Visiting the Boulangerie

As part of one of our classes, we are working in groups to create dossiers with a French subject and an emphasis on Nantes. My group chose to study the importance of bread in the lives of the French, because it is almost impossible to eat a meal without sharing bread. When we first began our study, we really had no focus and found it difficult to figure out exactly what we were supposed to do. Eventually we muddled through the directions and created an angle for ourselves. Once this was done, we had to find articles to support our angle. The final part was the report, which includes an interview. For our interview, we went to the Pains, Beurre, et Chocolat bakery that is not too far away from our residence.
And are we ever glad we went there!
The owners were so incredibly kind. The baker invited us into the back to show us where he makes the bread and pastries. He walked us through a typical day (he gets up at 3:30 AM to be at the store by 5:00 so that he can start baking, and doesn`t leave until around 8:00pm). What a long day! But he really loves his job. He used to work in the journalism field, until he decided to become a baker about 7 years ago. He opened this bakery in 2008 and it is clear that he has a passion for his work. His favourite aspect of the job is the rapport he has with his clients, when they return and when they are satisfied.
The whole bakery is a very inviting place. There is a large glass window that opens up onto the street, with a modern and beautiful sign to attract your attention. Inside the lighting is good and the vast selection of treats are well displayed. There is a glass window through which you can see the baker putting the bread in the oven, which creates a sort of bond between you and the baker.

Just the bread! More pastries on the other side.

The outside

So, our tour! Like I said, we got to see all of the exciting parts of a bakery that are usually hidden from the public. We got to see the giant mixing bowl, the fridge where they store the dough to let it ferment, and the giant oven that cooks the bread and other delicious foods!

Le boulanger taking a delicious treat out of the oven

dough! you let it ferment for at least 24hours for best results.

Getting the fresh bread out!

We also learned about what makes the best bread through some sampling. We sampled three different breads; one was actually a new recipe that they were trying out. The baker said that he actually didn't like it much because it was too dense, but I thought it was alright. Maybe because I'm used the dense Canadian bread! The second was bread that he showed us to demonstrate what good bread looks like. Details in the coming pictures! Finally, we got to sample bread fresh from the oven, which was rolled in sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Instead of putting the seeds in the bread, which makes it too dense, it was just rolled in the seeds and the aroma fills the bread.Yum!

Cutting the bread

Here's some good bread! The more holes the better. It should be more of a cream colour, not white. The bottom should be hard, and when you squeeze it it should be lovely and crusty. Perfect!

The seed bread! So delicious.

The interview

 It was so evident by our visit that these bakers are not only passionate about their job, but also about their customers. They had a small back room, but let us take up most of it anyways. We really appreciated them taking time out of their day to talk to us, and also for giving us samples! They gained a few new customers today, that is for sure! Even though it is farther away, I will try to buy any bread here, because of their excellent customer service. I also hope to bring my parents here when they visit.
Our baker gave us a really excellent answer about why he believes bread is so important to the French, but I won't post it all. Mostly because it would take awhile to translate it. But here is a short quote:
«Je pense que sa place est prépondérante en France car c'est un aliment de "partage". On aime s'assoir autour d'une table pour déguster un bon vin, un bon fromage avec du pain. Il est le ciment de ces moments forts de convivialité.» "I think that its place is so important in France because it is a food to share. We love sitting around a table to taste good wine and good cheese with bread. It is the cement of the strongest moments of festivity/friendship." I love this idea. We talked a lot at Ryerson camp last year about the importance of bread and how it is something that really is a sharing food, and the French seem to have that idea down pat.
When we began this dossier, we were not really sure what to expect. We got incredibly lucky and managed to really get something out of the project though; meeting the boulanger was incredible and getting to see where the action happens was so important to us, who don't have quite the same importance for bread in Canada. It was a very cultural experience, and one that I am so grateful to have had. All I can say is that after this visit, I truly do appreciate bread much more, and the care that the bakers here put into their work. Because for them, baking bread isn't just a job, it's a way of life.

With the boulanger

Crepes

Crepes are one of the specialties of the Bretagne region, where Nantes is (well technically it is in the Pays de la Loire but everyone here wants to be part of Bretagne again). Because of this, it is very easy to find creperies in Nantes. I have seen many, but I have actually only been to one: Creperie Heb Ken. I have been there 3 times because it is just so good!

