoble. This time I was able to see a glacier at Mont Blanc and tour Chamonix, a picturesque mountain village.


Chamonix, with a glacier in the background.
July
The boy and I flew all the way to my stamping grounds, California. We visited LA, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Carmel, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and my hometown. We drove up highway 1 with my folks to get the real American road trip experience, and by the end of it all I needed a vacation from my vacation. Luckily I got just that, an extra week home with nothing but family and R&R.


Las Vegas Blvd and the Golden Gate Bridge.
August
The boy and I moved into our new apartment, complete with a view of a medieval church.

September
And so began the second year of school, which is proving to be way more intense than the first. But even more importantly, I turned 26! I threw myself a pirate themed birthday party. It was awesome.

I was vaguely trying to find an internship for next semester, but with reassurances from professors that it was too early to look, wasn't too worried about it.

October
While missing out on yet another Halloween due to France's lack of enjoying candy while disguised, we did take advantage of the week off to go explore Italy, Alba to be exact. This little known village is surrounded by vineyards and is home to the allusive white truffle.


Alba.
I finally started applying to a ton of internships.

November
I celebrated American Thanksgiving with a wonderful group of people, and started to stress out about the lack of response to all of my internship applications. I started to apply to even more internships.

December
Bought my first ever French christmas tree!


Me, my Christmas sweater, and the tree.
Also finally had some positive answers to internship applications, and took a day trip to Paris for two interviews. Also, I got offered an internship! I can't wait for next semester.

I was also able to celebrate the holidays at home with my family, and so this year ended on a really happy note.

2013 is gonna be pretty hard to beat, but I think 2014's up for the challenge. Happy New Year everybody!!

Summer Ice

I’ve always wanted to see a glacier while there still are glaciers. Luckily for me, France is known for its glaciers at Mont Blanc.

The boyfriend's parents live a measly two and half hour drive away, and so we decided to take a trip up to see one of the world’s most famous glaciers, la Mer de Glace (the name translates to: a sea of ice).

If you haven’t heard of it, don’t feel bad, as I hadn’t either. All I knew about glaciers is that they are big, made up of blue ice, and stay frozen all year round. But after I was told about its grandeur by monsieur pommettes, I couldn’t wait.

After the drive, it’s a twenty minute train ride up a very very steep mountain, with an arrival directly at a platform overlooking the glacier. But to my eyes, there were no glaciers nearby. Only dirt.


La Mer du Glace.

Still, I could see glaciers that were at the far end of the mountain, and even that was pretty cool. Disappointed that we were so far from the Mer de Glace, I started listening to the guide.

Turns out, that pile of dirt actually is a glacier! In the past, the glacier was able to remove debris that landed on it. Nowadays that doesn’t happen.


Sometimes glaciers wear camouflage.
Despite its appearance of a dirt valley, we decided to make the climb down to see it closer up. There was supposed to be a nice view from a grotto.

Climbing down the mountainside, and then down 400 metallic steps attached to the cliff, we were there. Only, this wasn’t some rock alcove; it was a cave carved out of the glacier. We literally got to walk inside of a glacier.


Me in a glacier!
And the ice was bluer than I imagined.

Se Perdre

We were warned about the difficulty of locating the greatest beer in the world before we went on our quest, and yet we didn’t fully realize the legitimacy of such claims.

It wasn’t until after we crossed the Belgian border (granted that only took about twenty minutes) that we realized we had forgotten to look up the actual address of the monastery.

No matter, we thought, we knew which city it was in. We put “Westvelteren” into the GPS, and found a street with the same name of the Abbey, “St. Sixtus.”

The GPS lead us to a residential street. Knowing that the abbey is located in the middle of fields, we decided to follow a sign indicating “Westvelteren” as well as fields.

We quickly found ourselves driving along a dirt pathway in the middle of nowhere, with no street signs, and no abbey in sight, very lost.

Luckily, a friend was supposed to meet us at the monestary. We gave him a call to ask him for the address, but as a regular he didn't know. Deciding to wait for him to look it up, we drove to the nearest town, Poperinge, which ended up being very charming with Flandres style architecture.


Poperinge, Belgium town center.
Originally we had planned on having a late-ish lunch comprised of the bread and cheese also made by the monks, but as it was fast approaching 15h and not knowing if we'd ever make it to the beer holy land, we decided to find a snack.

