Yes. Welcome to the revolutionary nerd blog post that features BOTH nerd blog AND foto esssay! What a treat. What a melange. Enjoy.
The visit with Benito continued to be great. He cooked up a delicious chicken and rice feast, and we had Merrill over for some pre-gaming action before
Museum Cafe, the new (for us) night bar we wanted to try. A highlight was skyping my family. Big and little brother, cousin Claire and the parentals were feasting around the dinner table. I was placed next to the bird cage and chirped at them throughout the duration of the talk, asking them to pass me the gravy, and other funny bits like that. I think my mom was the only one who tolerated it.. I thought it was hilarious. Museum Cafe was a HIT. Unreal music and a more diverse crowd. And closer to our place than the others. We will be back every week-end. The bar staff were giving out hats. That makes two hats in one week-end. What a deal.
Benito left last night because he flew early this morning from Paris. The house seemed quiet afterwards, as it goes when visitors leave.. But Cynthia and I have been spending good time together. Today we went to the Christmas Market. French peeps age well, including Pere Noel himself:
"But Hinckster, I thought you didn't like Christmas!" It's not that I ever didn't like Christmas.. It's that I grew tired of Christmas as it had become in TO. Too much hustle and bustle and grumpy shoppers and slush and blinding lights and unnecessary paper waste and consumerism. Etc. This is not to start a blog comment war.. Please. It's just to say that whenever I smiled and nodded when you said, "I love Christmastime!" it was because I didn't want to start a tiresome, cyclic discussion. No offense. And I don't not like Christmas. I just prefer other holidays, and don't really love buying presies, wrapping them up, sticking them under a prickly, oversized tree (that's inside the house..) and then being forced to wait to open them.
But that's not what I was going to say..... What I was going to say, is that the Christmas spirit I had as a child is slowly coming back.. I asked Santa if I could get a picture with him (read: do I have to pay?) and he said sure (read: no). Rennes is decorated with tasteful lights, there are no giant malls, people aren't talking about it incessantly (because it's still weeks away), and it's just ... I guess better suited to me right now. This isn't to say I won't spend more Christmases in the big city (which I really do love and miss), but I think being here is giving me a new perspective on how Christmas can be, and lifting the bah humbug away.. Which is good. I want to love Christmas like the rest of you.. End of rant/new discovery.
These were the two highlights of the Christmas market:
That's right, young bachelors. My heart is warm.And:
The Canada stand!! Where the maple syrup is only $15 for the smallest one! And where you can buy the ever-popular caribou spread! This stand was exciting for me, as there are only twenty-five stalls or so.. And there was no US or England stand. So I was very proud. I stood by it for a long time, in case anyone wanted to ask a Canadienne any questions. ...No one did.It's Winter in Rennes. It's not going to get any colder. This is strange for me.. It feels like mid-October. The lowest it will get is about 3 degrees at night. It's grey and rains quite often. But it's not horrible rain, just misty.. It's humid, though, so the cold feels colder than it is. Still, it's not very cold for me. Not cold enough for a hat or mits, and the decision to not bring a long coat was the right one. The Rennais, on the other hand, are bundled up like it's Nunavut. It snowed in Paris yesterday. Though it's not far, Paris is colder and gets some snow, because it's further from the ocean. And now here's Ron with your local traffic update.
Tonight will be spent getting ready for the week of classes. Tomorrow night, Cynthia and I are going to the Opera. We got free tickets in our Welcome to Rennes package, and will be seeing .. I forget. Oopsies. We booked way in advance, and had our choice of seats. We're sitting in my fave location: front row. I'm looking forward to it!
With love,
Hincks.
6 comments:
I love international x-mas markets! I went to one in the Seychelles (which are French islands!) and there were Santas dancing on beaches surrounded by christmas palm trees. I can't remember if they were playing christmas music on steel drums but that would have been perfect. Good to see that France celebrations have the same spirit....but where are their palm trees?
Rob
I don't even know what caribou spread is.
Rob and I are trying to push the other p&cc managers to veto the semi formal theme for our dinner and instead go for the Mistle-Toga theme... it's not going well...
Thought I'd keep you posted. It's tomorrow, in case you wanted to dress in a toga just to match!
I like pictures!
Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld)
"In the eyes of Clément and Larousse, the piece is une parodie grotesque et grossière (a coarse and grotesque parody), full of vulgar and indecent scenes that give off une odeur malsaine (an unhealthy odor). In the opinion of Piat, however, Offenbach's Orphée is, like most of his major operettas, a bijou (jewel) that only snobs will fail to appreciate. The piece was not immediately a hit, but critics' condemnation of the travesty, particularly that of Jules Janin, who called it a "profanation of holy and glorious antiquity," only provided vital publicity, serving to heighten the public's curiosity to see the piece."
Fun?
make sure you remember roses to toss gracefully on to stage during curtain call....i hear they ACTUALLY do that in Rennes. seriously. please....for me!
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