Eating the delicious crepes

YUM

I always had gotten the same crepe before: mushroom, ham, and cheese. This time I decided to be different. There are literally about 100 crepe combinations you can get. And that is not even including the dessert crepes. It's amazing. I'm bringing my parents here. So this time, all four of us got the same kind of crepe: potato, ham, and cheese. It was like eating raclette, one of our favourite french meals. Raclette is like the best melted cheese on a potato with meat. It sounds boring, but it is sooooo good. The crepe was awesome and we also got some cidre to go with it. Cidre is another Breton favourite, and it is quite delicious. You drink it out of little bowls!! For dessert, the four of us split 2 dessert crepes. Michelle and I split a crepe au caramel beurre salé. Salted caramel butter, another Breton specialty. It's SO good.
As you can tell, my evening was quite good. The next day I went for a nice long run to work it all off, haha.
And since then it has been a pretty chill weekend! Did some homework, worked on camp-stuff, went downtown, went out, ran, Bible study... yeah, not too much to report. I am ridiculously tired though, and have placement tomorrow (I think) so I'm going to peace out. Have a great Monday everyone!

Coeur de Pirate

Unbeknownst to me, until yesterday, it was International Women's Day! I felt kind of silly not knowing, but luckily I was told early on, so I had the thought with me throughout the day.
I think it is a great idea to have a day for women! I took women's history last year and found it very enlightening. Even today in places around the world equality has not yet been achieved. So why not celebrate us for a day?
 How did I celebrate? Well, I had 2 classes. In between those classes, I went for lunch and a walk along the river. Then in the evening, a bunch of us went to see Coeur de Pirate in concert!
Now what is this "heart of a pirate" you are asking. In fact, it is Béatrice Martin, a young woman who comes from Montreal! I had been listening to her music casually when one of our friends mentioned that she would be coming to Nantes soon. I went out and bought her new cd and have been listening to it ever since. It is fantastic! She is very talented both at singing and at playing the piano. Another fun fact is that she is pregnant! She does not want to make a big deal about it, so she has only mentioned it in one interview, but she would sometimes hold her little baby bump last night while singing, which was cute.
French crowds differed somewhat from the crowds I am used to back home... they are a little tamer. Nevertheless, it was a great evening!

Awesome opening act--wish we knew who she was!

Canada supporting Canada!

Playing the piano

Finale

Today it is a lovely sunny day here. I did some errands, went for a run, got groceries, and did some homework. Tonight a few of us are going out for crepes! Happy Friday everyone.

Paris: Survive and Thrive!

 Hello world!
It has been a few days since my half-marathon and I'm happy to say that my legs are starting to feel like normal.That being said, stairs still are awful.
It is a rainy and grey day here, so not much is going on. Some rock climbing tonight, but that's about it. Oh, and homework, of course!
So I would not call myself an expert on Paris, but I have been there a few times. So, for the blog post I'm going to write about what I have learned to do/not to do in order to have an enjoyable time in the city. This is mainly for my parents, who will be coming to France in less than a month! Very exciting.

PARIS.
1.  Don't rent a car. Why not? First, the metro is great. Use it. It will take you everywhere. Second, good luck finding a parking space. Third, good luck navigating the streets.
2. The metro
-------It is grand!
-------Do buy booklets of 10 tickets, rather than individual ones if you are planning to be there for a few days. It is more cost efficient. You can buy them at a desk or a little booth.
-------Do know where you are going! The metro is easy to use and easy to navigate, but make sure you know the direction you need to go in and which stop you need. Also, try to figure out where you are going before you go. Nothing screams "tourist" like a giant metro map. You can print a smaller version off of the internet which you can carry around with you (http://subway.umka.org/map-paris.html).
-------There are automatic doors and also ones you have to open manually. For the manual ones, pull the lever up, not down.
-------There are bound to be some strange people in the metro. DON'T make eye contact, or else they will bother you.
-------Know when the last metro is if you are going to be out late, unless you want to sleep in the streets.
-------To locate the metro stops, look for the giant red M or a sign that says Metropole.
-------When on escalators or moving sidewalks, always stand to the right to allow people in a hurry to pass by on the left.
3. The streets. Watch your step! Sometimes people don't pick up after their pets.
4. Be polite. If you need to ask for help, begin with "Bonjour" and then your question. Unlike in Canada, you cannot just say "Excuse me, can you help me find the..." You must say hello first.
5. Another useful phrase: "Parlez-vous anglais?" Don't assume that just because it is Paris, everyone speaks English. Say Bonjour, then this phrase, and hope that they say "oui" in response. Also, "Merci" (thank you) goes a long way. Showing that you are trying will get your brownie points.
6. Not all Parisians are rude. Some are in fact very nice. Just imagine how you would feel if your city was constantly overrun with tourists, snapping pictures and not understanding the rules.
7. If you are with Scotiabank, you are in luck! BNP Paribas, one of the French banks, is affiliated with Scotia, which means you can use your debit card to take out cash and not get a service charge. The sign is green with white stars.
8. It is worth asking your hotel/hostel/apartment main desk for advice on where to eat out. Often the best places are not in the main centre of the city. That goes for bakeries and bars as well!
9. St. Germain is a really cool part of the city with lots of good bars, restaurants, and movie theatres.
10. The Eiffel tower is great in the day, but going up at night is apparently amazing. I saw some pictures taken by a friend and the lights of the city are just fantastic.
11. Take a boat ride too! Tour boats go all down the Seine and will give you great stories.
12. The Arc du Triomphe, if you climb up the stairs, has a great view of the city and the Eiffel Tower. Just make sure you get to it underground; don't try and cross the giant roundabout unless you want to die.
13. Speaking of roundabouts, there are lots in Paris and France in general. When crossing the streets, do so at pedestrian crosswalks. In Paris there are usually the familiar green and red signals to tell you when to go. Elsewhere in France, you just walk and cars stop for you. Be more careful in Paris.
14. You can take an RER train to the Chateau de Versailles and it is a must-see.
15. Other things to see: Sacre Coeur cathedral and wandering through the Montmartre area, where you will find lots of artists as well as the Moulin Rouge. Watch your purse in this area! Also the Louvre is great if you are an art critic. Everyone says that the Catacombs are a must-see as well. Notre Dame is impressive, but the St. Chapelle is my friend's favourite church on the inside. I also have not been, but if you like macarons the house that started it all is in Paris and it is called Ladurée. Apparently they have they best macarons.
16. Bring your umbrella! Don't be surprised if the sky is grey and it rains. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't.

