Angoulême Comics Festival, 52nd edition

 I took the TGV crack of dawn 🕕 to Angoulême on Thursday morning to my first Festival de Bande Dessinée!

But first things first. In town I headed to the best chocolate shop (from 1897) Chocolatier Duceau.

Placed directly across from Hotel de Ville/town hall where I picked up my festival badge. How convenient 👍

 It’s a good idea, when you’re traveling to get important things  🍫 over with immediatement…don’t you think? 😊

Seen at the Train Station
With all the artists 👩‍🎨 coming to the festival for at least 52 years,

Art on the buse
Angoulême is an illustrated city.

Murals decorate public buildings and walls. There is even a mural tour.

This entire facade is an illustration of an artist drawing ✍️ 📚

Wherever you look 👁️ Inside the train station as well there is ART 🎨 

Finding the artists and their work in the town

Is a bit of challenge

(see map above).

They are spread all over in many small venues and galleries,

Unlike Carnet de Voyage where artists 👩‍🎨 are all in one big building. Next year I’ll do better 🙏

* About LUNCH! *
My hottest Travel Tip ever! Find out BEFORE your leave where is the marché/market/les Halles? What days is it open? Don’t waste time on Trip Advisor or travel books 📚 looking for restaurants. There are many to choose from inside the marché.

You cannot go wrong eating inside any covered marché 👍

The food is the freshest & simplest guaranteed.

I got the petit plateau de mer & was happy as a clam. Angoulême is in the sud-ouest not far from the ocean 🌊 

I heard English spoken at the seafood counter and chatted up Caroline (British & lives in Angoulême) and Sheila and Sarah (Americans now living in France and both simultaneous translators working at the Festival)

Another earth-shattering Travel Tip -> when you see a tea salon sign etc.

Follow up & grab a cuppa ☕️ It’s easy to lose track, when traipsing around a new town. Then suddenly you’re Very tired and the next day you’re a complete wreck.

Angoulême is quite beautiful 

As you wander around…

The Medieval cobblestone pavements are high

The major attraction was the Posy Simmonds exhibit at the main museum. She won the Grand Prix 🏆 at Angoulême last year.

A brilliant British artist and witty commenter on human behavior in her graphic novels. Posy Simmonds is an interesting artist. In the show she said she could read at age 4 and started looking at Punch magazine on her parent’s bookshelf. As she grew, she discovered more British artists on the shelves. For her birthday one year, her father gave her 500 sheets of large drawing ✍️ paper! Wow 

(I remember looking at Sherlock Holmes much later)

And much loved ❤️ in France.

I didn’t show you the crowded Japanese Manga shops.

The French are mad for them. Remember ‘Drops of God’/Les Gouttes de Dieu? There are 44 books 📖 in the series.

Or the juicy LuLu Clementines 🍊 just in from Avignon in the marché.
Well it was only a one-day trip…but loads of fun and so nice to get away 👋 Back in the train station waiting to come home 🏡