The beginning of April ushered in, simultaneously, an abrupt end to our summer-like weather and a string of visitors from the United States. Throughout most of my life in France, a collective 3 years spread over 7 years, I’ve had hardly any visitors. The last month has made up for that. First, my best friend Janese arrived for her premier séjour en Europe.

We had but one quick weekend to spend in Brittany before heading South to travel.  The first order of business was to explore the charming and crooked streets of Rennes. Keep in mind this was Janese’s first time in Europe, so Rennes must have seemed even more impossibly quaint through her eyes, even in spite of the constant rain. Showing her around my little ville gave me a new sense of pride and wonderment for my home.

On Friday, Janese accompanied me to my last day of work with my CM2 kids at the Elementary school. We went on a trip to a nearby park, where they surprised me with a picnic and showered me with homemade gifts and cards. Good thing I was wearing big sunglasses that day as there were a lot of tears welling up behind those dark lenses.

I said goodbye to my students and looked forward to yet another 2 week holiday. With nothing left to do but relax and travel, I began the difficult task of introducing Janese to some of Brittany’s finer culinary treasures…

Cider.

Pastries.

Janese enjoying a religieuse pastry

Tarts and tartines.

The spread at L’Epicerie

And last but not least, an assortment of galettes and crêpes, mais bien sur...

Janese and I after one of our wonderful galette dinners. On the menu that night was salmon and scallop galettes for dinner with caramel and almond paste crêpes for dessert.

Then, we had time for a quick visit to the famous marché.

And a picnic in Parc Thabor.

Then we hopped on a bus to the countryside of Central Brittany so Janese could meet my boyfriend. But I suspect she was more interested in meeting these little guys…

Nanook and Shilah, taking a little sieste on their canapé.

We had a quick 24 hours in the country, just enough time to relax in front of the fire and go for a few walks in the nearby woods.

Toby, Janese and I by the canal.

Then it was back to civilization and to Toulouse. More to come soon on our adventures in Toulouse, my time in Paris and my travels with my sister and brother-in-law and nephew. I’m currently with my parents, so I don’t have too much downtime as we’re heading to Provence shortly. In know, I live a difficult, tedious life…

A bientôt.