Enchantée

Settling in nicely, Tristan began by introducing me to his hometown of Rennes and from there we visited surrounding areas such as Fougères (where his father lives) and Saint-Malo.  Plenty of meals to eat, plenty of people to meet and plenty of places to see.  I got to meet all of his family, all of his closest friends and everyone that came along in between.  And yes, for those of you that are wondering, when you meet someone you kiss on each side of the cheek and accompany it with either a "Bonjour," "Salut," or which ever correct greeting is appropriate pending on the person and time of day.  I was told the really formal meeting can include 4 kisses (2 on each side) and when kissing children it's only 1 because they're often shy.  It's the same when you are leaving a group and often times, family members like to receive the kisses in the morning when you wake up.  It was strange for me at first but after a while it became normal practice.  I think it's a really meaningful greeting rather than a handshake but with all of our personal bubbles here in America, this would never fly.  Everyone I was around was always so hospitable and people always wanted to enhance my experience of the French lifestyle by either cooking for me or inviting me out to certain places.  Never having been to France before, the image that I've always had in my head is a place with beautiful buildings, cobblestone roads, beautiful landscapes and people sipping wine, indulging in some good quality cheese in a nice sidewalk cafe.  Well it's not all the time that the image in your head matches exactly to the reality of how a place really looks.  Honestly, that is exactly what you see when you go to France.  Sometimes I felt like I was on a set for some old fairy tale play. 

This country is old and you can feel the history just by looking at the buildings.  They are gorgeous, even the newer ones still feel very...French.  I think that my obsession with old buildings made it that much easier for me to fall in love with this place.  It's not just the old aged look and the imperfections that I like but it has to do more with the history.  The events that happened years ago and what it was like to be in that space during that time. That's what I love and here, it's everywhere. 

One thing that I learned quickly, is that no matter what or where we were exploring, there was never a lack of something delicious to eat.  There are creperies, cafes, and patisseries every time you turn your head.  It is dangerous being around all that yummy food but surprisingly enough, it doesn't seem to be all that dangerous to the French...hell, everyone is skinny! How? Even the McDonald's in France is still considered classy.  As I lived with Tristan and got to know his family/friends and their way of enjoying life, I started to see the differences from that of the American lifestyle. The one thing that is obviously different is the foooood!