Dec 27th (Mercredi)

Our time here is flying by quickly! We can’t believe it has been almost 2 weeks since we got to France. We have spent much of it in Bretagne eating! Last night we had a grand meal at Jean Jeuland’s. Tomorrow we will have lunch at Annie Chauvel’s (in Laval) and dinner in Vitré at Antoine Jeuland’s (which will no doubt involve quite a bit of alcohol – he told us not to drive!). So, today’s meals hopefully will not be too heavy – we need to diet!!

Shuwen thought about the amount of time we spend around meals and figured that between the preparations, cooking, eating & cleaning, we probably average about 6 hours a day. This is quite interesting since this is so different from what most Americans probably experience. People in the US eat quickly and do not see it as an opportunity to gather with family and friends as much (except during holidays). We do make it a point to spend time together at home cooking and having meals together, so hopefully we will be able to keep doing that once we have a family of our own. Meals and the kitchen are central aspects in both the French and Chinese cultures.

Yesterday afternoon we spent some time walking around Rennes with Marie-Francoise and Antoine. It is a much bigger city compared to the other places we have visited in Normandie and Bretagne. Rennes has lots to offer as the Arts are quite prominent and Rennes has an interesting history.

The mixture of various architectural styles (from timber framed houses to the classical Roman stone buildings) in the city from the different periods was interesting. The Portes Mordelaises were interesting to us because of the vow entering dukes had to make, and because of the crest of the two lions (symbol of Rennes) that is still visible above the gate. Another amazing sight was the Cathedral of St. Pierre. It is a large cathedral and has a beautiful organ. Marie-Francoise told us that that was where her good friend (and Antoine’s godmother) Anne-Marie practiced many years ago. There was also a neat Flemish reredos in one of the chapels there. It portrayed the story of Mary and the birth of Jesus.

Due to time constraints we were only able to see the exterior of the newly re-built Parliament (huge fire in 2001 from fishermen protesting about falling prices of their catch). We also walked by the municipal swimming pool where Marie-Francoise learned how to swim, and Dad’s Lycee (Marie-Francoise said this was the two years when he stopped fooling around and got serious with his studies).

Next we dropped by Marie-Francoise’s apartment for some hot drinks. She has a lovely place that is well decorated with lots of memorabilia from family and friends, and some really neat oil paintings. Shuwen enjoyed looking at some old photographs of the family.

Dinner at Jean Jeuland’s was quite wonderful and the evening passed by quickly. It was almost midnight by the time we left! Suzanne made a wonderful meal with two appetizers to start (fois gras and jambon fumé), followed by turkey, potatoes and chestnuts for the entrée. Of course there was a salad, and two desserts (tarte de pomme et charlotte à la poire) to end. Again, we were stuffed silly. Shuwen fell asleep in the car ride home.

Marylène (Jean & Suzanne’s youngest) and Franck (her husband) were both impressed by Marc’s marathon running time. Everyone comments that Marc looks and has the mannerisms of Dad, which is odd since we both think that he looks more like Mom.

Time to sign off in order to have yet another meal!

~ Shuwen et Marc