France Pt. 2--Fougeres

The first day trip that Genavee and I took was to the beautiful town of Fougeres, an hour's bus ride from Rennes.  Fougeres is home to one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in France; the first fortifications were build in the 11th century and became especially important during the violence of the Hundred Years War.

It was amazing to be able to walk all around the ramparts of this fortress, climb up its towers and wander through the ruins of the old manor house and chapel.  As a history lover, I was in heaven!

The town of Fougeres sits up on a hill overlooking the fortress. 

We climbed up the hill to look in the cathedral, then walked through town (stopping in a fascinating little museum about an impressionist painter who was born in Fougeres).  We also saw a statue of Colonel Armand, a hero of the American Revolution, who was from Fougeres as well.

Fougeres embodies the Brittany region: its history, beauty, and charm.  I am so glad that Genavee decided to take me there!

France Pt. 1--Rennes

October has been a very busy and exciting month!  First, we welcomed several special visitors: Mom, Dad, Tim, and Christine all gathered in Rehoboth and we had a great time hiking, playing games, and visiting together.  Benji was thoroughly spoiled by all of the love and attention!

These visitors were especially generous, as they stayed at home with Benji while I spent a  wonderful week in France visiting my friend Genavee, who is a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Rennes.  So many special experiences were packed into those five days, I've decided to blog about the trip in three segments.  First, here are a few words that I would use to describe the city of Rennes:

1.  Beautiful!  With winding, cobblestone streets, medieval timber-framed houses, and canals criss-crossing the city, Rennes is truly a beautiful place.

One of my favorite parts of the town was the Jardin Thabor, a public park which included a wooded English garden, a manicured French garden, an aviary full of exotic birds, and a botanical/flower garden full of gorgeous blooms.  I think I could have spent the entire week in this park and been perfectly content!

2.  Delicious!  Genavee and I enjoyed several special dinners out in Rennes.

"Assiette fermiere"--filet mignon, andouille sausage, and pork over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and vegetables

Raclette--melty cheese with charcuterie and baked potato

My very favorite meal was galettes and crepes, a specialty of the Brittany region.  My galette (a savory crepe) included ham, egg, cheese, and mushrooms; and my dessert crepe was topped with apples, salted caramel, gingerbread crumble, and ice cream!  Add a bottle of cider and it was a meal to remember for sure!

3.  Friendly!  One of my favorite parts of this trip was getting to experience "everyday life"--meeting Genavee's friends, visiting her university, going to church with her on Sunday, practicing speaking French...I found the people of Rennes to be very friendly and overall the town felt like a place that would be easy to call home.

Genavee's beautiful apartment

Rue d'Echange--the street where Genavee lives

Genavee goes to a Protestant church that meets in a lovely 19th century building (c. 1882).  Although the church building is old and sparsely decorated, it houses an amazingly young, warm, and living body of believers.  It was so encouraging to be part of the Sunday worship there, which included the baptism of a young boy and a communion service.

 I also got to meet several of Genavee's friends from the university; we had two dinners together (the second was an "American dinner" which included chicken poppyseed casserole and banana pudding for dessert: strange dishes for the French palate, but Genavee's friends were great sports!)  These evenings were great for my French speaking and comprehension skills, but more importantly they were a wonderful opportunity to make some new friends!

In addition to exploring Rennes, Genavee and I took two day trips to spectacular locations.  I'll share more about those in blog posts to come!

Disneyland Half Marathon

This weekend we took an exciting trip to California to join Jonathan's family in running the Disneyland Half Marathon--and watching Benji experience Disney for the first time!

The run itself was a lot of fun: it goes through both Disney parks, around Anaheim, and even onto the infield of Angels' stadium.  We did a walk/run method that made the 13.1 miles more manageable and finished in about 2.5 hours.  Between the run in the morning and a full day in the parks, I logged a record 47,000 steps on my FitBit that day!  Needless to say, our legs were a bit tired!  MereMere did a great job taking care of both babies during the race.

Most of the weekend, though, we just spent enjoying Disneyland.  It was exciting to see Benji experiencing such a wonderful place for the first time!  Here are his "Top Five Attractions" for the weekend:

5.  The rides: Benji enjoyed riding the Casey Jr. train, It's a Small World, the Little Mermaid, and others.  He didn't always smile on the rides, which surprised me, but rather was completely entranced, his eyes as big as saucers!

4.  The parades: He especially liked the Pixar parade in California Adventure when he got sprayed with water from the Bug's Life float.  Parade-watching was best from Daddy's shoulders!

3.  The swimming pool: Back at the Candy Cane Inn, Benji had a blast splashing in the pool.

2.  The fountains and trashcans: More specifically, picking up dead leaves and throwing them into fountains and trashcans.  He amused himself for half an hour throwing leaves into the trashcan next to the Indiana Jones ride!

1.  Spending time with family: Benji was amazingly happy and comfortable with his Captain and MereMere, aunts, uncle, and cousin Knox.  (It was fun to see the two boys hanging out in their double stroller!)

Although Benji will never remember his first trip to Disneyland, the rest of our family will treasure these precious memories!