The Low and Highs of Renting a House on the Internet

Everything looks good on the internet.

Our first house rental (for six weeks in Dingle, Ireland) was for a restored (to an extent) stone cottage (hut?) and, it was nearly a disaster.  We spent the first 24 hours cleaning EVERYTHING – washing every glass and dish, scrubbing the kitchen, cleaning the cabinets, etc, etc.  Liberal doses of Febreez on all the upholstered furniture.  After that it was livable – just.  Irish clean does not live up to Elaine standards.  Or mine.  I was ready to leave the house the first day and never come back.  We had guests:  Bob Messina and Toby for a week;  Elaine’s Mom and Dad for a week;  and Ed and Phyllis Wrenn for a week.

Our second rental (for two weeks in Rieux Minervois, France) was a small restored apartment built right into the town’s ancient ramparts..  It was spotless, and clean linens were provided for the second week.  The only adjustment was getting used to the endless wash cycles of European washers and dryers.  At least they provided instructions in English.  It was a delight.

Then it was back to Dingle for four weeks where we rented a new home (actually in Ventry, just outside Dingle).  It was clean and modern.  The only down side was the location.  While on a beautiful bay, it was nigh on impossible to walk anywhere.  The most minor of errands required driving.  Bill and Mianne visited us here for a week as did Elaine’s sister Ann with husband Russ.

Then it was Dingle again (for just 10 days this time as part of a trip that included Northern Ireland) in a complex of new homes.  It was within walking distance to town and the Dingle Pub.  It had a combined all-in-one washer/dryer that was cool but still took forever to run a cycle.  Clean.  The only negative:  the son of the people next door was a drummer and he played every afternoon for an hour or so.

Now it’s back to France and another restored stone house. Manoir de Keristin.  There are issues.  It’s not our favorite place.  Remember Irish clean?  The French are not impeccable house cleaners either.

The Report Card

• Cob webs and spiders of all kinds and sizes.  Really large spiders!
• No screens on the windows, so bugs everywhere.
• Irish clean except for the dishes, cookware, and glassware which were spotless.
• Double beds.  Too small for us so we use two.
• TV has a annoying hum.  Ho hum, we can’t understand French TV anyway. No English channels.
• Downstairs is dark inside, possibly to help keep it cool in summer.
• First load of wash took four hours in the machine (no English instructions) and two days on the line to dry.
• Third floor bedroom is big and bright but there are bats or rats or ferral cats or other animals skittering about in the innards of the ceiling.  We stayed off the third floor!
• Second floor shower stopped working on day five.  Fortunately there are three full bathrooms.
• “Sachets” for mites in bedroom closets.  Yikes.
• No mattress pads on the beds.
• No instructions (in English or otherwise) on how to operate anything.
• Constant musty smell.
• There is a beautiful back patio and yard with outdoor dining table (we used it often).  That’s Elaine spot.

So, anyway, when we used the outside patio, we left the door open.  One night when we were done, I closed it.  Then Elaine noticed a big blotch of red by the door.  Did I somehow spill raspberry jam?  How could I do that?  Well, I didn’t.  I opened the door and found that in closing it, I had accidentally crushed and killed a frog, and the red ooze was his blood.  Yucchhhhhh!  There went a full roll of paper towels cleaning up the frogicide.  From then on, the door stayed closed when were outside.  (No, no pictures of the untimely death of a poor innocent frog.)

SATURDAY

Low Key Day

It was rainy when we got up, so we spent the morning at the Tourist Office catching up on email and Google news. Then we drove to Roscoff, a pleasant seaport that is the terminus for ferries from Plymouth, UK and from Ireland.  We had a pleasant lunch on a restaurant terrace (the sun was out now) of  croque monsieurs (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) with frites and salad.  Beer for me, wine for Elaine.

Then we spent some time in Roscoff’s Jardin Exotique (exotic garden)which features plants and flowers from all over the world.  In the first part of the garden, it was like we had been transported back to Arizona.  Then we drove home.  Time for an infrequent nap for me before cocktail hour.  Dinner was simple and at home:  cheese, sausage, wine, and a fresh loaf of bread from our boulangerie.  We trying different kinds of bread, and they are all wonderful.  It was thundering and raining again, se we partook the meal in the sun room.

SUNDAY

Horse Racing

There was a race day scheduled in Morlaix today.  We went for the 2:30 post time.  This is a VERY small track.  Eight races.  Four flat horse races on the grass and four harness races, also on the grass.  In many years of going to races, this is the first time I have seen harness racing on grass.

There is a program listing the entries (including jockey, trainer, and sire and dam) that shows how the horses have finished in prior races.  That’s the sum total of the information available.  No racing form of any type.  No tip sheets. No jockey or trainer stats.  OK then, I’ll use observations of the horses in the paddock and sire information to make my picks.  First race on the flat – loser.  Second race was a harness race – my nag finished last.  Third race on the flat.  I decided to bet on the jockey who won the first race.  He won again at 6-1.  Celebratory pression (draft beer).  Elaine was not drinking in fear of having to use the primitive toilettes.  Another harness race, another loser.  Then I bet a horse sired by Dynaformer.  He broke on top and led every step of the 2,600 meters at a generous 9-1.  Another celebratory pression.  Harness race next.  I thought the driver of the #14 horse looked professional, so I bet him.  He won at 6-1.  Une pression, s’il vous plait, and Elaine joined me in une verre de vin rouge.  We lost the next and left before the final race.  Wonderful day!  I made 130 euros, and we both had fun.

