Le week-end!

Ah le week-end, that most excellent French word. For those of you who aren't fluent, it means 'the weekend'.

I blague, I blague.


All kidding aside, this was the weekend of Les Accroches-Coeurs, the major festival that Angers hosts once a year. For three days, the city centre is filled with all sorts of bizarre but wonderful performances. In the days leading up to it, Angers is abuzz with chatter about Accroches-Coeurs. "You must go see some of the shows! You can't be in Angers without going!" So on Saturday night, we went. The Michiganders and I got a drive into the city from Monsieur and Madame A's close friend Soren. Once we found a parking spot, we walked through the hordes of revelers who were swarming the streets and crossed the bridge to reach the Cale de la Savette, the grassy park on the bank of the Maine.

There must have been over a thousand people there. We arrived half an hour before the show started, and couldn't get seats anywhere near it. The performers filing along the river to the stage was a performance in itself, as they arrived in a cloud of smoke, sparks, and fire. The show was a combination of light and percussion, so we at least heard the drums. It ended with a spectacular display of fireworks.

We walked back across the bridge, followed the crowds to the Rue du Roi Rene, and saw people lining the streets as if waiting for a parade. Sure enough, a giant yellow truck parked itself in the middle of the street, and a strangely dressed man flung open the back doors to reveal the paraders. The street became a sea of these people with frightening painted faces, mismatched costumes, and various percussion instruments that they played entirely out of sync with everyone around them. They led the crowd down the street, where they were joined by enormous mechanical animals. It was the weirdest, darkest parade I've ever seen, but it was quite the spectacle. Well worth seeing.

The rest of my weekend was taken up by doing homework... not too exciting. But next weekend I go to Paris, woohooo!

Me, the Michigan girls, and Phil from the US

The Cathedral lit up for the festival

The bridge also lit up for the festival

The truck opening with the parade

Parade

Giant mechanical bird 'flying' above the parade