fall break in bretagne, part 2

Now where was I? Ah yes, a sunset drive to Plagasnous. If you're just catching up on the fall break recap, please feel free to read part 1 first.

It took about two hours to drive from Mont Saint-Michel to the guest house we'd rented. and we were only hungry upon arriving... at 9pm... in a small French town.

We were so lucky to find Les Chaises open. Not only because it was the only restaurant in the area still serving dinner, but because they serve one heck of a meal. We shared a fantastic bottle of white wine and each ordered off the three-course menu. For me: les rillettes aux saumon, the catch of the day with ratatouille, broccoli, and wild rice, and le mousse au chocolat. Delicious and affordable at 24 euros.

After dinner we retreated to our cottage to play French board games. My favorite was a French-version of charades. Amy, Marie, and I are a crazy bunch, I tell ya :).

The next morning, we awoke well-rested to a well-stocked kitchen. We'd brought Bon Maman preserves from the breakfast buffet at the hotel in Rennes in addition to fresh pears, local yogurt, butter, tea, and, of course, a baguette. Then, we hit the beach.

It may not have been warm enough to go swimming (even if Marie did take a dip anyway) but the views were no less beautiful in the autumn chill.

 

We walked and drove across the coast for quite a while. There was no reason to go back to the cottage! That is, until we got hungry...

Many of the local crêperies were closed for the holiday so we took matters into our own hands. We made a stop to the grocery store for the essentials: galettes (or buckwheat flour crêpes), country ham, emmental cheese, and fresh eggs.

I also insisted on spinach for some greenery. As it rained outside we each enjoyed two crêpes with the cider our host had so graciously provided us. 

In other words, lunch was perfect. Stay tuned for oysters and day 3: more crêpes, a sunny market visit, and tea and cookies at Marie's great aunt's home!

le dimanche

I'm not sure if you're aware or not... but Paris isn't a very convenient place on a Sunday. Very few stores are open and hardly any service providers are available, leaving countless French people and Francophiles to truly taking the day off. Just imagine how "unproductive" the day must be in a small provincial town!

This can be frustrating for Americans, and understandably so--we're accustomed to having 24/7 access to anything and everything and most of our life "stuff" gets done on the weekend. Still, I'm choosing to embrace this foreign concept. My sole Sunday responsibility is to spend quality time with someone I adore? Merci bien.

[Buffet brunch at Monseiur: coffee, tea, pear juice, orange juice, croissants, scrambled eggs, mesclun salads, pain au chocolat, fruit salad, pancakes, bread, cheese, butter, jam, and frommage blanc topped with a berry compote]

[My date for the day: Marie]

[A longer than expected visit to Musée Carnavalet - (see more photos here)]

[market-shopping at Bastille and window-shopping in Le Marais]

Sure, I may have had a whole lot of reading to do for class (which I did do, eventually), but I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Sunday.

["êtes la plus belle" = "you are the most beautiful/fairest of them all"]

sans une cuisine

The kitchen in ma chambre de bonne = a mini-fridge, microwave, one hot plate, and a shelf. Yep, even the kitchen in my NYC apartment was more impressive.

So, I'm required to get somewhat creative. Breakfasts thus far have featured tea and muesli/multigrain flakes with yogurt/fromage blanc topped with market fruit.

Since I'm only shopping for one, occasionally I run out of one or all of the above ingredients. This time last week that meant I strolled up the street to my closest boulangerie for a fresh croissant and café crême. It was a delicious treat. You'll notice above that homework tends to join me at the table...

I'm often on campus for lunch and thus have been exploring the boulangeries in the 7th arrodissement, too. Sandwiches (like this one) are the perfect mid-day meal. On occasion though, I do have the chance to really sit down and dine. I usually take the opportunity to fill up on vegetables with a salad, but I've admittingly discovered a croque madame better than the one I ate in Strasbourg.

Adopting a French-style of eating has meant that I hardly ever have an afternoon snack. With that said, last weekend following our visit to Ikea, Marie and I were starving at 4pm. We each enjoyed a pain aux raisin and iced tea as a result. Fun fact about the beer that my iced tea resembles: it's swiftly becoming an even more popular happy hour drink than wine here; mostly because of the price point.

Lunches out mean dinners at home. The meal above was one of my favorites: garlic-pepper eggs, a fresh piece of baguette with hummus, and sliced market cucumbers topped with olive oil and salt. I haven't minded that few p.m. meals have strayed from this standard vegetarian protein, fresh vegetable, and bread with cheese or hummus equation though. I tend to "cook" simply anyway.

And when it comes to baking without an oven, I've embraced No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. It's a good thing they turned out well on my first try, too! They were my contribution to my friend's potluck dinner party last weekend, along with a bottle of champagne.

Speaking of wine :) I'm fortunate enough to have another friend from school that lives in my neighborhood. Her and I have appointed Wednesday as our date night. A shared  carafe of vin rouge or ice cream cones paired with lots of girl talk is just enough to make up for any and all kitchen (or lack there of) frustrations.

roaming around rekyjavík

Hello from Iceland! It's hard to believe I've only been here for two days; I feel like I've had the chance to do so much. I can't even explain to you how spectacular it is... or how cold, much more so than I'd expected :). So, I thought I'd take you on a tour of the smallest big city, Rekyjavík before my busy tomorrow of a morning coffee date, afternoon at the Blue Lagoon, and late night flight to Paris. Shall we?

[Hallgrímskirkja church]

[Laugavegur, Reykjavik's main shopping street]

[Lunch at Buddha Restaurant featuring miso soup (with shrimp), chopsticks from home (literally), and a spicy salmon-avocado sushi roll]

[Old town center]

[Listasafn Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Art Museum)]

[Happy hour (and room tour) at Icelandair Hotel Reykjavík Marina]

[Lobster soup dinner #1 (& whale) at Saegreifinn with CouchSurfing friends]

[Fish & chips dinner #2 with skyr dessert at Icelandic Fish & Chips]

[Red wine nightcap at Cafe Rot]

[the "night's" sky at 10pm... yeah, I know]