What better to tide us over than some fresh Belgian fries? Unfortunately, all the restaurants and fry stands were closed except one, however they only spoke flamand(Belgian Dutch). After asking them if they served fries, they replied in a broken English that nobody served fries at this hour.

It wasn't a complete waste of time, however. Thanks to a display, we learned that 80% of Belgian hops are grown in Poperinge. An appropriate stop indeed.

Not to worry, we ended up getting the address, tasting delicious cheese, and enjoying the best beer in the world. And yes, it lived up to it’s name.


Westvleteren Bruin 12 and abbey-made cheese.
But if you ever visit it, make sure to have the address.

Check it out:
"In de Vrede"
Donkerstraat 13
8640 WESTVLETEREN
Tel. 057/40.03.77

Getting Around France: Trains vs. Cars

For spring break I decided to head up north to my old haunting grounds, Lille. I wanted to see my friends and eat delicious French fries.


Who wouldn't want to visit this?
The problem with going anywhere from Troyes is two-fold. The first problem is that Troyes is not on the TGV (trains de grandes vitesses, or high speed trains). The second problem is that, by train, one must always go to Paris first, and then to the subsequent destination.

In between Troyes and Paris there are roughly 180 km/111 miles. In between Paris and Lille there are 220 km/136 miles.

However, the train ride from Troyes to Paris is about 1 hour and 30 minutes, while the train from Paris to Lille is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.


Image ©Google Maps.
Despite traveling farther, it’s actually quicker to get to Lille thanks to the TGV.

Taking into account lay over time, getting my butt up North by train was looking like at least a 4 hour ordeal. It was also looking quite pricey.

Luckily, the train is not the only way to get around France. I did something I have never done before. I signed up for covoiturage.fr, a carpooling website.



Image ©Bla Bla Car.
I highly recommend it to my fellow travelers out to explore France. It was cheaper than the train, and got me to Lille faster (only 3.5 hours by car). My driver was on time, very friendly, and we had a very agreeable voyage (journey). We didn't even have to pass through Paris!


The point of zero kilometers (where the roads from Paris are measured from) sits in front of Notre Dame Cathedrale in Paris.
It would seem that all roads no longer go from Paris, but instead all trains do.

A Hidden Statue

Back in November, my darling little brother came to visit me. We meet up in Paris and spent the weekend.

While cutting through the jardin de Luxembourg, I suddenly remembered that the statue of liberty has a second residence there. Or at least, I thought I remembered there being a copy of her statue, and was pretty sure it was in the Luxembourg gardens.

So we checked out the directory. There was no mention of it. But I wasn’t going to let some silly, not very precise map be the end-all-be-all of statue of liberty locations.

Luckily just then, a rather cute twenty something Parisian gentlemen happened upon our path. I asked him about the statue.

He was in agreement with the directory.

I was in disagreement with both of them.

My brother was growing impatient, and seemed ready to give up on our quest, when I saw them; an elderly couple going for a leisurely stroll through the park. And I knew that they knew because, as I said to my brother, “old people know things.”

“Excusez-moi? Bonjour” (Excuse me? Hello)

“Bonjour…” (Hello…)

“Desolée de vous derangez, mais je voulais savoir si vous savez pour la statue-“ (Sorry to bother you, but would you happen to know where the statue-)

She didn’t even let me finish my question.

“Ah oui, tout le monde veux la voir. Elle est juste là, à gauche, derière les joeurs de pétanque.” (Oh yes, everybody wants to see her. She’s just over there, on the left, behind the bocce ball players).


Little brother and I with Lady Liberty herself!
Following her flawless directions, my brother and I saw the tiny version of the Statue of Liberty. Not a common tourist destination to be sure, but the important thing to remember is that I was right!

Best Beer in the World : A Visit to Saint Sixtus

50 minutes by car away from Lille, in the middle of nowhere Belgium, surrounded by flat fields as far as the eye can see, lies a hard to find monastery, the Abbey of Saint Sixtus.

While there are eight beer-brewing monasteries, collectively known as Trappists, the Abbey of Saint Sixtus remains much in the shadows when compared to its monastic brethren.

This is because their beer, unlike its better-known counterparts such as Chimay and Orval, is not sold commercially. In order to buy it, according to their website, one must call in advance, hope to have a little luck as their phone line is often busy, and give them your license plate number. Each car is allowed one crate.

In order to taste it, however, there is a lovely little visitor’s center just across the way from the Abbey. This is the only place in the world where the beer is available.

