28 May - Fine Arts Museum (Day 130)

After breakfast, I went to Leader Price to do a little bit of grocery. It is always good to go to the supermart in the morning because there would be no crowd. I have already given up on eating canned food anymore. I am not a pet. The meat I bought were all cold ones because I wanted to make full use of the fridge. And I bought myself a packet of jasmine tea. After that, I went to the shopping mall Les Long Champs and bought 2 large sandwiches using my food ticket. Too bad I realised the use of the food ticket too late now. For 2 euros, I can get a decent lunch. I do not understand why the guys in IRISA didn’t like the food from the student restaurant. They sounded as if they were eating yucky food or combat ration. Only Nicolas Mollet shared the same sentiment as me. He asked me how do I find the food and I told him it is good enough for me. The rest of the guys really didn’t like it very much. Nicolas said it is good enough for him too. With 2 euros, we can have quite a variety of food. And it is not awful. Seriously I thought the foods are actually very delicious sometimes.

I had one sandwich for lunch and decided to save the other for dinner. Anyway, one was filling enough. After getting my laundry done, I took the bus to the train station. I went to the information department and waited for about 15 min before it was my turn. I told the man that I needed to buy a few tickets. First was to Paris Charles De Gaulle on the 10th June. There was actually a direct train from Rennes straight to the airport. This I couldn’t find from the website. Once again, the information counter proved to be much more reliable than the website. I told him I needed to be there around 11am. He found 2 timings for me: one reaching at 930am, another at 1215pm. I chose the latter. While he was searching for the timings for my return trip on the 14th, I had a second thought. My flight to Munich is at 1305hrs. I wonder would I be too late if I were to reach CDG Airport at 1215. I told that guy about my flight timing and he said 1215 is too risky. Hence, he thought of another solution.

He said I should take a train from here to Paris Montparnesse. Then from there, get to CDG. And he even calculated the timing for me. He said the best timing is to reach Paris Montparnesse at 930am. Then I can take the RER line to CDG which takes about an hour. Or I can take a special shuttle bus at Montparnesse to the airport. He found out the address of where I should take the bus. He said it is easy to find that place once I reached Montparnesse. Anyway, I would have plenty of time. There was the recommended solution because taking RER means I have to buy another train ticket, change a metro and of course making sure I go the correct direction as the metro lines in Paris are quite complicated. Taking a special shuttle straight to the airport would be easier. Then he checked the return trip for me. He asked about my flight and I told him I will reach CDG at 1905hrs. Again he suggested that I take the last train which is 2100hrs from Paris Montparnesse back to Rennes. This is because for who knows, there might be delays to the flight. If I reach Paris Montparnesse early, I can go to the info counter and ask for an exchange for an earlier train. With that done, I also told him I need to go to Grenoble on the 17th in the afternoon. Again he chose the best way for me. He said the easiest way is to take a direct train to Lyon and then to Grenoble. He said going through Paris is too troublesome as I needed to change stations. Lastly, he confirmed everything with me again and assured me that those are the cheapest prices also. I thanked him and left the station. Every time I used the info counter, I am always satisfied with their service. And their very good English. Really very good.

With this settled, I went to the Fine Arts Museum of Rennes. It is said to be one of the best in Brittany. The entrance fee was really cheap: just 1.6 euros for a student. I could only understand some of the paintings; the stories behind them I meant. Those paintings on the saints, Jesus, Cleopatra, some Greek gods, etc were painted based on their legends. There were some sculptures also. But of course I am not high level in art appreciation and so there were definitely many deep meanings which I cannot perceive. Still it was quite enjoyable and I left after spending about an hour there. I went on to the Parliament House to take a look at the carnival Mr. Giant mentioned. It was really disappointing because there were not many people there. Just some games and families playing them. I was expecting crowds. The city centre was really crowded on Saturday afternoon and sad to say, I only realised with just 2 more Saturdays left. In fact only next Saturday left. The following one I will be in Berlin.

Bars were opened because on a hot afternoon, people like to sit at the terrasse and have some beers. Maybe next Saturday I would buy myself a bottle of cola and sit at the table outside and read a good book. But I don’t have a book. I was about to go to the bus stop to take the bus back when I heard some awful “live” singing. I walked towards the “noise” and came to the square of the city centre. It was very crowded here and there were lots of stalls selling books, ornaments, accessories etc and a mini stage on which 3 teenagers were singing. One of them was dressed like a bride. But they all looked pretty gao xiao. I walked a bit around the stalls but couldn’t find an English book. While I was leaving, I saw a crowd gathering outside the Theatre and walked toward them. Someone was getting married! A couple (a black man and a white girl) walked out of the Theatre and there were confetti thrown at them. I took a picture of them and left.

Back in INSA, I called home. I hadn’t call for a month and when I was connected, I told my parents joking that I had “Zao Sat” (zou shi in Canto). But they weren’t that worried because they had seen the pics I sent to my bro. My mum said it seemed like I had made a lot of friends here and having lots of fun. Indeed I have, esp. lately. I also told her that my return flight has been postponed from 8th July to 11th July. Then I told my dad that my sup was very satisfied with my work performance here and the guys were impressed by my presentation. After 5 months away from home, I must haolian a bit to them to make them feel proud of me. I said I am going Germany alone to find a friend and surprisingly, they weren’t very surprised or worried. In the past, they would surely say, ”Aiyo, you go alone, you not scared meh? Got anyone going with you or not?” blah blah blah. I told my dad that most likely I would not be able to bring a single cent back from France. He said since I am here in Europe already, and I am old enough to take care of myself, I should really travel and see more. Wah! Finally my parents treat me like an adult. I am always treated like a boy. But still they told me to be careful. Lastly, my mum wished me Happy Birthday in advance.

The rest of the day was spent on watching the drama serial “wo he jiang si you ge yue hui III” and felt very regretful that I missed Part I and Part II when it was shown in SG last time. Best of all, the show was in Cantonese; no dubbing. Ma Siew Leng and Fong Tin Yao. Thanks to hui who lent me this great show. Tomorrow would be in Rennes again but I should have plenty of VCDs to watch to kill time.