Mom's adventure in Nantes part 1

Well we got off to a rough start here. Apparently I gave impeccable directions right up until our meeting point. Both of us waited about thirty minutes for the other in rooms right next to each other in the train station. Doesn't that kind of thing only happen in funny movies? I finally moved to the next room just as she was looking for a phone and I yelled, "MOM!" Her expression need to be found in the dictionary under "relief." But she made it safely here and shortly after had her first taste of France--a delicious chocolate eclair from my favorite boulangerie.

I got to show her Deux Rives and a little bit of the house before dinner. We gave Nathalie all her little gifts for which she is very grateful--especially the fruitcake cookies! She is begging me for the recipe! (Maybe gram should call them "Even the French people love them cookies"). But, dinner was an interesting scene with mixes of French and English and by the end my brain was worn out from translating! But to be quite honest, I was pretty proud of myself. Vianney did a little translating himself as well. It was an interesting conversation to say the least. Nathalie also made a valiant effort to make an event out of dinner. The table was quite a sight--she even went so far as to match the candles to the tablecloth.

But the best part of the night by far was watching mom experience French electricity for the first time. Let's just say--there was a heating pad casualty followed by an awkward conversation with Nathalie--and I learned the French word for socket.

The next day, she followed me to my grammar class, which I'm sure was fascinating. She was then introduced to her first galette and crepe. She didn't seem wildly impressed with the galette, but there's no mistaking how much she loved her caramel crepe--"They actually use REAL caramel??"


Afterwards, we explored Nantes some and I got to rediscover everything about Nantes. The cathedral, the castle, the fountains, the roads. It was pretty cold that day, but that didn't deter us from walking the ramparts all around the castle. I think I've been here so long that this kind of thing is normal--but once again, walking on the ramparts, I was struck by the amount of history this place holds. We saw two churches in Nantes as well, but I know that all I could think about was wanting to take her to Notre Dame in Paris. Afterward, we went to tea at the neighbors' house where I babysit. I think this was a relief for mom because she was able to contribute to the conversation (my neighbors speak great English). After that we sought refuge in the house and TRIED to get warm and then decided to do one very American thing--order a pizza.