I was so excited for dinner that night because it had been awhile since I had Therese's amazing meals. This one did not disappoint. For the starter course with the aperatif, which is the drink before dinner, there were little pieces of bread with salmon and spread, peanuts from Senegal, and chips with a greek dip. Then, we had the entree, which is not the main meal in France but the meal before the plat principal. So for this we had fish, that was almost in a cake like form, with sauce and a little salad. And then we had the plat prinicipal which was a quiche with lardons and leeks. Now, quiche is pretty simple and most of the time taste the same but oh my goodness, this was the best quiche I had ever tasted. And of course after I was completely stuffed, we had dessert which was a chocolate cake. And throughout the dinner, Jean kept our wine glasses full. Needless to say, I slept very well that night.
The next morning, Leann and Hillary, the other student staying with them went on an excursion with the university so my plan was to get lunch with Sue. In the morning, Therese and I walked to the supermarket and to a few other places to shop for lunch the following day. It was still nice out at this point so it was lovely walking around Avrille with Therese.
Right across from the Berthelots house is this little place to sit and relax
Sue and I met up for lunch in centre-ville and found a cute little salad bar place. You pick all of your ingredients and they mix it for you. It's like Subway but with salads. And, everything at this place is completely green so they don't even have a garbage can, just a recycling bin. It was awesome. Then we walked about for awhile and went over to the Jardin des Plantes because it was such a nice day out.
Pretty church turned into gardening shed
pretty colors
beautiful day
Sue checking to see if this tree was the California Sequoia...it wasn't
me on a pretty day in Angers
After walking around for quite a bit we met up with Therese and Muriel at a cafe/bar called Chez Toi. It was still nice so we sat outside and people watched. It was also the first time since Thanksgiving that I had seen Muriel so it was great to see her too. But of course, we missed Valerie!
Hanging out with some of my favorite ladies!
Muriel and me...Wish you were here Valerie!
That night, I hung out at the house with Therese and Jean because Leann and Hillary hadn't gotten back from the excursion yet. It was probably the first time I was ever alone with them because I had always had either a roommate with me or someone who was visiting. They are probably the sweetest people I have ever met. Therese was insisted on me trying the soup that she makes because I didn't get to try it when I was studying in the summer. And it was amazing! I would come back to have some home-made soup any time she wants! Then, we sat down to watch a variety show on TV to wait for the girls. It was a lot of people singing and dancing which is always good fun and it didn't really matter that it was in French.
The next morning, Leann and I were invited over to Muriel and Philippe's house for tea and maybe a walk. They are now building a pool in their backyard and when I building, I mean that Philippe is actually doing all of the work himself. I had to get a picture of this to show Valerie because it was hilarious.
working hard at building the pool
their new pool, will be ready by summer
Then Muriel, Leann and I went on a walk to the private château that is right by their house. That was pretty cool. I guess a count lives there and most of the houses in Avrille are on his land that he has rented out.
The back of the chateau
Then it was back to the Berthelots for lunch with the five of us, another host mom and her student, and Sue. Big lunch. I remembered to take pictures of this meal so here we go:
entree: salmon, tuna, avocado, salad plate
plat principal, potatoes
plat prinicpal, potatoes, duck, and cooked apples
leann with salad that goes with the cheese
Sue and me taking a break from eating this amazing meal
dessert: cocunut cake with a berry sauce. i had 2 pieces
leann and therese, adorable
et voila, cafe to finish it off
Then I brought out my video camera and we had even more fun! They were all fascinated by it, and it was fun to take some videos too.
After lunch, we looked at pictures on the TV from their trip to Senegal which they do every year. And then we somehow got on the subject of singing and all of the adults wanted us to sing. We are speaking mostly French in the video but here is what was going on.
And then it was time for me to leave, and my weekend was over already. I had to get a few last pictures with Leann and with the Berthelots.
Leann and Me
Jean and Therese...Love them!
It was so hard to leave this time because I don't know when I will be back. They have been so sweet to me and they really family to me. Walking through the train station, I was remembering the first time I saw them and Sue as they waited for me to get to Angers to study abroad. I remember being so scared that first day I got there and having to speak French with them all of the time. And now, I think about the past 3 years and how much I have changed since then. Part of me will always be in Angers because it was my first real home in France. Until next time, Angers! I will miss you dearly.
C'est la belle vie! :)
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