Une Semaine à Rennes

This title should rhyme if you are pronouncing it correctly.  I apologize for the tardiness of this post but since arriving in Rennes there has hardly been time to really sit down and write about it.  My host parents are Chantal and Bertrand and they are awesome.  Bertrand is incredibly sarcastic (like most of the french, who have very dry humor) and Chantal is a wonderful (the only adjective i could come up with after yummm) cook.  I eat dinner with them every night at 7:30, by which time I am dying of hunger because I am forbidden to snack during the day.  Careful distinction: I am not allowed to snack on food things but beverage things, i.e. café and half pints after classes is fully allowed if not expected.  There is a large plaza that plays host to more than 15 different bars and cafés called Place Sainte-Anne.  One would think that at 3 on a weekday afternoon that such a place would be a calm, inviting place to grab a coffee and look french; this is indeed the case, but Sainte-Anne is far from calme.  As 4 o'clock rolls around, the space is crawling with people (mostly between the ages of 15 and 25 as Rennes is a very young city) who just want a place to sit, talk, and drink.  Whatever your poison, espresso or beer, you are welcome, for less than 3 euros, to sit as long as you like with your drink of choice.  One thing I will definately be doing more of when I get bqck to the US is nothing.  Absolutely nothing but watching the people go by.  Sounds good, doesn't it?