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03.07.2018

Our new friend, Alley, got married today at the mairie (mayor's offices/city hall) which is like getting married at the county courthouse in the U.S. She and her new hubby were very stylishly dressed down including mountain boots for the bride. John and I got married by a J.P. at a county courthouse. Our courthouse was plain. The mairie is a lovely old ornate building. I agree with Alley - we'd have to pay good money in the states to get married in such an elegant place. Congratulations, Alley and Gaultie!

The wedding parade of Alley and Gaultie through the vieille ville. The ceremony in the ornate mairie. Alley and Gaultie and the wedding party.





09.07.2018

Marion and Doc, our friends from Nice, came to visit us and Rennes for a few days.

John showed them around Parc de Gayeulles, the park where our swimming pool is. Outside the pool building are deer, mountain goats, ducks and swans. Sparky had an adventure with a swan. John said the swan hissed loudly at Sparky very much like the Bride of Frankenstein did in the movie. Sparky is a cute, sweet doggie. Parc de Gayeulles also hosts the Adrenaline Forest and a lake with diverse aquatic life. It is the largest park in Rennes proper and is a naturalist's paradise in urbania.

On their own, while wandering near their hotel, Doc and Marion came across the Parc des Tanneurs which is the park where John and I attended an open archaeological dig with lectures and training/education/hands-on sites for kids last month. Doc and Marion also wandered around the historic center on their own for a while and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant near their hotel (Doc loves Japanese food).

We attended a Celtic music performance in Parc du Thabor during the evening. Brittany (Breton, Bretagne) is a primarily Celtic culture. "Only in the northwestern region of France has the Gallic tradition, with its Celtic speech and culture, managed to survive, but the survival was strong, because this Celtic language and this cultural patrimony have managed to keep up to the present day, in spite of enormous pressures. This is how Brittany is today the largest region of Celtic culture remaining on the European continent. "

The top level of the park has a lovely clearing completely surrounded by overhanging trees. A stage and a few hundred chairs were set up for the performance. Food vendors were staged at the entry to the clearing. One of the best selling foods there was Gallettos (buckwheat pancake) wrapped around a tasty hot sausage (the combo is known locally as "galette saucisse"). Thabor Park is very pretty. When you see it try to see as much as you can at one time. There is a great deal of diversity in its appearance and functionality which is impressive to experience all at once (or as much as possible -- it's a 10-hectare park. There are several waterfalls, many gorgeous sculptures, ponds (Sparky had fun), gardens, structures, an aviary, a small cave/tunnel under a waterfall, a children's playground, an outdoor ping pong table and an outdoor baby foot (foos ball) table.

This blog has a lot of information about Thabor Park. It starts out with MANY photos of flowers and trees but it has quite a few excellent details about the park and its history. The web pages are in French but you can use "Google Translate" and the English translation is nearly perfect.

John showed Marion, Doc and Sparky around Parc Oberthur , our neighborhood park. They were impressed. Oberthur is considered "the most Zen" park in Rennes. It is relaxing and very pretty with lots of flowers, a pond, a gazebo (with Odorico mosaics), a footbridge, willows and other trees and many birds and fishes. Click here to see some Google images of Parc Oberthur. More images can be found here. We are so happy with our neighborhood park and other parks in Rennes. Here's an article in a local publication about the Rennes parks and other green spaces: Ten Green Spaces in Rennes.

We invited Doc and Marion to join us at La Cuchina (in the historic center). It's an Italian and seafood restaurant which our friend Alley had introduced us to. We like the selection and the seafood and pasta dishes are both good.

John and I haven't tried a lot of restaurants here, yet, but we intend to do more exploring. Before we moved here we tried out the best rated Mexican restaurant (my favorite food) in Rennes and we were very happy with it. Unfortunately it closed a few months after we moved here.

When we were in Saint Malo I asked a local if there were any Mexican restaurants and she scrunched up her nose and said, "Mexican"?! She shook her head, threw up her hands and said "no". When we were in Lyon we found a very good (albeit a bit strange) Mexican restaurant. We will visit other Mexican restaurants as we travel around France but it's clear that Mexican food is not one of the popular foods in France. That also seems to be the case for Scandinavian, Spanish and Greek food as well.

Notwithstanding my food critique I think the food, parks and events in Rennes will keep you entertained year round.

Doc, Marion and Sparky at Thabor Park. At the top of one of the waterfalls at Thabor Park. Thabor Park has many, many statues.
Thabor Park has lots of beautiful flower gardens.... ... and fountains. We attended a free concert of
traditional Bretagne Celtic music.
Park Thabor has ornate, sculpted gardens, but also quiet nooks for rest and relaxation.





15.07.2018

The World Cup final was today. France won 4 - 2 against Croatia. The game was held in Moscow.

John and I forgot there was a game today and we wondered why, on a Sunday, there were few people in Parc Oberthur. Then we heard the yelling from all around us (sounded like rumbling thunder) and realized it was the World Cup final. Then we heard yelling again - and again, and again. I handed out little Frenchie flags I had left over from Bastille Day to the few people in the park.

France wins the 2018 World Cup. Our little baby ducklings are
almost adult size now.





27.07.2018

The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century was visible across most of France tonight. The eclipse was visible for a longer period of time in the south of France but most of France could see it for at least 40 minutes.

The animation on this web page shows what the eclipse approximately looked like in Rennes.

Here's a link to some info about the eclipse in France.

Lunar eclipse over France.





29.07.2018

Here's an aside about upcoming changes in medical coverage in France: currently the French basic insurance coverage pays little for major dental (sometimes nothing) but they cover basic dental (cleaning, having one tooth pulled and similar low cost procedures).

Starting January 1, 2020 most major dental work will be 100% covered by the French basic insurance plan and even more will be covered starting January 1, 2021. Additionally new glasses will be free every year starting in 2020. This is the result of one of Macron's campaign pledges.

For the time being it is recommended that you get "top up" insurance that covers major dental work. A "top up plan" is pretty standard among citizens and residents of France but they vary a lot in cost and coverage.

Here's a couple of Morning Glories I saw on the way to morning grocery shopping... ... to round out the month of July.