We had dinner at the little creperie right in our town, Plouezoc’h.  We were the only ones in the restaurant.  It was fine but not memorable.

Later!

THURSDAY

Parish Closes

Brittany is famous for its Enclos Paroissiaux (Parish Closes).  These are architectural monuments dating from the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  The typical close includes a triumphal arch to mark the transition from the secular to the sacred world, an ossuary where bones of deal parishioners are displayed. And a calvary decorated with vividly sculpted figures representing various stages of Christ’s Passion.  The church interiors are colorful with brightly painted statues and altarpieces.  Each community, some very small, tried to outdo the others with the splendor and artistic invention of its close. [end of religion lesson]

We visited four Enclos Paroissiaux today:

1) St-Thegonnec

2) Guimiliau

3) Lampaul-Guimiliau

 

4) La Roche Maurice

Then it was on to the shore again for a picnic in a nice spot by Aber Wrac’h harbor.  There were high clouds but the sun shone through.  It was pleasant weather, and our bread from our local boulangerie and the cheese we had bought at the Plougasnou market on Monday made a nice lunch.  The cheese was smelly, but even Elaine enjoyed it greatly.  Would that we remembered what it was called.  We will revisit the cheese monger at Plougasnou market next Monday and buy some more good stuff.

Then we drove merely two kilometers down the road to view the sand dunes at Presqu’Ile de Ste Marguerite, and the fog became so thick you could hardly see the ocean even fifty meters away. And so we headed home with a brief stop for some supper stuff.  Once home, I headed out for the Plougasnou Tourist Office to post yesterday’s blog entry.

Home again after internet duty, it was for gimlets for me, wine for Elaine, and eventually home cooked chicken breast fillets with peppers and onions and a salad.  Of course, we had stopped at our local boulangerie for a loaf of bread, this time a boule de paysan (a wheat round) and two delicious looking tartes aux framboises (raspberry).

FRIDAY

A Boat Trip

In the Bay of Morlaix there is an old fortress visible from several of the overlooks that we have stopped at near our house.  On some days there are boat trips to visit the fortress, the Chåteau du Taureau, from Plougasnou.  Alas, today was not one of those days and the last trips for the season are this weekend with the only from Plougasnou being on Sunday.  Sunday is reserved for other things.

But all was not lost.  My friend at the Tourist Office in Plougasnou said there were trips today from Carantec, across the Bay from Plougasnou.  That’s only a few kilometers as the crow flies, but going by car involves going back into Morlaix and up the other side of the Bay.  We just had time to do it, and the TO lady booked the tour for us.  We arrived in plenty of time at KerlannBeach in Carantec and had time to spare to watch some young kids learning to sail and some intrepid woman going for a swim.  The swimming is not that surprising, actually, as the weather has been much warmer than we expected.  Temperatures have been in to 70’s and nearly 80 some days when the sun is out.  Very comfortable beach weather.

The Chåteau du Taureau is built on an island named Taureau (the bull).  It was built as a fortress to protect Morlaix from raids by the British back in the 16^th century.  It was designed by Marquis de Vauban, and the fortress used every available inch of the small island.  It worked very well as protection as invading ships headed for Morlaix had to pass close by.  Cannon fire could be directed into the hull of ships from the lower batteries of the fortress while fire could be projected from the upper sections into the masts and sails of the frigates.

The Château also became a prison for misbehaving royals and rich whose family wanted them interned.  There were twelve cells, and prisoners were only interned when the family requested it of the king..  The family was required to pay an annual stipend that was used to feed and take care of the prisoners during their internment.  If the family didn’t pay, then that prisoner was released.

It was eventually decommissioned and in 1917 the Château was named a national monument.  Oddly, it was then leased to Mélanie de Vilmorin in 1930, and she made it her principal residence for quite a number of years.  From 1960 until 1980 it served as the headquarters of the sailing school of the Bay or Morlaix Boating association.  After that restoration work began to make it the tourist attraction it is today.

It’s a pleasant 15 minute boat ride to the Château.  You then have an hour to walk around and read the bilingual interpretive signs and view the orientations tables.  All very well done.  Then it’s back on the boat to return to the beach, passing an interesting inhabited island (one house with a lighthouse) on the way.

There are several restaurants right at the beach.  We picked one and each had a bowl of fish soup.  Then we shared a raw seafood plate, washing it all down with nice chilled white wine.  We never get white wine, but the waitress brought it by mistake.  We kept it and enjoyed it.  Picture of the fish soup (with croutons, aioli, and Parmesan) is below, but I forgot to snap the fish plate of scallops, shrimp, clams, and three different seafood spreads on toast.  Yummy.

We then visited two churches (yup, more religion) in St-Pol-de-Leon: the Kreisker Chapel, noted for its fine belfry, and the Cathedral.  After that we filled the car up with gazole (diesel) and headed for home.

The plan for dinner was to eat at the Hotel de France in Plousganou, but when I called to make a reservation, there was no room at the inn.  So on the way home we stopped at a fairly nondescript place, Cafe du Port, just a few kilometers from our house, and booked a table for 7:00 pm.  After a rest and a drink, we went back to the restaurant and had dinner on the terrace on a beautiful night.  We started with Kir Petillant cocktails:  sparkling wine from Saumer with raspberry liquor.  Elaine had a goat cheese salad for an appetizer while I enjoyed nine local oysters.  We both had the special for our main course – a beautifully prepared cod with an assortment of fresh vegetables.  This place, unassuming as it looked, may warrant a return visit next week.

Sunday will be a day at the horse races in Morlaix . On the way home from tonight’s meal, we stopped at the creperie/restaurant right in our town and booked a table for Sunday night.  This place is close enough that we can walk to dinner.

Next time, a retrospective on the ins and outs of renting a house on the internet.  See you then.

I am back at the Tourist Office in Plougasnou (10 minute drive) for another two-day blog update.  All is well. 

All you really need to know to survive in France is “bonjour”, “merci”, “d’accord”, and “un baguette, s’il vous plait”.

Tuesday

More of the Cote de Garnit Rose

Tuesday broke beautiful and I was up at 5:00 am to write that long post for the the blog.  It doesn’t really get light here until almost 8:00 am.  Then I went out to get un grand siècle, our baguette for today’s picnic lunch.  I also picked up six macarons (macaroons) —  three citron (lemon) and three fraise (strawberry).  Can’t wait for lunch!

And we headed out early back to la Cote de la Granit Rose.  First stop was in Plousganou (where I now use the internet at the Tourist Office).  We hadn’t planned to stop there, but it was market day.  Market day in France is sensory overload for foodies.  You want to buy everything!  We bought some cheese.

Then it was off to nearby St Jean du Doigt, home to a parish close (more about them in a couple of days).  St Jean du Doigt is St John of the Finger.  The first joint of St John the Baptist’s finger is actually here in the church treasury (which wasn’t open – now I’ll never see his finger).

Then we drove along the coast, stopping at overlooks and beaches along the way.  For lunch we picnicked at St-Michel-en-Greve overlooking the sea:  our great bread, terrines left over from last night’s dinner, cheese, and some of those macarons (en français) which turned out to be indescribably melt-in-your-mouth good.  France is all about food.

We visited a small local Aquarium in a semi-cave that was inhabited by troglodytes in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  It’ is hardly a world class aquarium, but it was fun and worth doing.  After that we headed home.  On the way we stopped to buy water, diet coke, and some vegetables for tonight’s home-cooked omelet dinner.

Some Random Pictures from the Day

Wednesday

A Day in Brest

Brest is the largest city in Brittany (I think), about an hour due west on an autoroute (speed limit 110 km/hr).  The original plan was to drive beyond Brest and then work our way back to Plouezoc’h along the slow coast road.  But it was cloudy and foggy, so we changed plans and decided to visit Océanopolis, what is reputed to be the best ocean center / aquarium in Europe.

We were at Océanopolis at 9:50, ten minutes before opening, and we had the place pretty much to ourselves.  There are three major viewing areas: polar, tropique, and temperate as well as a new European otter exhibit.

The otter exhibit has two viewing areas:  one has nothing to do otters but has two California sea lions; the other has two European otters.  They have a deep salt water pool, some shallow fresh water pools, and a plant/rock covered land area.  Interestingly, after swimming in salt water, they have to rinse off in fresh water to get the salt out of their fur to keep it protective and warm on dry land.  On land they are very elusive and like to keep hidden.  We caught a glimpse of them scurrying from one side of the land enclosure to another to hide and go to sleep under some vegetation.

The polar exhibit is brilliant.  There is a great Panoramic film of animals of the north and south poles starring the penguins.  The penguin enclosure itself is huge, and the inhabitants seem happy and content.  There is another huge tank for real arctic ice seals.  All the enclosures have both above water and under water viewing areas.  And there are king crabs and anemones from the polar regions.  It is all very well done. Below are some shots:

The tropic exhibit features a glass elevator in which you watch tropical fish and sharks as it descends from top to bottom.  There are endless tanks of all different kinds of fish.  There is a mangrove and a tropical reef.

We spent less time in the temperate zone which has jellyfish, seals of Brittany, a kelp forest, a deep fish viewing area, and burrowing Norwegian lobsters.  Who knew they burrowed?

Océanopolis lived up to its hype, and we greatly enjoyed three full hours there.  Even the gist shop was enjoyable, and Elaine bought a scarf.  Now I have to get a Breton scarf for me!  By the time we left the weather had cleared a bit and the sun was shining through, but it was still very hazy.  Rather than head for the shore, we had a picnic lunch (sandwiches and decadent dark chocolate & orange Breton biscuits sitting on a bench overlooking the harbor just at the Musée National de la Marine de Brest.

After lunch the command decision was to investigate the Maritime Museum rather than do a lot of driving along a hazy coast.  Good decision!  The museum is exceedingly well done, and the auto-guide headsets provided interesting information about Brest’s maritime heritage.  The museum itself is located in an old fortress, part of which is still a French military installation, that is enjoyable in its own right.  The ship models were brilliant.  I bought a French Navy hat in the small gift shop.

By the time we got out of the Maritime Museum, it was 4:00 pm, and it was raining lightly.  We hopped back on the autoroute and hightailed it back to Manoir de Keristin.  Time for a little rest and a little wine, and then we were off to dinner in Plougasnou (15 minutes away) at Restaurant Les Chaises.  We discovered it yesterday when we were in town on market day.  I had successfully called and made reservations while on the road yesterday – so nice to have a working phone!

Dinner was great (pictures tell it all further below):

Elaine:

Starter:  Smoked Salmon with Breton Chutney

Main:  Cassolette of Scallop and Shrimp

Desert:  Two Scoops of Sorbet (Passion Fruit and Lemon) with a Breton Biscuit

Joe:

Starter:  Nine Oysters on the Half Shell

Main:  Cassolette of Scallop and Shrimp

Desert:  Mi Cuit de Chocolat Maison (delicious hot chocolate mousse with vanilla bean ice cream)

 

Sorry for the long delay in posting, but we have not had internet access in days.  So here is a LONG post about what’s happened in the interim.  From now on I will be using public wi-fi at the Tourist information Office, so I will post every other day instead of every day.  The posts will include only limited links to places as it takes too much time to do them all.  Use Google!  And all photos will not have captions to save me some time.

Remember to click on photos to enlarge them and see detail better!

FRIDAY:

A Day to Forget (Mostly)

Breakfast was fine (as usual), and then I shagged the car from the car park to load it up outside La Maison Pavie.  No problem.  Next we needed to get gas before we headed for our next stop.  That’s where the trouble began.

In the UK diesel pumps at the petrol station are labeled in green.  Unthinkingly and without looking closely, I unwittingly filled the car up from the green labeled pump in Dinan.  WRONG MOVE, JOE!!!  In France the diesel pumps (gazole) are black and the unleaded pumps (essence sans plomb) are green.  Once filled up, I drove off and almost immediately the car started running very rough.

Elaine insisted, quite rightly, that we turn around and go back into Dinan where she had noticed on arrival that there was a Renault dealer.  Why she noticed it will never be known, but it certainly helped to know it was there.  We made it back, barely, and in I went to explain the problem to the English speaking staff.  WRONG AGAIN, JOE!  French only!  I persevered and made the problem known after a big “excusez moi de vous deranger, monsieur, mais j;ai une grande probleme.”  I still didn’t realize I had bought the wrong gas.  At this point the car wouldn’t even start up again.

They towed it into the service bay and after 15 minutes informed me that unleaded gas won’t run a diesel engine.  D’oh.  Within 45 minutes they had pumped out the tank and gave me 10 liters of diesel.  Since my contract with Renault is full coverage for everything, all I had to pay for the 10 liters of gas.  They even washed the car “gratuit”, and off we went to re-fill the tank – with gazole this time.  (I used a different gas station so the attendant wouldn’t know that I was the idiot that I am.)

Then it was on to our intermediate stop, the town of Josselin.  It’s a beautiful city with a high castle located on the Nantes-Brest canal.  It was now 1:00 pm, about three hours later than we had hoped to get here. It was time to search out a spot for lunch.  Brittany is famous for crepes, so we picked the La Marine Creperie where we both had gallettes, buckwheat crepes..  Elaine’s version had blue cheese, pears, walnuts, and salad.  Mine had Camembert cheese, honey, and salad.  Un pichet (25 cl) du vin rouge for Elaine and a 50 cl beer for me.  All very, very good.

Then we walked around the town, taking lots of pictures of the castle, the canal, the quaint streets, and the Notre Dame church.  Castle visits were by guided tour only, in French, an hour long, and the next one wasn’t for a half hour.  Since we were running late, we skipped that.  Josselin would have been a great place for our overnight stop.

Anyway, back to the car and we were off Rochefort-en-Terre, thirty minutes away.  This is a very small town and we found Hotel Le Pelican quickly.  I illegally parked in an alley to register.  NOT SO FAST!!  The hotel seemed totally closed.  Elaine made me move the car to a legal parking lot, and we walked to the tourist office.  The nice lady there called the hotel and then told us it would be open again at 5:00.  OK.  So we did a walkabout of the beautiful little town of Rochefort-en-Terre, accurately noted as a city of flowers.

Back at the Hotel Le Pelican, the exceedingly nice woman at reception said they had no record of our reservation.  OH NO, ANOTHER DISASTER?  No worries, they had a room.  It seemed a pretty basic affair, but “d’accord”, it would do.  So went to the car, got our bags, and returned with my reservation confirmation in hand.  She apologized and said these glitches happened often.  (C’est normale)  She noted from the reservation that I had reserved a nicer room and that too was free, so we moved from room 2 to room 1.  It was significantly better.  And we reserved a table in the restaurant for sept heures et demi (7:30).

