Road leading to Buckingham Palace

Her majesty was home!

Pork cabbage and noodle soup for me, ribs and fried rice for him

Which tastes even better in a Winnie the Pooh mug

It must have been around 15 degrees celsius with sunny blue skies and not a cloud in sight. All that was required was a light coat (to keep toasty because it's still freezing in the shade). Inspired, I grabbed my camera bag, cleared my memory card, and played tourist for the day.

I went to Île de Nantes, an island in the central part of the city stuffed with modern apartment buildings, housing units, harbours, and empty warehouses. It's one of the top tourist attractions in the city thanks to les machines de l'îsle, like this guy:

Hello, February!

January usually feels like the shortest (and least memorable) month of the year. Everyone is still adjusting to the new year and making typos on documents, t.v series haven't started as yet, and the weather is at its coldest.

This January felt different though. I didn't travel at all and that allowed me to settle down and reflect on my progress here. I found myself looking through photos and videos from last semester and feeling a whole new level of gratefulness. I'm already nostalgic about the people and places I've met and experienced, and I want to continue to record every moment in photos, journal entries, or any other medium.

Looking back on my first semester has inspired me maximize my time here. I want to push myself even more and create new experiences. I want to go to more cultural events, art shows, and music festivals. I've realized that music has played a large role in my student exchange; I've met some of the most brilliant, funny, and well-travelled people from the University choir. I really hope this continues.

Aside from wanting to explore Nantes more, I feel like the pressure is on to squeeze in trips to cities around France and Europe. I'm kicking off the year with a mini-trip to London for reading week! I'm searching on pinterest and flickr for inspiration and tourist sites. It's a bit overwhelming though because like any metropolis, there are loads of things to see. So far I have the London bridge, Kensington, the City, the Gherkin, and Harrod's on my list of things to see.

I switched up my desk arrangement! Some beautiful postcards, my moleskin, my pink Bible, les passions de jeune Werther, my diary, mini tour Eiffel, and dried pink roses

Okay, story time!
In preparation for reading week, I went downtown to the Gallerie Lafayette to pick up some things for my relatives. Then I did a bit of grocery shopping because my fridge was empty, and my fruit bowl was looking really sad. I headed straight to the fresh produce section and picked up a few grapefruits, and apples. I saw something in the organic section that caught my eye and I had to get a closer look just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.

I saw kale. Yes, kale. My long lost best friend. I coudn't believe my eyes. Kale is not 'a thing' in France. You can find every leafy green here, but not kale. I've heard that it is in select grocery stores in Paris, but I had no idea it was in Nantes. Needless to say, I am forever gratetful for this discovery and will always be fully stocked.

I went to a new bakery today and picked up a few madeleines. So yummy with coffee!

This post was partially titled 'Creative Space' because I'm making an effort to waste less time, and to spend more time working and exploring my creative side. I've rearranged my work space so that my bible, my journal and my camera are right beside me. Whenever I get the urge to read or write, they are literally an arm length away. I've also found more blogs with well-written content, new Vimeo accounts, and I'm finally brushing up on my videography skills. When I say brushing up, I mean starting, haha. I figured it's about time that I organize all of the video files I have sitting in my hard drive. There's so much to learn, but it's rewarding and Youtube has been a great learning tool for beginners like me.

Hope you have a great day!