Europe: Angers

I absolutely loved the time we had to hang out in Angers at my parents’ apartment. My dad is over there for 6 weeks this summer as he starts a masters program for French teachers. My mom went for 3 weeks to keep my dad company.This was the main reason Bryce and I went over there. Each morning we slept in, got croissants from the bakery, made baguette sandwiches for lunch and usually went out on a day excursion. We spent about a week there and loved every minute of it.

This was the apartment:

My favorite part about the apartment was the balcony. Sometimes I would just go stand out there and watch all the people. They lived on the corner of an intersection and it was a happenin’ place. There were cafes that people would just sit and chat and eat at all night long. They have quite the night life there.

             

A view from their balcony. You can see the cathedral in the distance.

 

Their balcony is the one on the bottom. The tram went right in front of their apartment.

      

This square was right around the corner. It was a nice little place to just hang out.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

My mom knew we might be sad about missing the 4th so she bought us all shirts and brought 4th of July music. It was great!

On the 4th, Bryce and I met my dad and we took a tour of the Angers Chateau.

   

          

A view of the Maine from the top of the Chateau

 

          

On top of the walls of the fortress/chateau.

Inside the chateau they have this amazing tapestry that was made in the 1200s. It is of the book of revelations and covers the walls of this huge room. We spent over an hour just listening to the audio guide describe what each picture represented.

     

Oh Bryce.

That evening we had hamburger and fries for dinner so that we could feel American. Then we spent the evening just walking around Angers. It was a beautiful evening and a great end to our holiday.

           

        

        

    

My mom took this picture and many others in this post. It was a beautiful evening in Angers.

One day we rented some bikes and went biking in the outskirts of Angers. It was quite fun. We had a couple close calls crossing a heavy traffic bridge but we made it out alive.

   

    

   

We stopped and ate lunch at this cute little picnic table that faced the river. And this is a picture of my dad standing on the point…he was so determined to go to this point where the Loire river meets the Maine river. Pretty exciting.

 

A biking excursion was not enough. We decided to take the tram, then hike out to a barge that would take us across the river to Ile St. Aubin (an island). We hiked and hiked and hiked, crossed the river on the barge, then got to the other side only to see wide open plains. We then hiked to the middle of the island to a “farm”. It was quite the adventure.

 

Trying to figure out how to get to the island (you can see Bryce and I are really trying hard) and taking the tram out there.

  

Going across the barge. This man’s job was to bring the barge back and forth across the river by pulling a cable. The long walk was so worth going across the barge.

Eating lunch on the island.

  

The “farm”

MMMM…..Pastries!!

So the last morning we were in Angers we sent Bryce to go get a baguette. I took these pictures form the balcony. Not only did he  get a baguette but he ordered a pastry too! His French really came a long way!

    

The Marche (The Market)

The market was on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was huge with lots of yummy yummy food and other cool stuff. This is by far the best fruit I have ever had! It was so fun to go to the Market. It was quite the happening place!

    
                   

We had the most amazing time in Angers and loved every minute of it. We loved hanging out with my parents eating pastries and baguettes and going out to creperies and taking wild adventures in the outskirts.