Friends, food, and flowers.

Bonsoir! Finally, it is I, Laura, after a very long break. From this blogger, anyway.

I think I'm going to take some more time to gather my thoughts and experiences from my two weeks in England, and after I have succeeded I'll proceed to place them here. For now, though, here is my recollection of what has happened after my return to Nantes.

I came back to a somewhat altered apartment. A very cozy place to come back to, with loving arms wide open to welcome me back. I missed Patrick immensely, despite my enjoyment with my grandparents. As posted below, Patrick has begun the journey of intense work with French, and even lessons in the art of capoeira. So far, he is doing just fine. A little tired, though.

He also mentioned meeting and making new friends: Theo, James, Jen (fellow English folk like me!), Nichola (Irish), as well as others who share classes with him. I've had the pleasure of meeting the Brits the night I had returned, the same night England won their rugby match, so needless to say the night was filled with the English language. They're incredibly nice people, with great senses of humor to match; all are attending the University de Nantes. We shared a few drinks at a local pub where many Englishman celebrated their victory in a humorous, drunken stupor.

Since Patrick is going to be busy with school, I'm needing to constantly keep myself busy with the area and its many sites. So far, I've walked around, viewing numerous buildings of great architecture, taking in the wonderful smells of many pâtisseries, and hearing a ton of French. Sometimes, it can be a bit overwhelming, but it is a good way to truly immerse myself within the culture. My interaction with the locals can be embarrassing, but I'm slowly learning. I've done my bit of shopping, and even picked up a parcel today from la poste.

One adventure took me to the local garden, the pride of Nantes, deemed the Jardin des Plantes. It was astonishing! Luckily, I brought the camera along:

The rest can be viewed in my photobucket album. The guest password is lolcat25

Today was the longest day for Patrick. Luckily, I bumped into James on the way down to Commerce. We had some coffee and tea, and then headed up to the university to chat with Theo. On the way James introduced me to a French-speaking German girl named Evelyn. All three of us went to the Uni's café to go online (the internet here has been down for several days). Theo and Jen came down, and we all huddled around chatting away like old comrades. It is very good for me to get out on my own and converse with people, especially when Patrick is away in school for long periods of time.

Well, it is very late, and I'd hate to wake Patrick up with constant clicking. I promise I shall post again soon about my vacation in Cardiff, Wales. Bonne nuit!

-Laura J. MARTIN