I was sitting quietly next to the fountain in Nantes today, about to open my book to do some reading in the crisp autumn air. This young man approached me and began talking to me in French. He was talking very fast and the water flowing from the fountain made it hard to hear him so I understood very little of what he was saying (nothing about mirrors, I’ll tell you that). But I let him finish before telling him in my broken French that I didn’t speak much French. He replied in his broken English that he didn’t speak much English. And from that point on, he tried his English and I tried my French.

The short of it is this. Those yummy little LU cookies that you can find all over the world originated in Nantes. The company has started selling some new varieties and this young man (and several other people dressed like him) were giving out samples today. He explained the different varieties and offered me one, whereupon I asked him for his favorite. It is one of the classic chocolate LU cookies but with hazelnuts added to the chocolate. I accepted one and asked if I could take his picture for my family and friends back home. This is his pose.

The cookie, by the way, was delicious. He gave me a coupon for .30€ off a box at any of the large grocery stores in town. So I figure I’ll soon be pulling my “chariot” to Leclerc out at the end of Line 2 to get a box.