Wednesdays & The Weekend: Exploring the cities of Angers, Nantes and Cholet

Candé and Becon:

Since beginning English teaching and starting work at St Emilie middle school, my days are spent at the school often leaving at 8:00 am and getting home by 5:30pm every day of the school week. All except for Wednesdays and of course the weekend. I will admit, the days right now and in the beginning feel long. The school schedule and routine of daily classes and break hours is almost completely different to what I was used to growing up in middle school and highschool in the United States, it's at times a lot to adjust to. However, already and so early into the school year, I have absolutely loved being at the school and building relationships with the other teachers and beginning to form ones with the students. Beyond the sweet days that I’ve spent getting to know my school, I have also really appreciated and come to enjoy the Wednesdays and weekends off exploring the area that I live in and surrounding cities. 

Becon Les Granits is where I’ve come to call home for the next few months. Becon being a 20 minute drive from my school is a small town situated between the city of Angers and Cande. I can only describe the size of Becon in one sentence; the first Saturday that I had spent with my host family, I was able to walk through the town from one side to the other and pass by the single grocery store, bakery and cathedral in just 15 minutes. And yes, I will admit, it is very small for a town and considered a commun (Which is a common term that the French refer to communities and groups of neighborhoods that are situated outside of larger cities) But despite its smallness, Becon does have a bus that takes people into the center of Angers that I have been grateful and glad to use to see Angers and other surrounding cities.

The First Adventure: 

Tip #1: Make use of the days off with others and just leave for a trip! 

For the first Wednesday that I had had off since starting at St Emilie, myself and a friend of mine who was also an assistant English teacher living in Angers for the year traveled by train to Nantes which is the nearest major city closest to Angers for a visit. During this trip we began the day by walking around and up into the Château des Ducs de Bretagne situated at the center of the city which was open to the public. To be able to view this enormous chateau from the outside was one thing, but being able to walk up inside the staircases, pear out the windows and wander through the corridors was extra special. The history and antiquity of French chateaus and architecture situated throughout cities still amazes me every visit I make. The rest of the day was spent walking around the shopping centers, visiting the museum of animal machines, and going inside the grand cathedrales. It was a trip like this one, that I have come to discover just how easy it is to be able     to access public transportation and discover historic districts across France.

Discovering Angers:

Tip #2: Discover your city's annual community traditions and celebrations!

Due to the fact that Angers is incredibly close to where my host family lives, most of the days that I have had off have been spent exploring around the city and making connections through the community. A couple weeks ago I went to one of my first local celebrations happening in Angers which was the Accroche-coeur arts festival celebrated across the weekend. Prior to the event, I was expecting to browse art exhibitions and purchase a few works from local artists but instead saw performing arts shows or ‘les spectacles’ that the French call instead. There were groups performing musicals and theatrical productions to men walking on stilts, a parade with an opera singer and music and light floating on the river. Truly the festival was something that I had never seen before and was such a sweet perspective into how French cities celebrate festivals and the arts. 

Tip #3: Before exploring any new area, connect with locals or others to hear their feedback and thoughts about local attractions or places to visit.  

This last week, some of the teachers at my school had told me about the farmers market in Angers and I was able to check it out! I had seen and heard of French or European farmers markets before, but I did not expect to see so many colors evident within the produce! The farmers market which was called Marche La Fayette was situated in a large open space with rows and rows of vendors selling local food. Each of the Rows was categorized by seafood, meats, breads and cheese, fruits and vegetables and flowers. After walking around the market, I did however bring home some fresh apples and nectarines to enjoy.

Quick Trip to Cholet: 

Tip #4: Connect with others by visiting their home cities!

Cholet is another smaller city near Angers that I was able to take the train for a day trip to visit with other Andego interns living in the area and see some local sites! During this quick trip to Cholet, I was so very happy to not only see this small and beautiful city nestled in the Loire countryside but getting to connect with the other interns and hear about how their first weeks of English teaching were going (even involving crazy stories about expensive jeans). Getting to explore a new area by yourself is one thing, but having others, like these interns, showing me their local favorites is extra special. Fortunately, this same weekend happened to be Patrimoine for France and many other European countries. For France, Patrimoine is focussed around the idea of remembering and celebrating European history and heritage. This meant that during the weekend many museums, cathedrales and chateaus were free and open for the public to walk around and explore. In Cholet, our group was not only able to explore the interior of the city's grand Cathedral L'Église Notre Dame, but ascend up a winding flight of stairs to view the Cathedral from above and its magnificent interior.

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois!