Laura and Frances arrived shortly after me, and luckily, they have both been to Rennes before, so were able to navigate. We headed straight for the centre of the city, and more specifically the Place de la Mairie. It is such an interesting town square, as the town hall has a curved indent, and the Opera building opposite has a semi-circular structure at the front of the building, and it is said that the two buildings would be able to slot together. Stupidly I didn't take any pictures, which would probably explain far better than I seem to be managing.
From there we went for galettes in a cute little creperie that Frances had eaten in once before. It really didn't disappoint, and my mouth is watering now at the memory.
After eating, we walked around and caught up on our teaching assistantships, and then we decided to go off in search of the Christmas markets. We stopped at the tourist information centre for a map, and the woman was very helpful in directing us towards the markets, but they didn't seem to be where she'd marked them on the map! We stumbled across a drawbridge on our walk around the town. What is it with France and drawbridges?
I decided that I really like Rennes as we walked around. It is such a beautiful city, and even in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers, there was something peaceful and sleepy about the city, and I'd love to go back after Christmas when all of the chaos has died down.
After searching for ages, we found a shopping centre, which was supposed to be close to the christmas market, so we decided to have a little look around. There was a really cool shop called Nature Et Decouvertes, which sold all sorts of weird and wonderful things ranging from hammocks to caramel tea leaves. Then we took in all the christmassy displays from around the shopping centre, and finally I felt like I was in the Christmas spirit...FINALLY!
We left the precinct to find the christmas market just outside, and although the scent of all the lovely christmas goodies was enough to make me feel hungry again, there was nothing that really took my fancy, and I thought that the first market would maybe have more charm at night when all of the lights were twinkling.
Eventually we found the final market, which ironically, was a mere five minutes from where we began our search. It was so festive, and really made me look forward to enjoying more festivities at home. The little log cabins were filled to the brim with le vin chaud, les marrons (chestnuts....roasting on an open fire), other seasonal foods and an abundance of cute little nicknacks.
The marché de Noël even came with its own little carousel. How quaint?!
Our final stop for the day was a Salon du Thé which again was recommended to us by Frances, who has her own blog called Crumbs to Crunch, which if you haven't guessed, is about cakes, baking and all things good! The tearoom was adorable. As you can imagine, there were teapots everywhere, and scatter cushions on little benches for the customers.
There were too many different types of tea to choose from, so we all decided to try the Hot Apple Cider. I loved it! I'm not a huge fan of mulled wine, so this is the perfect alternative. It is heated cider which is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise. Delicious!
We were running out of time, so couldn't enjoy a pudding, but hopefully if there is a next time, I will sample some of Rennes finest tea and cake, in excellent company.
Until next time,
Jess
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment