It’s spring! Well, for this week at least. The weather in Brittany is famous for it’s inconsistency. Having moved from San Francisco to Brittany, I seem doomed to live in regions where the weather can’t make up it’s mind and the seasons zig zag back and forth in unpredictable and unfathomable ways. Yesterday felt like summer, but tomorrow may very well be a rainy and blistery dip back into winter. But, as of this week, it feels like the start of a beautiful spring, and I plan to profiter du soleil as much as I can!

A sunny day in Parc Thabor

I’m especially enjoying the sun because I’ve been cooped up inside as of late: I’ve been fighting off a virus for, oh, only about a month now. I am usually quite energetic and active, but over a month ago I started feeling exhausted and congested, like I was fighting something off, but wasn’t quite sick yet. And then halfway through my stay in Budapest, the hammer dropped (is that an expression, or is my Franglish inventing colloquialisms again?) and I got pretty sick, pretty quickly. But of course, I was in denial and went about my business as usual – it was only a cold right? Last week my body literally staged a coup and I had to cede and stay home from work for almost the whole week. I think the French children are trying to kill me with their cooties…

Needless to say, during that time, I was craving some serious comfort food. On a rare outing into the real world from my “sick cave”(otherwise known as my tiny attic studio), I met my friend Emma at Apple Pie for lunch on St. Patty’s day to usher in the celebration with homestyle cooking by my most favorite Irish lass in Rennes, Lisa. Can you imagine a more comforting meal than Smoked Salmon, Irish Beef Stew and Irish Coffee Cheesecake? All of it local, fresh, organic, and served with a side of warm Irish wisdom and humor. Voici, the St. Patty’s day meal…

So, besides the glorious aforementioned meal, last week was pretty crummy. On top of being really sick, my mom had a skiing accident and broke her leg! She will be needing surgery, and thus my parents had to cancel their plans to come visit me for my Spring Break. Dagger to the heart! I’ve been dreaming of and scheming for this trip since I arrived in Rennes: where and what we will eat, all of the places we will visit. But, the good news is that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, so they’ll have plenty of opportunities to come visit in the future. So get better mama, and everyone who reads this please think positive thoughts about her upcoming surgery!

After being a shut-in last week, I am finally becoming human once again this week. Nothing to make you feel alive and joyful like a picnic in the park on a day that feels like summer. Yesterday I met my girlfriends in Parc Thabor, the park that is right around the corner from my apartment. There’s no place to picnic like France: fresh baguettes, tomatoes, smoked salmon, the holy trinity of cheese (comté, camembert and chèvre), and some chocolate and sparkling crémant to wash it all down. And of course, the juicy gossip of four friends that hadn’t all been gathered in one spot in far too long…

Tomorrow is Friday, which means it’s almost the weekend and there will be many more picnics in the next few days I’m sure. I’m looking forward to basking in the sun and feeling like a human once again, rather than a sickly vampire!

Stay posted for the tale of my Friday Night Dinner that I will attempt to cook tomorrow. I’m not too experienced with steak, so it may very well be a disaster...