Why would one go to so much trouble just to drink beer you might ask? Easy, it is widely considered the best beer in the world.

And boy oh boy, I dare say I do agree.

The Westvleteren 12 is a strong, dark beer, coming in at 10.2%, and it is to this beer the Abbey owes all its fame.


The Westveletern 12 in all its glory.
I don’t usually enjoy dark beers, but this one was delightful with a caramel finish. I spent a lovely afternoon there with friends, drinking incredible beer and eating delicious cheese.

While we had a great time, we were definitely of the wrong age. We were the only young people in the room. And to make matters even more complicated, the menu is entirely in Flemmish, the servers only speak Flemmish, and all the other people in the establishment were speaking in Flemmish.

Not to worry, all one really needs to do is drink one Westveletern 12, and that 10.2% ABV makes everyone fast friends.

Check it out:
"In de Vrede"
Donkerstraat 13
8640 WESTVLETEREN
Tel. 057/40.03.77

Cathédrale de Reims - Rêve de Couleurs

Back in the Middle Ages when most of France’s beautiful cathedrals were built, they did not look like they do today. Instead of being a uniform beige color, the façades were painted bright, beautiful colors.

Although the paint has faded away, they still remain awe-inspiring. While in Reims for my 24th birthday champagne drinking extravaganza, FBF and I explored the Cathédrale de Reims.



Reims Cathedral, where France's Kings were crowned.

Something FBF and I didn’t account for on our trip to Reims is that my birthday falls on the same weekend as France’s journée du patrimoine (Heritage Day). La journée du patrimoine is a day in France where the public is allowed access to public buildings that they normally aren’t allowed to, or are allowed to access said buildings free of charge.

This made my birthday trip to Reims even more special, because we were able to explore things we wouldn't have been able to normally.

During the summer, and also on the weekend of the journée du patrimoine, Reims Cathedral is transformed back to its medieval glory. A twenty-minute video is projected onto the façade showing the construction of the building up to the beautifully painted finished sculptures.



Reims Cathedral illuminated at night.

After a dinner of fondu, FBF and I walked the cobblestone streets of Reims up towards the Cathedral. Making our way through the crowd, we settled for a spot in the middle of the courtyard where we had earlier enjoyed a glass of champagne. With the chiming of bells, a stunning compilation of music and lights brought the cathedral to life in a way I've never seen before.

A 41 second clip of the spectacle.

It was an awe-inspiring, wonderfully romantic way to end our first day in Reims. It was as if France gave me a birthday present, too.

Lannion: Prémières Impressions

My first impressions of Lannion:

Lannion seems to fit the bill for a perfect mediaeval French village as half-timbered jetting houses are in abundance.



The city is on a hill with meandering roads where lots of adorable modern shops occupy old time buildings, making you feel as if you've stepped back in time.






On top of that, there is a lovely tree surrounded park, complete with old stairs that go to nowhere, celtic crosses, and an old out of use church building. I wouldn't have been surprised to discover a fairy circle there.



The city is small and do-able in a day, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in charm.

Metz: Prémières Impressions

My first impressions of Metz:

The city is yellow, both buildings and boulders alike.



The buildings stand multiple stories tall, and have turrets to give them additional height.



I've never seen archetecture like this in France, probably because of its heavy German influence. Metz, like Lille, hasn't always been French, and there are several buildings to remind us of when it belonged to the German Empire.



Metz is surrounded by rolling hills. Nature is abundant in the form of would-be leafy trees, and beautiful parks in the heart of it all.

Le Beffroi

Lille’s beffroi (bell tower/belfry) is, along with 22 other bell towers in the north of France, a UNESCO world heritage site.


Le Beffroi de Lille

Often times these bell towers get confused with church bell towers, but as Anabelle from Beinvenue Chez les Ch’tis explains,

“ça sert à rien de religieux. C’est notre beffroi. Au moyan age ça a servi aussi à faire la geurre où pour prevenir les invahisseur.”
(it doesn’t have anything to do with religion. It’s our bell tower. In the middle ages it was used for war and to announce when invaders were coming).

This particular beffroi, however, was not around during the Middle Ages. It was built between 1929 and 1931, becoming France’s first building to be built with reinforced concrete. At 104 meters tall, it was comparable to a New York skyscraper at its construction, and today remains the tallest belfry in the North.

