This foot bridge, located a few miles south of Angers over the Maine River in Bouchemaine (translates to “mouth of Maine”), was a key access point for the United States Army’s 5th Infantry Division to help liberate the city of Angers from German control on August 11, 1944 during WWII. Greg found this while on
The French have elevated COMPLAINING to an art form, a competitive sport even; at a minimum, it’s a favorite pastime. Don’t get me wrong, we love France, but there are definitely things here that have tested our patience and made us grumbly at times. We’ve reached the phase in our time in France that is
We’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks prepping our new rental house before we move in. A friend of ours says “if a place looks clean, it may be clean, but if it looks dirty, it’s filthy!” That adage certainly applies to rental houses. This one looked pretty clean, but
I set out for a walk yesterday morning while Greg was out biking. I captured this photo from a bridge over the Maine River that runs through the middle of Angers before connecting with the Loire River farther south. You can see the Angers castle in the distance and that gorgeous church tower in the
A few weeks ago, we wrote about having secured an apartment for the next few months on a month-to-month lease while we searched for longer-term housing. This was great news after so much Airbnb and hotel hopping for the past few months! And the 1-bedroom, 1-bath furnished apartment is certainly better than where we’ve been,
Finally, the heat wave that has been smothering western Europe since late May has fizzled and we are being treated to a pleasantly warm (around 75-78F most days) and lovely summer in Angers. This is a city that has many events and exhibitions going on simultaneously and seems to execute on them flawlessly. It’s been
We finished out our French countryside trip last week with a visit to “Le Mystère des Faluns,” another troglodyte cave system created by workers in the 18th and 19th centuries who mined limestone as a building material. It’s now an underground museum / art installation that you have to see to really appreciate. Much of
We rented a car Monday and headed south from Angers about a hour to the French countryside. Along the way, we stopped at this incredible site, Château de Brissac. This fabulous chateau has been owned by the Cossé-Brissac family since 1502. The title of “Duke of Brissac” has been handed down for over 500 years,
SUCCESS!!! The Château d’Angers will be the view from the kitchen window of our new apartment for the next five months! Granted, it will be from a longer distance, at an angle, and we won’t be able to see the grounds from where we are, but all the same, there will be a castle in
We thoroughly enjoyed the Saturday market in Rennes earlier this week called the “Marché des Lices” which has been a staple of life in old town Rennes every Saturday morning for the past 400+ years (read about the anniversary celebration here). The market takes place on the streets and goes on for several blocks, and