The Christmas season is upon us! In Rennes, this is apparent in all the streets of centre-ville, as the streets are strung with lights and many trees have benefited from the same decorative spirit. Downtown is a jolly sight! Then there's the Christmas Markets. Rennes has a small Christmas market in Place du Parliament, with food, drink, and goods. You can get a glass of vin chaud, a galette-wrapped sausage, and pair of Tai shoes all in one location. Additionally, Marché de la Creation can be found not far away. This is where artisans, jewelry makers, and those crafty types come to sell their wares for the Christmas season. And a plus - they've set up a large structure in Place Hoche for it so you're almost indoors while shopping!
Last Sunday I welcomed a couchsurfer named Marianne, a fellow teaching assistant working in Provence, with a group of us to Mont Saint Michel. It was a cold and rainy Sunday. Five of us there were in my little car, and on the way there the gas gage seemed to suddenly jump towards zero, and the gas light came on warning of a potential untimely end to our pilgrimage. We kept driving, looking for gas, but it turned out the closest gas station was over 30 km away! It seemed a bit far for the little car. Our directions had us turn off before we reached this gas station, and go a different route through some small towns. It was at one of these that we stopped and a couple of my passengers got out to ask around for the nearest gas station. Apparently the local pub owner they happened upon didn't seem to keen on pointing us in the right way, but grudgingly told us of a Super U in a nearby town where gas was a-plenty. Super U became our holy grail. Could we possibly make it? I was getting increasingly nervous about the state of my fuel tank. Finally we saw a sign for Super U. I took the exit on the roundabout that seemed to lead that way, but I saw nothing ahead. I turned around, and headed towards town. No... this wasn't right either. I went back to the original exit, and kept driving. What is that on the horizon... can it be?... not... Super U!! We had found it! I drove thankfully towards the gas station, entered, and parked my car beside the fuel pump. Then we had a knock on the window. We had driven in the exit, and were asked to leave and come in the right way. Apparently this gas station had a strictly one-way policy. It was set up so that you filled the tank and then on the way out drove by a booth where you payed. So... gas was acquired. The trip to Mont Saint Michel could recommence!
We finally arrived at the Mont. The cold and rain were still present, but the beauty of the place was ever evident. We had just enough time to walk through the main road up to the Abbey (which was free to enter because it was the first Sunday of the month) and explore its cold, bare chambers, before we had to get Marianne back to Rennes to catch her train. She missed it unfortunately, but we tried...
Yesterday I brought my banjo to class and played some Old-Time tunes, namely Shady Grove and Sandy Boys. I talked a little about this type of American folk music, and then the students had to figure out the missing words from the lyrics sheets I gave them and I played and sang. It was a success! In the afternoon I saw free music in downtown Rennes as part of the music festival TransMusicales going on here this weekend. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of it all! I saw groups such as Eat Your Toys, Fuckin' Hell Orkestar, Von Pariahs, and Lena Deluxe. I confess I was most interested in Fuckin' Hell Orkestar, because with a name like that they had to be worth a listen, but they were my least favorite. They did however, live up to their name by singing "fuck" a few times in every song. I was really impressed with the female lead singer of Lena Deluxe. She could really wail! The music reminded me of a cross between Joanna Newsom and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In the evening I went to Le Sambre, a bar in centre-ville, to hear some of the music in the festival Bars en Trans, which is happening in conjunction with TransMusicales. These are concerts by lesser-known artists, in intimate settings, as apposed to the huge stages in the South of the city. This is what I prefer. I barely managed to squeeze myself into a basement to hear Causette - Apero P.O.U.F (Petite Organisation Ultra Feminine), where three oddly dressed ladies sang in harmony, banged on electric guitars and played kazoos with electro pop beats in the background. It was definitely fun. They were followed by Dissonant Nation, a kind of grunge rock group that was talented and entertaining. My major complaint is that they end of their songs by shouting "one, two...one, two, three four!" This is an acceptable way to start a song (they also started it like this) but I'm really not sold on the ending.
Hopefully I'll be able to fight the cold that is coming on and see some more great music today!
No comments:
Post a Comment