Getting wifi in my apartment was a boon and a very bad thing. I've been spending far too much time online and too little sketching and such. In an attempt to break the habit, I kicked myself out of my apartment yesterday afternoon to take what turned out to be a grueling 25-mile bike ride between here and Plancoët. A colleague Madeleine's (my contact person) lent me the bike to help with the long distances between some of my schools here. The ride was only grueling because I deviated from the main roads a lot and ended up on dirt paths leading goodness knows where through forest and fields, up and down hills without the possibility of changing gears. Entering these tree-covered paths felt a little bit like going down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. I was eager to take them to leave the main roads, though, which are narrow compared to American standards and have no bike lanes. It was scary to have cars zipping by, inches away. I rode through Corseul on my way to Plancoët and stopped to see the Temple of Mars, Roman ruins that look rather neglected between farmers' fields. The height of the main ruins is impressive, considering how old they are. Even more interesting, however, was a little stone oven to the left of the road nearby. It looked in fine condition and probably isn't Roman, but I was so thrilled to be able to poke my head in and see how it was made.
On the way back I stopped for a cup of coffee at a bar called "l'Irlandais" (the Irishman), which was empty except for it's very French owners, a Moroccan, and a French guy complaining that he had no work or money. But they were nice. I then got completely and utterly lost by taking too many side roads, and thankfully ran into a group of children who were more than happy to tell me where to go.
Well, today is Halloween. It isn't a traditional French holiday, and has only really become popular in schools and in stores in the past 5-10 years. Here, it's recognized as a commercial holiday, though the schools enjoy it because it's a chance to teach about other cultures. The store around the corner has been showing off it's cheaply-made Halloween costumes for at least a month. That being said, there's apparently a big Halloween party being held in Rennes tonight, where university students will likely dress up and drink lots of beer. I don't plan on celebrating, but maybe I'll go out and buy a chocolate bar.
