Splurging and Halloweening in Nantes

This is a little delayed, but I have been paid.  I have money now, and I want to flaunt it.  That meant going out to a restaurant for the first time since I’ve been here.  I went out to Penn Kalet, the crêperie where Maria (my couchsurfing host) works.  I don’t like going to restaurants and being waited on by a friend.  I feel really uncomfortable asking for salt or water, so I don’t.  I had my first real crepe ever, and it had feta in it.  Oh, yes.  It was mmm pretty good, but nothing to write home about.  So, sorry to bore you.  However, I went really crazy and bought some dessert with homemade caramel, hazelnuts, and hazelnut ice cream.  It was one of the better things I’ve tasted in a while, and I’ll be going back, preferably when Maria’s not working.  Normally I wouldn’t take the time to write about something so mundane, but it was my first real crêperie experience.  I even took pictures like the shameless tourist that I am.

Halloween was coming up, and I was depressed by the lack of enthusiasm the French shared.  Luckily, we went to a party at Maria and Swann’s place.  I didn’t know, but it was a costume party.  The party flowed over two floors of the complex and was full of costumes, drinks and drunks, loud house music and the usual.  It was no Austin Halloween, but it was fun.  I’m really glad we were able to find some kind of celebration, because I was already depressed that I couldn’t make my annual jack-o-lantern.  Costumes at the party were generally similar, only girls weren’t dressed like hookers.  I guess in a country with nude beeches and breasts on street ads or in children’s carnivals, the sexy outfit in public isn’t such a big deal.  Although, there was one person with a sexy outfit:

Apparently, this is how people dress for Halloween in France.  I’m sparing you from seeing his bare legs and bulge.  My favorite costume was a girl dressed like a stereotypical french person, complete with a beret and black\white striped shirt.  It was funny, because there was another guy at the party wearing the same shirt, but not as a costume.

The next day was actually Halloween, so we had a few assistants over to our place (what we call l’Auberge Nantaise) for a few drinks.  Marco and I went out to buy a bunch of cheap beer and wine, snacks, and hopefully something Halloweeny.  The only thing in the spirit of the holiday that we could find was a small chocolate cake that had gummy worms on it and said “Halloween” in orange print.  It was the most expensive thing we bought, and it sucked.  At least we had something, though.

I haven’t been taking a lot of pictures, but here’s one with Minh, Matt and Kayle (both assistants) and Celine, a French friend of Krista’s.  I don’t know where Krista is, and Minh closed her eyes because she was falling asleep.  Kayle is also from Houston, but she went to OU.  Losaaa.  You can see our crappy Halloween cake on the table. So, we celebrated Halloween together with a few drinks before going out to see what was happening around town.  The atmosphere wasn’t very festive at our apartment, but we went to a bar where a lot of people were celebrating with costumes and everything.  Again, it’s not 6th St. but it was fun and there were costumes.

This guy went all out with the paint, but kinda half-assed it with the clothing.  Guess what his name is.  I’ll tell you, it’s Darryl.  What’s the deal with the tie, Darryl?  It’s Halloween.

Related posts:

1. Thanksgiving away from Home
2. It’s Hard to Complain
3. Halloween in France
4. Baebae Reykjavik, Bonjour Nantes!