Awkward Week Off

This week, while most students have started classes, I have been relaxing. Lucky for me, I don't start class until January 25, which leaves me with plenty of time to explore the city.

On Monday, I was in desperate need of groceries. I went to probably one of the coolest stores around, Leclerc, to do my shopping. There, I bought all sorts of food. Since I'm mostly going to be doing my own cooking, and I have absolutely no idea how to do any of that, I bought a little bit of everything: chicken, pasta, potatoes, lentils, bread, Nutella, various sauces, etc. When I returned home later that night, with my eco-friendly shopping bags as full as possible, my mother informed me that I have been spending an excessive amount of money ($300+) at my favorite grocery store. Hopefully, the food I have now will last me at least a week. On the bright side, I successfully cooked my fist meal with protein! I honestly felt like I was dying, because previously, I was stuffing myself with pasta and no protein. I was always hungry! But thanks to my new found cooking skills, I made a delicious (and a little burnt) meal.

On Tuesday, I went to my campus to find out my

schedule. It's not so bad; I only have two classes per day. However, I do have two 8am classes, and one of them is on Friday. Not ideal. I've been successfully avoiding Friday classes my entire college career. However, I did meet some people in my classes, and I am excited to start improving my French. Then, I decided I wanted to go to the Atlantis mall. This place is surprisingly big, and is full of really cool and affordable clothes, home goods, and food. It even has an Ikea and a Leclerc (but relax, Mom, I didn't buy anything this time). I'd been to the mall probably about 5 times since arriving in Nantes, but this time, I was by myself and had the luxury of time to explore every single store. It's a very beautiful mall, similar to Fashion Square in Scottsdale. I saw this shirt and thought it was funny. I think I've seen more American flags here than in the US. Later that night, I decided to try and socialize with some French students. I went to an event put on by my dorm. It was an improv show that was pretty funny. I didn't understand some of it, but what I did get, I liked.

On Wednesday, I went to lunch with a friend and explored the city a little more. We ate at a great Italian place, and I had the lasagna. It was so yummy! Then we strolled around downtown for a while. I found this five-story bookstore and bought my textbooks for school. I also stumbled upon a cute café, which my friend informed me is the only place in Nantes to buy cupcakes. So, of course, I had to sample

one! I enjoyed a Nutella cupcake and damn it was good!

On Thursday, the weather was finally nice (at least not raining; there was even some sun poking through the clouds). So, I decided to go around town more. I got on the tram and headed to le centre ville. I pretty much just walked around aimlessly and stopped in stores that looked cool from the outside. I took a lot of pictures, so here are a few.

Tomorrow, I plan to try out the student cafeteria, and maybe go to a bar on the top of the tallest building in Nantes. I'll let you know.