We decided it was time to take a little vaction, so off we went on a road trip to 
visit the northwestern coasts of Brittany. We packed up our bikes, enough clothes for a few days and our standard picnic lunch fare and headed out for the coast There are several peninsulas that jut out into the English Channel, lots of little islands and many touristic routes.
Our first day we
went to Cap Frehel and drove all along the coast, enjoying the pretty view
s of beaches and ocean. We finished up the day in Langueux, where we had a very pleasant evening bike ride before returning to our hotel for a shower, dinner and bed.
The next day we continued west to Paimpiol and Pointe de Arcouest, where we thought we would take the ferry over to the Ile de Brehat. It was another nice drive out t
o the point, along the coast enjoying the pretty farmland and coastal sights. When we arrived in Pointe de Arcouest we were reminded that August is a busy tourist season. The narrow point was packed with tourists waiting for the ferry boat, the pay parking lot with 600 spaces was "complet", as were the two alternate parking areas. On top of that, the fare to go the 2.3 km to the Ile was 8.50 euros per person, plus 15 euros for your bike! It seemed a bit out of line to have to pay $40 each to go over the short distance, so we skipped the ride, took some photos and continued our coastal tour, up one side of the peninsula, and down the other, around the end of the inlet, and on to the next peninsula.
Since it was cloudy in the morning, we again took an pleasant evening bike ride arount Pointe du Chateau. We spent a couple of hours in the pleasant evening sunshine, riding down the hill to the plage, then back up the hill to the bluff, 500 meters along the bluff,
and then back down to the plage and back up to the bluff, kind of like a bicycling merry-go-round. It was very interesting at this time of day, because the tide was out at least 2000 meters. There were people walking way out on the sand where the ocean usually is. Seeing this reminded me of the big tidal wave in Aisa a year or two ago. I always wondered why someone would see 
the ocean retreat so far out and then actually walk out that far. Now I can see that this is common in this part of the country, so I guess people aren't startled when they see the ocean so far out from the normal level.
The farm country here is very green and lush. The crops are different, because of the weather. They grow artichokes and other cool weather crops. We also saw huge greenhouses, one block square, and discovered that they grow hydroponic crops, mostly tomatoes, in these enormous buildings.
Anoth
er lovely farm sight was the quaint stone barns bordered by a row of ten or twelve enormous hydrangea bushes laden with giant pompoms of brilliant pink, deep blue, and snowy white. Even though I saw many barns like this, each one was delightful.
This far into Brittany we are noticing some interesting cultural differences. All of the towns have the name presented in French and Breton. This is like the Basque country, or Catalonia, where the population admits to being French or Spanish, but they kind of wish they weren't. Many people still speak the old Breton lanugage and the Celtic influence is very heavy. Many of the town names would fit right into rural Ireland or Wales--Tor Heut, Guimaec, Beg Douar.
When we got back to Plougrescant, where we left the car, it was very busy. The big event in this little town was a special puppet show, Guigol, and many families had finished their dinner early so they could drive into town and take the kids to see the show. We quickly packed up, gave someone our parking spot and headed down the road to Morlaix, where we stayed the night.
The next morning we took the scenic drive out to the Pointe de Primel, which gave us ano
ther chance to enjoy the seaside sights. The ocean in this area is full of rocky islets, sometimes just a small pile of rocks jutting out of the water. There is not just one or two, either. There are hundreds of them all along the shore, about 2.5 km out in the water. What a treacherous place to try to operate a boat!
Well, we had had enough vacation and enough shoreline sights, so we hit the freeway and scooted back to St. Germain en Cogles. Don was glad to have dependable internet again, and a nice sofa for a nap while he listens to the news. The afternoon and evening have been lovely and sunny, so we had an early dinner in the back yard and then started to work on this report.
One other note, we have been Skyping our family regularly. We talk to San Leandro on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 California time. This week we talked to Jerry only, because Pauline and her two sisters are on a short trip of their own. We reached them at Susan Davidson's house and had a good chat about their adventures in Northern California and Oregon. This Skyping thing is great.
visit the northwestern coasts of Brittany. We packed up our bikes, enough clothes for a few days and our standard picnic lunch fare and headed out for the coast There are several peninsulas that jut out into the English Channel, lots of little islands and many touristic routes.
Our first day we
went to Cap Frehel and drove all along the coast, enjoying the pretty views of beaches and ocean. We finished up the day in Langueux, where we had a very pleasant evening bike ride before returning to our hotel for a shower, dinner and bed.The next day we continued west to Paimpiol and Pointe de Arcouest, where we thought we would take the ferry over to the Ile de Brehat. It was another nice drive out t
o the point, along the coast enjoying the pretty farmland and coastal sights. When we arrived in Pointe de Arcouest we were reminded that August is a busy tourist season. The narrow point was packed with tourists waiting for the ferry boat, the pay parking lot with 600 spaces was "complet", as were the two alternate parking areas. On top of that, the fare to go the 2.3 km to the Ile was 8.50 euros per person, plus 15 euros for your bike! It seemed a bit out of line to have to pay $40 each to go over the short distance, so we skipped the ride, took some photos and continued our coastal tour, up one side of the peninsula, and down the other, around the end of the inlet, and on to the next peninsula.Since it was cloudy in the morning, we again took an pleasant evening bike ride arount Pointe du Chateau. We spent a couple of hours in the pleasant evening sunshine, riding down the hill to the plage, then back up the hill to the bluff, 500 meters along the bluff,
and then back down to the plage and back up to the bluff, kind of like a bicycling merry-go-round. It was very interesting at this time of day, because the tide was out at least 2000 meters. There were people walking way out on the sand where the ocean usually is. Seeing this reminded me of the big tidal wave in Aisa a year or two ago. I always wondered why someone would see the ocean retreat so far out and then actually walk out that far. Now I can see that this is common in this part of the country, so I guess people aren't startled when they see the ocean so far out from the normal level.
The farm country here is very green and lush. The crops are different, because of the weather. They grow artichokes and other cool weather crops. We also saw huge greenhouses, one block square, and discovered that they grow hydroponic crops, mostly tomatoes, in these enormous buildings.Anoth
er lovely farm sight was the quaint stone barns bordered by a row of ten or twelve enormous hydrangea bushes laden with giant pompoms of brilliant pink, deep blue, and snowy white. Even though I saw many barns like this, each one was delightful.This far into Brittany we are noticing some interesting cultural differences. All of the towns have the name presented in French and Breton. This is like the Basque country, or Catalonia, where the population admits to being French or Spanish, but they kind of wish they weren't. Many people still speak the old Breton lanugage and the Celtic influence is very heavy. Many of the town names would fit right into rural Ireland or Wales--Tor Heut, Guimaec, Beg Douar.
When we got back to Plougrescant, where we left the car, it was very busy. The big event in this little town was a special puppet show, Guigol, and many families had finished their dinner early so they could drive into town and take the kids to see the show. We quickly packed up, gave someone our parking spot and headed down the road to Morlaix, where we stayed the night.The next morning we took the scenic drive out to the Pointe de Primel, which gave us ano
ther chance to enjoy the seaside sights. The ocean in this area is full of rocky islets, sometimes just a small pile of rocks jutting out of the water. There is not just one or two, either. There are hundreds of them all along the shore, about 2.5 km out in the water. What a treacherous place to try to operate a boat!Well, we had had enough vacation and enough shoreline sights, so we hit the freeway and scooted back to St. Germain en Cogles. Don was glad to have dependable internet again, and a nice sofa for a nap while he listens to the news. The afternoon and evening have been lovely and sunny, so we had an early dinner in the back yard and then started to work on this report.
One other note, we have been Skyping our family regularly. We talk to San Leandro on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 California time. This week we talked to Jerry only, because Pauline and her two sisters are on a short trip of their own. We reached them at Susan Davidson's house and had a good chat about their adventures in Northern California and Oregon. This Skyping thing is great.
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