One of the best things that ever happened to me was moving to Angers, France, without a car. For four months, I was left to wander.
Many days I would leave my room restless and homesick, knowing that many of the people I wanted to talk to from home would not be awake for hours. Sometimes I had a place in mind, but many times, especially in the beginning, I would just start in one direction knowing that soon there would be at least a cafe to buy coffee from.
Over four months, I think I covered almost all of centre ville. I popped into almost every cafe, lured in by the prospect an espresso served like a present: on a small plate with a small spoon and a chocolate.
My favorite place was Le Comptoir des Livres, a small, bright and always lively cafe where my order would come with a peanut M&M and every wall bore hundreds of books. I would come to write or read but I would let myself get sidetracked from my work with eavesdropping on the locals who would come to have their habitual conversation with the cafe owner.
I am still surprised by how long it took me to give into the smells coming from all the goodies being made at Boulangerie des Carmes. Here, I would enjoy watching them making their specialty breads in the front of the house, chatting with the owner who knows English from living in Ohio for a while, and of course, indulging in a snack. My all-time favorite treat is pain aux amandes, which is something like a croissant made with extra love in the form of almond paste filling and often, powdered sugar.
I will always be thankful for the one time I got lost on a run and stumbled upon Parc Saint Nicholas. Making the loop around its wooded lake always put me at peace and will forever be one of my favorite things.
Saturday mornings always meant I was walking through the stalls of the market. Most of the time, not too sure of the measurements in which to buy things, I would just buy fruit – I had a special apple lady – but every once in a while I would indulge with friends in something special – cheese, artichokes, mushrooms, crab, oysters, and my favorite, mussels. I will never forget the first time I learned how to cook with white wine and what a kilo was after ordering two kilos of mussels for two people.
I really cannot imagine that soon I will be back in the States, waiting for my brother to let me borrow the car everyday instead of making my way by foot past Jardin du Mail and Place du Ralliement. Sometimes walking was a pain (in the beginning the 30-min morning trek to class was nothing but cruel) but I fell in love with discovering new places, walking down new streets, hearing and watching French people go about their lives. My favorite game to play involved checking to see which people carrying baguettes had already torn a piece of the end.
Besides all the wonderful people I met, these small adventures around town always made me feel more at home.
The people. How I will cherish the people I met in Angers is more difficult to explain. I am not sure I really can and that is why this farewell post is mostly about the places. All I will say is that I will never forget all the people who welcomed me into their homes, answered my endless questions, and shared part of their lives with me, whether it was dancing “Rock n’ Roll,” the cheese Morbier, the Brittany specialty of galettes, or their favorite French band, Indochine.
Though the French tradition of “la politesse” and “la serieux” may seem to make the French more distant, especially compared to Americans, once conquered, I found the people I came to know in Angers to be some of the warmest I have ever met.
Soon, I will be on a backpacking trip around Europe wandering around bigger and more famous cities. Yet, I think I will always miss the places and people of Angers. I learned more about myself, France, and the world living there the last four months living than any other place. I do not know when or how I might be able to come back, but I really hope that I do.
Au Revoir!