I can't really think of anything else at the moment. This is what I have learned traveling in Paris! It is a really beautiful and unique city, but it just needs to be discovered by you! Hopefully for those who plan on going to Paris, you love the city. The first time I went, I didn't like it very much, but this year it is really quite different. I have come to appreciate cities, and though I will always love the great outdoors, the bustling city life is starting to grow on me. Besides, people watching is so fun in big cities!

PS- eat lots of bread. It's unbelievably good!

Semi-Marathon de Paris

Well, the weekend is almost over and what a great weekend it has been! We came for the Half-Marathon, but we did more than just that.
On Friday, two friends and I took an early train to Paris to discover where we would be staying... it was an apartment owned by a friend of a friend, so we were kind of taking a risk renting it, since we hadn't paid anything and we had never met the owner. But all was well, and the apartment was great! It has been so nice to be able to unpack our stuff and leave it everywhere, opposed to a hostel when you have to keep everything together. Plus, we got to actually cook real food! And nap in the afternoon.

Chilling in the apartment

Our little kitchen

Loft bedroom

Sink and shower

So on Friday, we spent a lot of time just chilling in the apartment. I went on an adventure to pick up my race kit, which involved a few metro rides and a nice walk through a park. I picked up my kit, which had a cool t-shirt, a sweatband, some energy food products, some flyers, a magazine, and of course my race number! I wandered through the expo a bit but didn't buy anything.
After making a delicious dinner of shepherd's pie, we got ready for the evening. I have a friend who lives in Paris, so we met up with him and a few of his friends to go out. It was actually really fun, and also funny; I guess the thing to do in Paris is have a drink on one of the bridges, so we got a couple bottles of wine and sat on the love lock bridge, with the Eiffel Tower sparkling on one side and Notre Dame lit up on the other. It was pretty cool to be hanging out the Paris way. After that, we tried to get into this one place but there were too many of us so we ended up elsewhere, but had fun all the same.
On Saturday, we slept in a bit and took our time getting ready, before heading out for a little walk downtown. We walked on the main street, saw the Arc du Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame, and even discovered a Canadian pub, where we stopped to warm up.

on the Champs Elysées

Arc du Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

The love lock bridge

The weather was typically Parisian, grey sky, but luckily no rain! After we took a break at the Canadian place, we met up with my friend again and he took us around a little bit, just in his neighbourhood. Afterwards we saw an interesting movie called Chronicle. Not a movie I would usually see, but it wasn't bad. The filming of it was really interesting because it was all in 1st person. We headed back to our apartment to make some dinner and welcome our other friend, who was just up for the night because she was going to meet her parents at the airport the next day. We had a good dinner and then I tried to go to bed early to be well rested for the big race. Of course, I woke up often to make sure I hadn't overslept, but it was alright. I had a decent sleep.
We decided to leave at 8:15 for the run, and I am glad we did! The metro was very busy, and we actually didn't make it onto the first one...

It was really busy.

