July 5, 2011
Perhaps some of my best, and worst, qualities come from the fact that I’m a nostalgia sap. I love mining the past for good memories and then trying to recreate them.
Take today for instance. We returned to the city of Pornichet, 45 minutes from Nantes by train and on the west coast, the city in which we spent two of our first four weeks in France last July. Last year, it was hot and sunny. Today, it was chilly and rainy. Instead of lying on the beach Chloe proclaimed as her own last summer, we tried to stay dry in the train station and public library.
Failing at the recreating of beach memories, I took it upon myself to make the most of the day, harkening other memories. I braved the rain and went for a long walk, retracing the bike route we took regularly last year, the one from our apartment to the grocery store and to the racetrack that was under construction (it’s completed and spectacular looking – we may even get a chance to attend a race day later this month). The rain let up as I walked, helping the nostalgia win.
Today’s photo is of a salted caramel crêpe from La Petite Saline, a crêperie in Pornichet that we fell in love with last summer and was part of our reason for wanting to return today. This one is Ella’s, complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was the perfect antidote to the disappointment of rain and further salve for nostalgia sappiness. When it comes to salted caramel crêpes, you can go back again.
Speaking of nostalgia, a year ago today we arrived in Nantes…
Day 5 (5 July 2010) – Travel Day
Andy Smallman 
Not ‘laying’ – lying on the the beach. You lay something on the table, etc. Per Grammy.
Sorry about the rain. We are having a most perfect day here – 75 degrees. What a relief after Denver’s 95 !!
Right, right. I know this one. I’ll fix it. Also, I’ve made it so more posts can be seen on the main page. And on the left you’ll see the titles of the 5 most recent posts in reverse order of when they’ve been posted. Click on the title to go to each individual post. Also, it’s easy to get back to the “home” screen. Just click on the blog title (which, right now, is “We’re Still in France” in the upper left).