While using modern building techniques, the architect also wanted to pay homage to Lille’s history and so the bell tower is composed of both concrete and the traditional red brick.

Le beffroi is open to the public, and would be worth a visit for the view alone. You can see the entire city, plus a fair amount of Belgium from up there.


La vue (the view) with some city landmarks pointed out.
Yes, my apartment counts.


La Porte de Paris as seen from le beffroi.

But what really makes the visit worth the 6 euros (4 euros for students, or go for free the 1st and 3rd Wendesday of the month), is the audio guide. The audio guide as well as jumelles (binoculars) come with the ticket price. I opted for the English speaking audio guide, and you should too.

The tour is given by a British man and his French colleague, each with very strong accents.

The introductory dialogue went something like this:

“Ouh, ‘ello. Sorreee I am laTE. ‘ave you beeeen waiting longuh?” – the Frenchie.
“Oh, it’s quite alright. I was running a bit late myself.” – the Brit.

It basically continues like this for 10 wonderfully amusing yet informative tracks.

I learned how the beffroi was built, which cities Lille is twined with, why the beffroi was home to Eurovision (plus what Eurovision is...), and much more, all with a smile on my face due to my guides.

If the 400 steps seem daunting, not to worry. There is an elevator to take you up, but be sure to walk down the steps to fully experience the audio guide (or you can be crazy like me and do it in the other order… don’t ask me why).

Check it out:
Le Beffroi de Lille
21 Place du Théatre
59000 Lille
Open:
Tuesday - Sunday (except Friday mornings)
10h - 13h, and 14h - 18h (17h from November to March)
Ticket prices:
6 euros normal
4 euros reduced
Free the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month
Ticket comes with an audio guide and bionoculars
Audio guides available in the following languages:
French, English, German, and Dutch

Disneyland Paris

If planning a visit to Disneyland Paris, one might expect it to be a similar experience to visiting the original Disneyland. And while there are lots of similarities between the parks, with a few changes in layout and ride styles, Disneyland Paris is a very different cultural experience from that which I am accustomed.


Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant in Disneyland Paris.

Growing up in Southern California, about a 40-minute drive from Disneyland, I have had an annual passport for more of my life than I haven’t had one, and I know the park comme ma poche (like the back of my hand). I have never needed a map.

The layout of the two parks is basically the same. You start off on Main Street, which leads you to Sleeping Beauty’s castle, beyond which lies Fantasyland. If you veer off to the right you find yourself in Discoveryland/Tomorrowland (Paris/Anaheim). On the left you can enter either Fronteirland or Adventureland.


Le plan (the map) of Disneyland Paris.

The first and most obvious difference between the parks is that there is no Toon Town in Disneyland Paris. The next one is that the Matterhorn is conspicuously absent. The last major landscape difference is that there is no Critter Country in Paris, either.

Then there are all the small differences that make each park unique, such as different tracks for Space Mountain, the placement of rides (for example, Star Tours is in the back of Discoveryland, but in the front of Tomorrowland), different restaurants, and of course different weather. Despite going in the middle of July, it rained during FBF and my visit. This explains why more of the lines are found under a roof in Paris.

The physical differences aren’t the only things distinguishing the two parks, however.

I was surprised by how much French was spoken. Instead of being in English and then Spanish, the announcements of how to behave properly before and after a ride start with French, are followed with English, and then continue in other languages I don’t speak.

Even the animatronics speak French! Imagine my surprise to find C3P0 speaking in French with R2D2 (who speaks in beeps, even in French).


C3PO talking in French to his buddy, R2D2 at Star Tours, Paris.

I realize it was silly to think that Disneyland Paris would be in English, but finding myself in a Disneyland remarkably similar to that which I came to know as a child, I kept forgetting I was in France.

But language wasn’t the only reminder that I was in France. Even if the buildings and attractions look similar, the people do not act the same.

When at Disneyland at home, I know which hours to avoid going to the restaurants if I don’t want to wait in lines, as most Americans eat meals around the same time. This is not possible at Disneyland Paris. People come from all over Europe and have such different cultural norms for when to eat that there are always people at the restaurants.

When meeting a character, instead of people forming a line based on who got there first, it's a mad dash to greet, take pictures with, and receive autographs from Disneyland Paris’s various inhabitants.

Although it happened less often in my experience, people even try to cut in the lines for attractions. An Italian family just up and walked past at least 7 people before deciding that was where they would be waiting for the ride.

