Chapter 9: Speed Rabbit Pizza

Long shoelaces post #10

Though there may be some down days to come, I can say that I am now very happy to be here. The urge to call (or go) home has passed, and after Thursday, which was a bit sad, it has only been up and up. I feel much more settled, peaceful, and happy.

Yesterday it continued to rain all day, and after blogging and writing some letters, Pascal made me lunch and we ate together and had a nice talk. Then I walked to the university to return a book that Fabien had lent me (the season of the National Theatre of Brittany, which happens here in Rennes) and we also had a long chat. About the president, and how Fabien hates him. And then about immigrants in Brittany. (Those will be optional readings later on.. Stay tuned.)

After that I wandered into town to print some photos for my wall and to visit the kiosk man. His name, I learned, is Osson (I'm just spelling it how it sounds). He's lovely. His sons work there too, and they're nice teens. Osson made me a coffee and we enjoyed it together, sitting on Thirsty Street and watching the people drinking after work at the pubs. He told me that Brittany has the highest alcoholism rate in the country and the highest suicide rate. (The two usually go hand in hand anyways..) I sat there for a couple of hours with him and then by myself when he had customers. I helped by slicing onions when it was really busy and then mopped the floor.

Later, I heard from the two girls from the other night (we'll call them B and R. 10 points to anyone who can figure out why..) and they invited me out with another woman with whom I'll work. We'll call her New One. NO. I decided to go so I could meet NO.

Turns out, NO rules. She has short hair and bright coloured shoes and a big smile. Very cute and nice. Laughs at my jokes. Bonus points. A bit quieter than me, but up for anything. She asked us if we like dancing. I almost kissed her. Like dancing? I LOVE dancing. I can dance any night of the week for a hundred hours!

When the night had come to a close, at the late hour of 10pm, I t-bombed NO and asked if she wanted to go dancing tonight. So we're going to her place to have some vino, and then hitting the town. Toronto stylez. OPD? Yes, please. We both want to meet some French peeps so we don't speak English to each other. Not necessarily tonight, but in general. So I'm glad she doesn't want to just stick with Anglophones for the year, because that is not my plan at all.

Oh! I just had something happen for the first time since I got here!! There's a man, Anthony, who comes to Esprit Cafe and who I see here most days. We chat a bit. He just came up to me and I didn't know what he was doing, and then he leaned in for the French kiss. Not THE French kiss, but the two cheek thing. I'd watch other friends do that, and kind of wished I knew someone well enough to get one of those. Anthony.. What a babe. Too bad he's the size of a carnie.

Speaking of babes, I tricked one into reading my blog by saying there was a shout out for him. He read the entire thing in one sitting and then sent me an f-book msg saying that there wasn't a shout out to him at all. Well, he was right. But the truth is that I quoted him in one of the comments. And kind of thought there might be an obscure reference that he would read and THINK was a shout out to him, and be satisfied. But really, I knew that the only way his ego would allow him to keep reading a blog about my life was a promise of a shout out. Now if this paragraph isn't a shout out, I don't know what is! And so, Scags, 15 points for reading all of the posts in one sitting. And 3 more for being a rugged mountain man. Keep reading, my friend.

This morning I walked to the downtown core because I heard there was a little market there Saturday mornings. On the way, Osson stopped me to have a coffee with him. He was excited to show me the market, which is where he gets all of his produce for the sandwiches he makes. We wandered through, and he pointed out the good places to go. There were a bunch of flowers in the middle of the cobblestone at one spot, and he told me that last night three drunk youths were partying in the apartment upstairs and fell out of the window, onto the cobblestone, and died! Three! Tragic, yes, but how do multiple people fall out of a window to their deaths? He also told me that the market is centuries old, as old as Rennes itself, and well-known in Brittany. It was huge.

After my walk-about with Osson, I returned home to get my camera, because I had never seen such a beautiful market in my life. But when I had my camera, I couldn't capture it. I didn't end up taking any photos of the market. It was so much more than the colourful flowers and fruit. It was the band that was playing music from Brittany, with everyone singing along as they shopped. It was the smell of seafood from the coast, cheese from the farms surrounding Rennes, and fresh bread from the bakeries in the city. It was a feeling of home - not for me, maybe, but for the people who walked those streets every Saturday. It was really beautiful. And I'm not even into flowers.

I bumped into NO when I was there, and we wandered together. I introduced her to Osson, and we had a coffee near the carousel in the main square, up the street from the market. She told me about her university experience, her current roommates and her family. I like her. Then we got hungry and had Speed Rabbit Pizza! I wanted them to deliver it to us on the motorcycles, but we were right there, so just got take out. It was delicious. We got one called Mountain Alaska. Random. It had potatoes and salmon on it. Weird. But so tasty!

This afternoon I did some reading and writing at home, and am now at Esprit Cafe. Tomorrow everything will be closed, but I have wanted to borrow a bicycle from my residence and ride down the river, out of Rennes, and into the country to look at what's there. I'll wear my bathing suit and go swimming if I find a spot. And take a micmic lunch. I hope it's not a rainy day..

Okay, that's it for today. JUST JOKING! I did take some photos (maybe a bit bah-ring) of my hood. Here they are:

A PHOTO ESSAY
By The Hinckster

Rue Saint-Malo, the next street from mine, and where Esprit Cafe is:




Thirsty Street, where Osson's place is:



The river, steps from my place:



Even closer than the river, this is the canal, from under the bridge:



Canal, not under the bridge:



And this is what I see as soon as I step out of my place (also the canal):



These are the houses right next to mine:



Speed Rabbit Pizza motorcycle:



I don't know how to do cool lay-out yet.. But it's a start.

Love to you all, and enjoy the week-end,
Hincks