Now I had to use my cell phone with an international multi-country sim card to call the contact for our rental house to confirm my arrival time tomorrow.  The cell phone worked flawlessly in the UK.  Not so much in France.  I would dial and the phone would reboot.  Occasionally I would get through and the phone then almost immediately dropped the call.  BAH, WILL ANYTHING GO RIGHT TODAY??  So I wandered out looking for a pay phone.  With the advent of mobile phones, pay phones have almost disappeared in France and this small town had none.  I went into a small restaurant and talked to the guy in charge.  “Excusez moi de vous deranger, monsieur, mais j’ai un petite probleme.”  He let me use his cell phone, and I made the call.  All is arranged finally!

Given the day’s trials and tribulations, we had low expectations for dinner.  Those were unfounded, and dinner was grand in the beautiful hotel dining room.

Elaine:  Terrine de Campagne as a starter.  Medallions of Pork with vegetables as a main course.  Deux boules (two scoops) of sorbet, one strawberry and one prune, with fruit as desert.  High marks for all from Elaine.

Joe:  Nine oysters on the half shell for a starter.  Two lamb sausages, each differently prepared, with fresh vegetables for my main.  And a chocolate and caramel desert.  All wonderful.

Off to bed and a stress filled but ultimately enjoyable day was complete.

SATURDAY

Arrival at Our Manor House

We started with breakfast at Hotel Le Pelican and then loaded up the car for a leisurely journey to Plouezoc’h with some stops planned along the way before our 4:00 pm appointment to take possession of Manoir de Keristin.

First stop was at Carnac to see the Carnac Stones.  Earlier on the trip we saw Stonehenge where the stones are enormous but relatively few in number.  Here the stones are smaller but run on for what seems like a mile or more in long parallel rows in almost perfect alignment.  It is really quite amazing.

Onward toward Plouezoc’h, and we arrived there at about 2:00 pm, too early to meet our contact for the house.  So drove to the coast at Terenez, walked about, took pictures, and killed some time.  It was beautiful there, but it was cloudy and the coast always looks better in the sun.  Then it was time to find our house.

Plouezoc’h is very small.  It has a drug store, a bakery, a small restaurant, and a convenience store.  And our house is down a long dead end road bordered on both sides by corn fields.  (There is corn everywhere in Brittany as well as lots of other crops.)  The directions to find the house were spot on and we pulled in at 3:50 pm.  Shortly thereafter Emmanuelle, the agent for our hosts, Heleny and Phillippe, arrived.  She showed us the house, gave us the key, and she was off.

It’s a big house:  Nicely fitted kitchen, very large family room/dining room, three bathrooms, a glass sun room, a small laundry room (with washer, dryer, and dish washer), and four bedrooms.  But the best thing of all is the huge backyard with an outdoor dining table.

Then we drove to Morlaix, the nearest big town, about 15 minutes away to visit the Intermarché to stock up on necessities.  Amongst other stuff we bougt some chicken breasts and vegetables for tonight’s dinner and wine.  Oh, and very importantly, some ice cube trays to make ice for use with my still unopened vodka from the ferry.  Oh, and we stopped at the little boulangerie in Plouezoc’h (which is fantastic!) and bought un grand siècle (a wheat baguette) and some tartes au citron (lemon tarts).

The bread was to die for.  Dinner and wine and tarts were fine, and we were off to bed after another long day.

SUNDAY

Glorious Weather and Exploration of the Immediate Area

We started the day by driving just up the road a few minutes to a national historic sight, the Barnanez Cairn, an ancient burial site.  The weather was beautiful and sunny, and we met some Americans who we chatted up for awhile.  We have seen very few Americans on this trip save for one morning in Dinan when all the people at breakfast where from the USA.

Then we drove back to Tenerez and enjoyed the coast and the harbor in dazzling sunshine.  The temperature today reached the upper seventies, and I could have, but didn’t, wear my one pair of shorts.  We had a delightful lunch at a restaurant at Tenerez:  gallettes with salmon for Elaine and a delicious cassoulette de le mer (scallops, clams, calamari, mussels, and fished all baked in a wonderful sauce) for me.

Driving on up our little peninsula on the Bay of Morlaix, we discovered the town of Plougasnou and the stunning Pointe de Primel.  We will be back here again soon on another good day for a picnic.

Home again, home again.  I changed into my shorts, and we relaxed in the back yard.  We had ice now, and I had makeshift vodka gimlets.  First vodka since we left Las Vegas!)  No Rose’s lime juice in France, so I had bought two varieties of lime (citron verte) mixers to try.  The first one I tried works just fine.  Dinner was ham & cheese sandwiches made with another delicious grand siècle loaf of bread and a home made salad.  We have beautiful flowers on the outdoor dining table and in the house, all picked from the back yard.

