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Ahhhh alright two days ago we made the trip out to the hospital in Angers to take care of the remaining vaccinations for India and SE Asia. I had to get part two of a Japanese Encephalitis shot and I avoided passing out… wasn’t so lucky when getting a shot at the dentist around a month ago. Not sure why but needles are one thing that I am genuinely scared of. The shot here in Europe cost me a pretty hundy doll hairs.

Louise finished the last round of a preventative rabies shot and we took a small tour of Angers. The town seems to be an ideal size… large enough to support nightlife and culture but small enough to avoid traffic and anonymity. We walked past Louise’s high school and she explained that to get to school every day she biked for a half hour, took a half hour bus, and then walked an additional fifteen minutes, all year round. I remember being 15 years old and bitching about my ten minute walk in the snow. Probably not justifiable.

Around the corner we stopped for a Panini Nutella and strolled through the shopping area. We talked about the absurdity of paying top dollar for a shirt covered in large company branding. Take my $30 so I have the privilege of advertising for your company.

Afterwards we drove to Decathlon, a discount outdoors store that has dominated my shopping since my arrival in Europe a year ago. There, we found a solid hiking pack for Louise and a small day pack for myself. I spent an hour trying on hiking shoes before deciding to do some research before I made my purchase…. couldn’t decide on what type of all-around footwear would be best for India.

The next day we went to the local pool in the morning and swam some laps before coming home for a seafood lunch. Afterwards, we set out in hunt of footwear and I ultimately decided on a Merrell Mid Height breathable hiking shoe like this.

We’ve done a decent amount of driving the last two days and we’ve had NOVA radio playing the entire time. You can listen to it here: http://www.novaplanet.com/

In the evening we went out to eat at la Cave de la Genevraie with Louise’s older brother and his girlfriend. The restaurant was located in a former home carved out of stone. It’s menu is set for everyone, and the meal involved courses of food served in fresh bread baked in the cave next-door to the dining room.

First course: mushrooms in the house bread

Second course: rillete in the house bread

Third course: Bacon & White Kidney Beans in the house bread

Fourth course: Cheese and lettuce in the house bread

Fifth course: Choice of dessert (I went with a fruit salad)

Between the third and fourth course our hostess invited us to tour the cave and we saw the silo carved out of the rock and the wood burning stove where they cook the bread. A guy manning the fire happily answered our questions about the process as he loaded baskets with the toasty, airy round breads.