Je blague

Huh....no blog comments even for peirced ear, huh? What do I have to do? Get the "Prison Break" tattoo of the entire Fox River Penitentiary blueprints on my torso?

But of course, in addition to being a blogger, I'm also a "blagueur" (a joker, from the verb "blaguer = to joke"). Not surprisingly for those of you who know me well, the chances of my ear getting pierced voluntarily are slim to none, and the earring was, of course, a fake. They were magnetic fake diamond earrings brought by one of the other grantees who shared them with many others (including myself) throughout the course of our Rennes retreat. So don't worry, Mom and Dad: I didn't pierce my ears.

Today is a monumental day in the history of France: the day the smoking ban goes into effect. As of Feb. 1st, 2007 smoking in all public places is now interdict (banned). If you read the fine print, however, you will realize that restaurants and bars are exempt from this policy for an additional one year. So really Feb. 1st, 2008 will be the big day, and with regards to this law being strictly enforced in every single smoky French brasserie, I'll believe it when I see it.

To leave you with a few more images from our Rennes trip: first, having beers with clarinetist Vic Chavez and second, another example of the typical Bretagne architecture.