Mon vélo!

I rented a bike today!  There is a store called Vélo Cité that rents bikes to students for free for three months, the catch is that you have to bring many documents, including proof of residence, proof of a French bank account, a student I.D. card, and a passport.  Oh, and you have to wait in line for 4 hours before the store opens at 9:30 a.m. because they only rent 18 bikes a day…

So I decided that if I was going to go through the hassle of renting a bike, I was only going to attempt one time and get ‘er done!  I left my house at 5 a.m., walked to the store (which is just between my university and Centre Ville) and arrived at 5:30.   

Angers streets at 5 a.m.

Selfie of my enthusiasm :)

I was the fourth student there, it was still very dark.  Two girls from Wales arrived shortly after me and shared their blankets.  They had attempted the day before, but were the first ones to be cut off after all the bikes were rented!  We snuggled under the blanket and chatted—a great way to make friends when it’s chilly outside.  The morning was actually pretty fun, everyone was very talkative.  At 6:30 a.m. when a patisserie around the corner opened, we took turns going and getting café and pastries.  I had a café while I waited a few minutes for the Pain au Chocolats to come out of the oven; the warm, fresh, delicious, chocolaty, flakey pastry made the whole morning worth while!

Snuggling with my new friends from Wales

The actual process of renting a bike was easy because I had all of the paperwork ready.  I rode away at 9:45 with a wonderful new bike and was only an hour late for classes.  Oops!  I have to say, this bike is much nicer than my bike in the US and it’s so much faster than walking.

Me and my new baby outside my house (the two dogs are behind the gate in the background)

I’m now very happy:  I got high fives from my classmates when I told them I successfully rented a vélo, and no more blisters on my bum from sitting on the back of Wenonah’s bike!

Me, Wenonah, and Ann on the lawn after lunch today