Mostly everyone on the metro was going to the race, so at least we didn't get lost! When we got the the race area, we lined up for the porta-potties.  There were not very many for 30 000 people, and we waited about 45 minutes for one! I then had to strip down to my shorts and t-shirt and take off for the start line so that I didn't miss it. It was a little chilly, so I had to jump around for a while to keep warm. There were so many people, and we left in waves, so I actually walked right up to the start line, then spent about 10 minutes just dodging people and trying to set a decent pace. I had a bracelet that told me what my split times needed to be in order to reach my goal, under 2 hours, and for the first few km I was too slow because of all the people. Eventually I made up time though.

Ready to go!

Almost at the start line.

The first 10km were actually pretty easy. I felt good and not tired at all. The route was awesome too! The first 5km were in the park, and then we got out and into the street of the city. There were little bands and orchestras playing along the route, and lots of people cheering. Probably the funniest part was when this older woman decided to cross the street in front of the runners with her bread. Everyone was yelling at her to look out and move, but she just waved them all off as if to say "I was here first." I thought it was funny. Anyway, like I said, the first 10km went by quickly and were pretty easy. The next 5km went by a little slower but still weren't too difficult. It was the last 6km that were hard!! They went by so slowly, especially when it got down to the final 3km or so and I was counting down. My legs were feeling pretty tired, but I just kept telling myself "mind over matter." That was my mantra. Because it would have been really easy to just give in to your body being exhausted, and even if you have a strong mind, it is still easy to not be able to keep going. Finally the end was in sight and I gave it my all. It was a really incredible experience crossing the finish line, along with all the other people. My parents have done quite a few half-marathons in the past years, and I have always said that I would never be able to do one. Well, never say never! I even made my time goal and my goal of not stopping. My time was 1h57min. I was very happy. I picked up a poncho and my medal, and then stuffed my face with oranges, apples, a sugar cube, and some powerade before finding my two friends, who were nice enough to buy me a rose in congratulations! It was awesome. It felt so good to finish that run.

Awesome friends!

So tired, but so happy!

We came back to the apartment, and I took a nap and a very long shower. In the evening, I actually was able to walk so I met my friend downtown for dinner and a movie. Then I went to bed nice and early. And now here I am, with incredibly sore legs and an awesome story to tell. I will probably have to leave earlier than normal to make my train later, because I have to switch metros a few times and my legs are not really loving stairs right now... in fact they are hating them. My parents told me to walk down the stairs backwards would help, but I don't really think I can do that in the metro. I mean, there are definitely some weird people there but I don't really want to attract any unwanted attention!
We will be sad to leave the apartment here, but of course it is always amazing to go back to Nantes, our favourite little french city. Hard to believe we only have 1 month of school left, and less than 2 months in France.
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me in my run! I couldn't have done it without you!

Favourite Photos from Spain

Ok!
So my whole post just got deleted. Love that. I dunno, my keyboard sometimes has a mind of its own... like it will recognize some random combination of keys and take me to a new tab or delete all that I have written.
Anyways. Recommence.
This post will be devoted to some of my favourite photos of Spain, so that if you haven't seen some of my pictures on Facebook already you can see them here. I also am not writing much because I am getting ready to head out tomorrow... to Paris! This is the big race weekend. Luckily I will have wifi at the apartment we are renting, so I can give a little post on how I'm feeling the day before the run and then maybe an update after! I really can't wait... this has been quite a few months in coming, so it will be great to finally accomplish it! And the weather looks alright, about 10 degrees and either sunny with cloudy periods or cloudy with isolated showers. I am crossing my fingers for the first one.
Anyways, here are the photos!

The amazing Montserrat!

Incredible views

Looking out over the view

The unfortunate surprise snail tapas...

Sangrada Familia, always under construction

The wacky Park Guell

Another part of the park

Beautiful Barcelona beaches. We even saw some surfers!

Trying churros dipped in chocolate. They were ok... not as incredible as everyone says!

Discovering a HUGE market. Tasting a coconut and blackberry smoothie... yum!

Awesome park in Malaga... ships used to be able to dock for free if they brought a plant from their homeland for the park

Malaga beach

Main pedestrian street in Malaga

Admiring the view of the city.

Welcome to Sevilla! The amazing cathedral.

Some of Sevilla's beautiful and interesting architecture.

On our awesome tapas tour.

Plaza de Espanya. So beautiful!

Flemenco dancer!

In the park on a hot and sunny day!

Wearing our new Flemenco aprons at the Plaza de Espanya

I found a peacock at the palace and stalked it for awhile.

Inside the palace, at the gardens

Goodbye Sevilla! The cathedral at dusk (my favourite time of day)

So there you have it! Now I am off to pack... getting ready for tomorrow :D