That title is french, by the way, not Italian. I was in Rennes, France this weekend visiting my lovely friends Becca, Scottie, and Natalie. It was wonderful, definitely one of the best weekends I have had since being in Europe. I flew to Paris then took a train from Paris to Rennes. Becca met me at the train station, which was actually quite funny. I was so excited to be there that I was skipping down the platform, but in my excitement I was not really paying attention and just sort of followed where everyone else was going, assuming that is where Becca would be. Actually, Becca was on the platform...and I ended up near the metro...but we found each other on the stairs and had the best hug. Becca just got her hair cut and looked very french with her scarf, not to mention she was carrying a bag of brioche for our breakfast the next morning. It was a little after eight at this point so we headed to dinner. We went to an adorable little creperie and had galettes, which are similar to crepes but made with buckwheat, and filled with eggs or mushrooms or smoked salmon or...other things...I had one filled with chevre, salad and walnuts. Afterwards we of course had crepes, they were banana chocolate and the chocolate was literally like brownie batter. It was so delicious. We headed back to Becca's host home, where her host mom asked me several questions in french before realizing that I couldn't understand anything. She was very cute though, and said in English, "Oh, you don't speak any French?" with an adorable accent.
The next day we got up and made french toast with brioche, then headed to the market. There were so many different fruits and vegetables, and huge loaf of bread and about a million different types of cheese. We bought some bread with nuts, goat cheese, pears, and dried apricots for lunch, then headed to the park to eat. This park looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland. There was also a bird sanctuary filled with these tiny neon colored birds all singing as little kids ran around chasing the pigeons, which were, in turn heading towards Becca and I hoping for some bread. After lunch we went to the best knitting/fabric store ever. It was called "La Droguerie." They had the best buttons, and the girls that worked there were very nice. I bought some fabric for myself, and my mom of course, as well as some buttons. Now I just have to knit a sweater to put the buttons on. After lusting over everything I couldn't by we decided it was time for baked goods and possibly hot chocolate. We headed to a little coffee shop where sat and knit for a couple hours. It felt like I was back at Guilford. Except in France....Natalie and their friend Hayley met us there and we decided to cook lentil soup and naan for dinner later. After knitting a bit more Becca and I headed off to get the ingredients. Scottie met us back at the house. She and Becca sang songs and played guitar as we prepared the naan dough. Once Natalie and Hayley got there Becca's host mom decided it was time to bring out the champagne and we all sat around talking and laughing (but by talking I mean they spoke french, and I listened, and translating happened.) Becca's host mom was so sweet and so generous for letting me stay with them. After dinner we watched Beauty and the Beast in french, and I understood everything because I have seen that movie so many times. And it was kind of perfect in french, because I never realized it before, but Belle is so french....
The next day Becca and I went to this tiny town called Becheral for a book festival. This town had something like eighteen bookstores. We walked up on the ramparts and generally had a good time exploring. Becca found some good things to enhance her french skills, and we ate crepes and galettes for lunch. After drinking tea and knitting some more we headed back to Rennes. At Becca's house her host family was already preparing the food for Easter dinner. We were having fondue and creme brulee. We even watched her set it on fire, which was really cool, if a tad bit nerve racking. Becca and I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as well. Scottie came over for dinner. In total there were about fourteen people there, including a tiny french baby. Becca and Scottie play music while we had appetizers. They translated for me, and some of the people some a little english, and as more wine was consumed, more english was attempted, which was nice of them. Dinner was delicious, as was dessert. We all definitely entered food coma. But Becca and Scottie still managed to play a few more songs. One of the guests requested wonderwall, which resulted in a everyone singing along. It was a long, but wonderful meal, a great end to a lovely weekend.
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