MONDAY

A Drive and a New Phone

Today our goal was the Côte de Granit Rose.  It was another beautiful morning and we drove inland on the autoroute to the furthest point we wanted to see at Paimpol.  But along the way we stopped in Guingamp, a large town to visit a huge Intermarché.  We needed more wine, and I was hopeful I could buy a French sim card for my phone to make it usable again.  They didn’t have one, but Elaine noticed an electronic store nearby.  It was small with only one attendant (who naturally spoke no English).  My French is getting a workout on this trip, but I’ve been doing pretty well at it.  I got an Orange (France’s Verizon) sim card and inserted it in my phone.  Nothing.  The phone has essentially become a brick.  So I bought a new (pay as you go) phone, the Orange sim card, and 60 minutes of air time.  Voila, I now have a working phone.  I also enquired about a mobile hot spot for my computer for internet access, but either we weren’t understanding each other or they didn’t have one.

We stopped for a nice moules-frites (mussels and fries) lunch in Paimpol by the port.  The weather had turned cloudy and foggy, and the coast was dreary and chilly.  We stopped at Pointe de l’Arcouest to look around.  You can take a short ten minute ferry ride from here to the small Ile de Bréhat.  Given the weather we declined, but judging from the parking lot, it’s a popular destination.  Maybe we will be back.

We drove on to Plougrescant to view the little church with steeple balanced at a weird angle.  The church is under heavy restoration (i.e., the ever-present scaffolding that seems to be on every historic site these days), but you can get a good picture of the steeple sans scaffolding.

The weather had cleared and we made another stop at Pors-Hir to see a picturesque little house between two boulders (overrated) and a nice beach.  The next thing to do would have been a circuit of the Corniche Bretonne, but it was getting late, so we decided to save that for tomorrow (or another day) and headed home.

The brilliant boulangerie in town is closed on Monday, but the convenience store was open.  They have a very nice deli-like counter, so we bought two kinds of terrine (terrine forestiere and terrine canard), a loaf of very good bread, and some fruit.  Home for gimlets, wine, and a terrine & fruit salad dinner.  La vie est magnifique.

Yesterday’s post was late again, so you may want to scroll down and view.  Back on schedule today.

As always, click on any photos for larger views

As usual, our B&B breakfast was wonderful.  Just the breads would make it grand.  At 9:30 we ventured out into Dinan.  Since the Saint Sauveur Basilica is almost next door and it had just opened, we wandered it.  An eclectic combination of Gothic and Romanesque architecture (yes, I read the guide), we especially admired the beautiful stained glass windows.

Next we descended down a long road to Dinan’s harbor on the River Rance.  There is a short (one hour) boat tour on the river, so we took it.  While we were on the boat, the skies cleared to beautiful blue.  The trip only goes a few kilometers, through a lock, and turns around at the St-Magloire Priory built in the 12^th century.

On returning to the port we did two food things.  First I made reservations for dinner tonight at the L’Atelier Gourmand.  Second, we decided to have lunch outdoors on the river at the Café Terrasses.  Food-wise it was fine, but weather-wise the blue skies disappeared under thick clouds again.  No rain though, and the food was good.  I had fish soup followed by a delicious salmon in saffron sauce, all accompanied by a large Meteor beer.  Elaine had a Breton pate and wine.

Then we climbed back up a different steep hill, and on reaching the top we did a partial circumnavigation of Dinan, sometimes on top of the ramparts, sometimes beside.  En route we visited the St Malo church to see more beautiful stained glass.  Then finally after meandering the narrow streets of the town, we reached the central square again where we stopped for some much needed rest and beer at a sidewalk pub.  Then it was nap time. (Amazingly it was my first nap of the trip.)

Due to the steep hills down to the port, we decided to drive down to dinner.  Going down would have no problem walking, but the climb back up when all you want is your bed would have be tortuous.  L’Atelier Gourmand is noted for its moules (mussels), so there was no question what our main courses would be.  Pictures tell the story:

Appetizers

Mains

Elaine had Tarte Tatin for desert while I opted for just two scoops of delicious raspberry ice cream.

Yesterday’s post was late and pictures were added even later, so you might want to scroll down and view/review it.

Cloudy and rainy when we got up at 6:30 today.  We had to leave the Eulah House before 8:30 breakfast time, so they left breakfast in our room:  fruit, cereal, milk, yoghurt, bread, etc.  We showered, gobbled, and loaded the car to return to the St Helier Ferry Port for our 9:00 sailing for St Malo.  It was mostly a smoother crossing, but when I went to the Men’s Room, there were two Brits retching their brains out.

I bought two liter bottles of Smirnoff’s Lime Vodka (the only vodka brand they had) in the ferry duty free shop – two liters for ₤24 (do your own conversion).  That’s for use when we get to our house in four days time.  We disembarked at St Malo on time.  Immigration was a breeze.  Still overcast with the odd streak of blue, so we decided to do a drive.

Drove immediately to Cap Frehel and walked around.  It wasn’t raining and there were patches of blue sky, but it felt like a force ten gale blowing.  Fantastic views!  No sooner had we finished walking around the cape and a squall hit.  Had we still be out, we would have been drenched.

