Arcantis Hotel Le Bretagne St-Nazaire

... were fab...really nice day walking around. Jason decided to watch villa on the internet instead of going to local french soccer game. they lost 2-1, maybe its better if he doesn't watch as they seemed to do better the last few games when he wasn't watching. Had a really good dinner tonight, regional specialty (crepes again) with apple cider.

heading south again tomorrow, and we'll see how far we get and where we end up.

Ok, so we arrived in Nantes....bit of a nightmare to park, but all good. Found a very centrally located budget hotel (1 star) - cheap and cheerful. We had booked the small room, but as that turned out to be on the fifth floor, we opted for the luxury room (an additional 4 euros a night) on the first floor. Is quite big, with ensuite bathroom. Well, actually, its more like the room is ensuite to the bathroom as when u open the door to the room u walk right into the ...

... for the majority of the afternoon (thank goodness it was cute!).

After solving the food problems, the canal route decided to do a bit of a detour. A section has been flooded into a lake and the path along the shore is unnavigable for cycles. Off we went following some little signs through back roads, rail lines, and farmer’s fields - more like mountain biking than touring. Finally detoured bck to the lake to find a giant fishing ...

... this guy named Camille likes me or something because all his friends (not him) kept asking me to sit by him. He also tried to speak English to me before we left the school. He was doing really well, it was adorable. He was trying to tell me about his brothers who did something, but all he knew in English was "I have two brothers, and..." then he would finish the story in French. Haha Anyways, I ended up sitting by myself. I didn't want to upset anyone. The movie we watched was ...

... me and we kept asking each other for the time because neither of our computers were on Chicago time. I finally boarded the plane and guess who was sitting next to me? The same girl that was next to me at the computer place! So we immediatley felt comfortable with each other, which was good. We didn't become lifelong friends or anything, we actually barely talked to each other, but I didn't feel weird or rude asking her to move so I could go to the bathroom. I was a very good ...

... home. I have so many breakable things to bring home over Christmas, I hope they all survive the flight. Then I went to Carrefour and got some turkey breast, mashed potatoes, noodles, and chocolate pudding for dessert. It was the closest I could get to the real thing. It was all actually really good. I even have some leftover turkey that I made a sandwich out of. While eating I watched the Santa Claus 3 movie. It was so good (although I didn't think that when I ...

... a box from Aunt Marge full of candy. It was awesome. The guy at the desk kept telling me how long all this stuff had been here and I was trying to explain to him I'd been in Italy. All he got from that conversation was that I'm Italian. It was a rough conversation and I hadn't slept for over 34 hours so I wasn't going to push that I was American. I went grocery shopping and got a ...

... idea he would be teaching the whole class. I really wish he would've talked to me about this before he just gave up. I could help him with his lessons and then he wouldn't have to quit. It would probably be the easiest year of Uni. I couldn't believe it. Have I said that enough? J After he left I went to Lauren's to hang out for a while. Her place is so nice, I have a feeling that I'll be there a lot. Especially now that Cas is leaving. I have no one to walk me home at night now. I'll ...

... of the Department of the Loire, and it is advertised to tourists as part of the Loire-Atlantic region (as opposed to the Chateaux of the Loire), although the people, food, customs, and architecture are more tied to Nante's long-standing history (up until Napoleon III) as part of Brittany. Our hotel (supposedly one of the best in town, but with the smallest room we've ever stayed in)--note, I'm NOT complaining, just explaining--was located ...

... me is how old the Châteaux's is and its sheer scale. Begun in 1519, it was not really used much in its life and when the royal court moved to Versailles, it fell out of favour. Rescued by a brother of Louis XIII in around 1640, it was given a new lease of life but never figured highly in the royal court. I got the audio guide which was very good and immersed me in the history, craftsmanship, boldness and beauty of the ...