Last Day in Rennes

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

After great food and fun the night before, we awoke well rested and ready to enjoy our last day in Rennes with A&D. We'd see Alyce later in the week in Paris again, but would have to say our goodbyes to Dave next morning.

Since we didn't have a strict itinerary for the day, we spent a good part of the morning in a cafe, being very French as Alyce put it, chatting and laughing and enjoying each other's company. After our leisurely breakfast and coffee we strolled the streets of Rennes checking out many of the local artisan shops including a chocolatier that sold us the best piece of candy I've ever had. Bittersweet chocolate shaped into a craggy oyster and filled with the saltiest of Brittany's salty carmel. Fantastic!!

After we'd tasted our fill of chocolate, honey and olive oil we began collecting the goodies required for a picnic in Thabor Park. Stowing our sandwiches and some delicious apple juice in Alyce's backpack we meandered our way through Rennes to the park to meet Dave for lunch.

After lunch we thought it wise to walk off some of the deliciousness we'd been enjoying. Alyce lead us through Rennes to a small path that runs along the canal and over the river. It was a lovely walk, allowing us to see a little more of Rennes on the way to and from the path and to escape into a natural setting in the midst of a bustling city.

As Alyce had to teach that night as well, we were able to enjoy a quick rest between our walk and meeting up with Dave for our dinner reservations. We'd been hearing about this restaurant from A&D all week and were really looking forward to trying it. Again, we were not disappointed. Ben and Dave opted to engage in the full French dining experience, starting their meals with aperitifs and moving through the courses all the way to coffee/tea at the end. We enjoyed gorgeous blanched asparagus with poached egg, duck foie gras, perfectly prepared beef on a bed of sweet carmelized shallots, creamy, buttery potatoes, again, here I sit, salivating. Such incredible food and again, a three hour meal went by in the blink of an eye as we laughed and talked.