Next we drove to St Cast le Guildo, a pleasant little town.  First stop was at an Intermarché, our supermarket chain of choice, to buy some tissues, some wine, some paper towels, and some lunch.  Picked up a baguette, some cheese, and some apples.  Then we drove to the beach at St Cast for lunch on a bench.  (Hint: French bread is grand unless you buy it at a Supermarket – only boulangeries after today!)  It was a bit windy, but the sun was out and lunch was good despite the mediocre bad bread.  Next we drove to Point St Cast for more glorious views under mostly sunny skies.  Then it was on to another beach for a walk on the sands.

It was time then to head to Dinan, our home for tonight and tomorrow night.  We found Dinan easily enough; not so our B&B, La Mainson Pavie, which is located in the center where the streets are narrow and cobble stoned.  We finally just parked in the underground parking lot in town and set search on foot.  It was a short walk from the garage and we had driven right by it and its illegible sign. Owner Camille showed us to our digs, a beautiful room overlooking the Cathedral from one end and a nice outdoor patio from the other.  Our car was down the road, and the room is up two treacherous flights of narrow stairs, so we fetched only small bags from the car.  It turns out La Maison Pavie is the birthplace of Auguste Pavie, a French explorer of, among other places, Indochina.

Dinner tonight was at the B&B, prepared by Camille’s husband, Jerome.  First off, plenty of delicious French bread!  We started with a salad of freshly picked spinach with chicken and Parmesan cheese.  Then the main was wonderful salmon en papillote in a delectable sauce. That was followed by a cheese platter: a goat cheese, a hard cheese, and a deliciously ripe Camembert.  Finally, tarte tartin with ice cream.  Of course it was all accompanied by a nice French red wine.  Dining with us were Michael and Brian, a married couple from Sonoma, CA, and we had good conversation.

Today broke cloudy and rainy and it stayed that way all day.  So far this trip has been good day, bad day, but no one is complaining.  After a huge breakfast (including delicious Jersey blue cheese), we got in the car and headed for the Jersey War Tunnels.  The Isle of Jersey seems to be defined by the German occupation during WWII.  The Jersey Tunnels were built by the Germans first as a command center but then to serve as a military hospital.  After the Germans left the islanders converted it to a tourist attraction depicting the history of the occupation.  It’s quite extensive and worth visiting.  We spent almost two hours exploring.

Then we drove to a church, St. Matthews, to see the windows and altar pieces all designed by Rene Lalique.  Quite impressive.

Next we headed for Liberation Square commemorating liberation from the Germans.  We had lunch the Sea Fish Cafe and then crossed the road to visit the Jersey Maritime Museum.  The highlight of this museum has nothing to do with maritime affairs but rather features the Jersey Occupation Tapestry.  This tapestry of twelve panels was created by the people of Jersey to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the liberation from German occupation.

 

Then there was time for a beer at the Office Pub before heading back to our room’s viewing wonderland for some wine.  A rest and a shower and we were off to dinner at Seven Angels Restaurant.

Starters:  Mushroom with Melted Goat Cheese Salad for Elaine and Pate for me.

Mains:  Roasted Lamb Shank for me; Chicken Breast stuffed with Spinach and Goat Cheese wrapped in Parma Ham accompnaied by the best Scalloped Potatoes ever for Elaine.

Desert:  A shared (mostly by me) Creme Brulee.

Wine:  A Chilean Pinot Noir.

Home to bed.  Back tomorrow.

We skipped breakfast at Premier Inns (as it was not included in the rate) deciding rather to have something to eat on the Condor Ferry.  The drive to the ferry terminal only took ten minutes despite one major wrong turn.  We queued up and were quickly waved on board as I had pre-booked and prepaid.  We parked on the upper car deck and went to our comfortable club class seats.  The attendant brought us some tea, and shortly after embarking I had a quite good baguette with bacon and cheese while Elaine had a buttered tea cake.

It was sunny and cool outside but the previous day’s wind and rain were still causing some rough seas.  No problem for these two intrepid travelers who have survived a force ten gale on the Princess Grand between Oslo and Southampton on a previous ocean adventure.  But there were lots of sick people.

The ferry first stopped at the Isle of Guernsey, a journey of three hours and fifteen minutes.  We remained on board while passengers and cars disembarked and more were loaded on.  Then it was up anchor and off to St. Helier, the largest city on the Isle of Jersey.  These Channel Islands are part of the United Kingdom but geographically Jersey is much closer to France than England.

Jersey and Guernsey were the only part of the UK that Hitler managed to conquer, occupying the islands for several years.  In fact, Hitler had all residents who could not prove they were born on the islands sent to concentration camps in Germany.  Remarkably, many survived and eventually returned home.  Alas, quite a few did not.

On driving off the ferry we had hours to kill before we checked in at our B&B.  It was lunch time, so we drove up the coast a bit and stopped at St Aubin’s Bay.  There we found a little snack shop on the harbor.  I enjoyed a delicious lamb burger and Elaine had a very good bowl of soup.  It was so good we might return for lunch again tomorrow.

Jersey is heavily fortified with bunkers and forts, and just off the mainland from our lunch spot is St Aubin’s Fort.  You can walk to it at low tide (it wasn’t), but it isn’t open to visitors anyway.