Despite linguistic and cultural differences, I had a great time visiting Disneyland Paris. The most important thing stayed the same. It still felt like the Happiest Place on Earth.

Mon Anniv'

I turned 24 on Sunday!


Me and the number twenty-four in a super secret location! Hint: location disclosed in the next two paragraphs.

To celebrate this momentous occasion FBF surprised me with a weekend trip to Reims, the city where champagne comes from.

He took me to Taittinger champagne house, where we took a tour of their caves (cellars) and got to learn how champagne is made. At the end of it we got a taste of the delicious stuff.


The wall surrounding the Taittinger champagne house.

We then proceeded to drink more champagne. We found a café right in front of the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Reims, where the kings of France were crowned, and sipped on our glasses while enjoying the beautiful view.


The perfect view for enjoying a glass of champagne: the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Reims.

Then we went to yet another café to drink yet another glass of bubbly. This time our drinks came with a surprise aperitif of French fries.

For my birthday dinner we went to a delicious fondue restaurant, where I proceeded to eat more than my weight in melted cheese. It was heaven.

The next morning I woke up and opened a birthday package from my best friend. It came with a tiara (complete with rhinestones and a fuzzy, purple feather boa-type lining) and a hot pink birthday girl pin/ribbon. I proudly sported both while FBF and I hit up Reims’ monuments and received all sorts of funny looks from the French.


Me and my tiara being tourists all over the city of Reims!

Lunch in the city came with, of course, a glass of champagne, and after seeing all the sites we headed back home for little ol’ Lille.

All in all, it was the perfect way to turn twenty-four. Can it get any better than lots of champagne, tiaras, and travel? I think not.

l’Esprit Francais

On our last night in Bordeaux, FBF and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and have a picnic dinner along the Garonne River. We used our new knowledge about Bordeaux wine from our afternoon spent in a wine tasting class to buy a bottle of the stuff that we felt confident we’d like. We picked a boulangerie just because the smell wafting out of the store made my mouth water. We found a formagerie and told the lady the different types of cheeses we wanted. We choose a rondelle of chevre, a slice of brebis, a piece of tome de savoie, and a slither of morbier.

We plopped down in the grass along the part of the quai that has been transformed into a park, right next to the famous miroir d'eau (fountain). The sun was still shinning. It was a pleasantly warm evening.


The Hôtel des Fermes and its reflection in the miroir d'eau

We were looking not only at the river but also at the gorgeous Bordeaux style buildings. We were surrounded by flowers. We were having great conversation. We were drinking delicious wine and eating delicious cheese. We were feeling very much in love.

As I sat there soaking it all in and feeling so very lucky to be there in that moment, to get to experience another culture and live in France, I couldn’t keep it in. I had to share.

I must have gone on for more than five minutes about how grateful I was to be eating that cheese and drinking that wine in Bordeaux, France with my wonderful boyfriend. How beautiful the city was and how thankful I was that I got to visit it. How I was having a superb vacation and I just felt so appreciative of all I had.

To which, my very very French boyfriend replied, “oui, c’est vrai, c’est pas mal quand même (Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s not so bad).”

Bordeaux: Prémières Impressions

My first impressions of Bordeaux:

It is beautiful.







All the buildings go perfectly with one another. It’s basically because of this homogeny that almost the entire central part of the city has been made into a UNESCO World Heritage site.





Everything feels so old.

It’s so warm here. I am outside whenever possible.

The Garonne (the river that passes through Bordeaux) is huge.



The wine is so delicious. I love every glass I taste.



Bordeaux seems to fit nicely into all the stereotypes of France: beautiful churches, beautiful buildings, small cobble stone roads, romantic squares, shutters, red wine, and delicious cheese.

Nantes: Prémières Impressions

My first impressions of Nantes:

THERE IS A CASTLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY.


{outside}


{inside}

Not only is there a giant, beautiful castle in the middle of the city, but also the grounds and ramparts are open to the public. Where the moat once was has been turned into a park where the Nantais bask the sun.


{moat}

There are tall green trees that contrast beautifully against the tall, white buildings.



Although FBF prepared me for Nantes thinking it was Brittany, I am surprised to find it out that it is Breton. The Duke of Brittany built his castle in Nantes (hence the giant castle in the middle of the city), and the Nantais are extremely proud of their Breton-ness. There are crêpe/galette restaurants all over the place, Brittany flags hung about, and lots of cidre.