Here is a picture of my lunch today. It’s the classic French sandwich (at least I think it’s a classic French sandwich) called a “Crôque Madame.” I don’t really think there’s a way to translate it but I know the difference between a Crôque Madame and a Crôque Monsieur is that the “madame” has an egg on top. Inside is a piece of ham and some cheese (and there is some cheese melted on top, too). Regarding the word “crôque” and potential translations, Google says it’s an undertaker. Hmmm, that does make for an interesting sounding sandwich (which is why I think it’s hard to provide an English translation).

It was an odd day in Nantes and I assume in all of France. The periodic strikes (grèves) and demonstrations (manifestations) continue. Melinda and I got caught up in the latter. We were riding the tram when it got hit by two apples thrown by passing youth who were opting out of school to voice their displeasure with the likely raising of the retirement age. On top of that, a few minutes later the tram we were on had to stop because of people on the tracks. We got out with everyone else and walked for two stops until another tram could take us home. Those of us walking, which ended up being a lot of people, looked like demonstrators, especially Melinda and me in our dark coats. So if the demonstrations are successful, Melinda and I have done our part. The downside to all of this is that our friend Janet from Seattle and her friend Sue stayed in Paris rather than travel to Nantes to see us.