We continued up the coast and stopped again at the lighthouse at St Corbiere.  With the view many pictures were in order here.

Moving on we stopped again at a old bunker that houses the Channel Islands Military Museum.  Military museums can be large and boring.  This one is small and rather remarkable, a hidden gem that should not be missed.  It tells the entire history of the German occupation of Jersey during WWII.  The collection is detailed and complete, and the stories they relate with the exhibits are remarkable.  As we were leaving the one attendant and ticket collector was chatting with another gentleman.  It turns out he was a resident during the occupation when he was just a young boy, and he had no good words to say about the Germans.

Now it was 4:00, so we searched out our well hidden B&B, Eulah Country House.  Our splurge accommodation of the trip, our room is rather large and amazing.  Located up the hill from the sea, it commands a wonderful view of the ocean and the town.  We opened a bottle of wine and sipped it enjoying the panorama.

For dinner we called Aromas Restaurant and luckily, it turns out, got a reservation.  It’s a small place and rather wonderful.  And it was full to the brim.  This was the best meal of the trip to date:  Kudos to the chef from Belfast who we had a chance to cat with as we left.

Starters

Elaine:  Prawn and Avocado Salad

Joe:  Smoked Pepper Mackerel with Horseradish Sauce

Mains:

Elaine:  Steamed Mussels in a delicious Red Chili, Tomato, and Cream Broth.

Joe:  Grilled Sea Bass with Shrimp – the best sea bass I have ever had.

Desert:

Elaine:  Pear and Almond Tart with Vanilla Ice Ceam

Joe:  Deluxe Jersey Vanilla Ice Cream (yummy!) and a glass of Tawny Port.

See you tomorrow.

Short post for Sunday.  Breakfast and check our of Venton Vean (which is Little Spring in Cornish).  Then about a five hour drive to Poole.

We decided to stop at Clouds Hill, T. E. Lawrence’s (Laurence of Arabia) little getaway, supposedly near the small town of Wareham.  No signs as we approached Wareham, a cute town in its own right.  It was lunch time so we had beers and panninis in the Red Lion Inn in town.

The bar tender told us Clouds Hill was five miles down the road in Bovington, near the UK Army Tank Museum.  Proceeded there and found no signs for Clouds Hill.  We did find the tank museum and drove around the area and, totally by chance, saw a sign for Clouds Hill car park.  That was the lone sign!  Shame on the National Trust.

Laurence of Arabia’s little getaway is tiny but superbly interesting.  We toured the house and read all about his time there.

Then on to hotel in Poole just 10 miles away.  Alas, road closure, making it almost impossible to find the hotel, the Premier Inn Holes Bay (sort of a Days Inn chain).  But we did.  Bitchy receptionist.  But the room is OK and the ferry terminal is just 1.7 miles away.  We have to be at the ferry by 7 AM for our four to five hour boat trip to the Isle of Jersey.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant.  No reservations, but an elderly British couple adopted us and invited us to eat with them.  Average food but great conversation.  He was born in Egypt and she once stood for Parliament as a Social Democrat.

Off to bed for an early rise and the ferry to Jersey.

See you tomorrow.

After yet another wonderful breakfast at Venton Vean, we headed out for a driving day of sightseeing.  As a reward for sitting in the rain yesterday, the travels gods gave us a glorious sunny day for our final day in Penzance.

We headed immediately north about 20 miles to the town of St. Ives.  This is a good place to arrive early as the parking lots fill up fast.  We secured a spot and walked a short distance to the Tate St. Ives, a modern art museum gloriously located right on the beach.  It’s small and manageable to do the entire place in an hour or so.

Then we walked to the bluffs overlooking the beach, a beautiful sight in the bright sunshine.

Another short walk took us to the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Museum and Garden.  This too is small and intimate and very enjoyable.

By now it was just after noon and after gassing up we drove to the Lizard Peninsula, a pleasant 45 minutes away.  The National Trust runs all the overlooks and scenic vistas here.  No admission charge but there is a parking charge for non-members.  Again, joining before we left home saved us the parking charges.  First stop was at Kynance Cove.  Ten minutes walk from the parking lot and you arrive at this glorious cove with a small beach, all a feat for the eyes.  They have a café and we enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the award winning beach.

Our final stop of the day was still on the Lizard Peninsula at Lizard Point, another feats for the eyes, especially under the beautiful blue skies we were enjoying.

Then it was home to our B&B to rest up for dinner.  Elaine ventured out for a walk to Penzance’s Jubilee Pool, recently renovated and reopened.

Dinner was at the Penzance’s #1 rated place on TripAdvisor, Mackeral Sky. It was good but not great.  I started with a nibble of white anchovies – very nice and not as salty as the anchovies I am used to.  Elaine’s starter was salt and pepper squid while I had the special scallops in a Shopshire blue cheese mornay.  My main was a whole plaice with a crab leg. Elaine had linguine with Newley crab.  We shared an apple and raspberry crumble with clotted cream for desert.  Time for bed!

Whole Plaice with Crab Leg