Rattrapage

So, did I fool you with my April Fool's joke?  

In case you were wondering, it was that I had given up on the blog (since I haven't written since March).  Quelle honte!  Let me try and make it up to you by showing you some of what has been keeping me away from my computer.  

The trees (finally) in bloom in front of Fracasse.  I thought the white-pink one was interesting.  Someone's been grafting!

In front of the Mairie.

The Hippodrome.  I always forget to take my camera with me when the horses are being exercised, but I still thought it was pretty.

I believe this is a notary's office, but I think it's a really interesting building.

Further down Victor Hugo from us.

The mouettes as seen from my window last Thursday morning.  

Another reason why I've been behind is that I went to Le Mans to visit my friend Lilly this past weekend.  The trip was originally planned as a last rendez-vous before Lilly had to return to the US, but since she is such an awesome teacher her schools requested asked her to stay until the end of June, so more fun pastry outings and walks in parks are in our future!  And cafe cremes--can't forget about those!

Jardin des Plantes

Megan (another assistant in the Nantes academy), me, and Lilly

Examining Moby Swan

Traditional Le Mans houses (whose names I don't remember).  The goal was apparently for everybody to have a decent house and a garden.

I match the flowers!

The cathedral

The old city--apparently one of the best preserved in France!

A community garden.  I was reminded of last May Term.

It seems Wilbur Wright made it to Le Mans and left a good enough impression that they named a street for him.  Who'd have thought?

Of course, no visit with Lilly is complete without French baked goods.  These were macarons: pistachio, chocolate, praline, and lemon.

Miam!

Lemon macaron--the tastiest of the lot!

Impressive display in a chocolate shop

Even more impressive sundaes that Lilly and I had for dessert Saturday night!

You may have noticed in these photos the prevalence of BLUE SKIES!  I'm hoping they are here to stay.  Another item of note is how incredibly warm it has been lately.  The bank in the plaza in Le Mans where Lilly and I were having coffee Saturday afternoon said it was 28 degrees C--I'll let you do the math, but I can attest to the fact that, while the warmth was a nice change, it was too hot for April!