On Friday, I arranged to drop Sophie off at the boy’s house so that Stella and I might visit Rennes. I was the driver and she was the navigator. Sophie was just thrilled to see her old friends and to be spoiled in the way she has grown accustomed.

We got to Rennes around 11:30 and parked outside the city. We were able to climb on the metro and ride into the town center in a matter of minutes. The metro ticket would be used to validate our parking so that we didn’t have to pay. Rennes is much larger than I realized. Before, my trips had been confined to IKEA and the train station. I had barely scratched the surface. Rennes is the capitol city of Brittany and is known for its half-timbered houses, cathedral, and museums.

Stella knew exactly where to take me and we started our day with a meal as it was just about noon when we arrived. We went to one of the oldest crêperies and had a beautiful lunch of galettes and dry white wine. Galettes are basically crêpes made out of buckwheat and they can be stuffed with savory or sweet things. Mine was filled with eggplant, potato puree, burrata cheese and bacon. It may sound bizarre but it was delicious. After lunch and a glass of wine, we decided we had better walk for a bit as we were both a little buzzed.

We tried to go to the main cathedral but it was closed to visitors in the middle of the day as it had been misused and not treated well by visitors recently. We felt like we needed some holy so we continued on and stepped inside of two other cathedrals. One felt like we were interrupting as there were many people sitting and praying. The other felt like it was less about prayer and more about a big concert that was being set up for. Both were beautiful in their own way.

After having some God, we walked on and poked in and out of shops. Rennes has all the shops you would imagine a big city to have and also some beautiful independent boutiques with home furnishings, wedding dresses, jewelry, and books. Having seen items we wanted to purchase but felt guilty about, we wandered on to the art museum.

The Musée Des Beaux Arts is free to visit and had several different exhibitions. We decided to start with the 16th century art and work our way through the centuries finishing with modern pieces. I most enjoyed the depictions of women built as women should be. -Breasts, soft tummies and gorgeous curves. The colors and the scale of some of the paintings was awe inspiring.

After we felt we had been well-cultured, we walked on to grab a coffee at a outdoor café. I was able to find a pumpkin spice latte which is not often served here. It was très bien! After our caffeine pick me up, we returned to the home furnishing store and bought the items we previously doubted we deserved. We only live once after all. I returned to the metro carrying the fish water jug that is a fixture in my favorite St. Malo restaurant.

We returned home tired and happy after a day of exploring a city that I previously not known. What a great day!