The blog is now officially closed until our next trip or other significant reason to post.

The last night in London at the airport was boring except for the fact that we got to watch the debut first episode of the new Downton Abbey season!  It debuts in the UK long before it does in the US.

Arriving early at Gatwick Airport for the flight, we had a breakfast at the airport McDonalds!  Sausage McMuffin with Egg and Hash Browns tasted exactly like they do at home.  Duty free shopping was uninspiring, but Elaine picked up a few “Stay Calm and Carry On” dish towels.

The flight was uneventful although seemingly endless.  Once again Virgin Atlantic had the bags of premium economy passengers on the carousal first, a nice perk.  Customs clearance was a little slow as a plane from Panama was clearing at the same time we were.  Can’t trust those Panamanians, I guess.

Dinner was at Carrabba’s and the night at SpringHill Suites in Henderson.  We were up at dawn to get on the road and were home before noon.

Our last dinner at “home” in Plouezoc’h was simple and yet very French and very delicious, served on a sunny patio.

• A nice slice of duck terrine from the local market
• Camembert and Compte Cheese
• A delicious loaf of afternoon fresh bread from the boulangerie
• A bottle of wonderful of French wine
• Fresh Macarons for desert (four lemon; four passion fruit with chocolate)

Saturday

The Drive to Abbeville

Six hours on the road and we were in Abbeville after stopping for an eminently forgettable lunch of bad sandwiches and Lay’s potato chips at a French Autoroute rest stop.

Twenty odd years ago we stayed in Abbeville a few times en route from Paris to Calais to get the ferry/train back to London.  Abbeville was a drab town, chosen merely because it was about an hour from Calais and, therefore, a good stopping point.  The Hotel de France was an aging French hotel, a little dumpy inside and out, but it was the best in town and it had a good restaurant.

Well, both Abbeville and the Hotel de France have been transformed.  The main street in Abbeville is totally renovated and fully alive with shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars.  It was colorful and lively.  Mercure, a French chain, now runs the Hotel de France.  It is stunningly modern from top to bottom with rooms that any brand new Marriott would be proud of.  (Oh, the wi-fi didn’t work, but it’s France – C’est normale)

Dinner in the restaurant was very good.  We both started with a trio of macarons, each sliced and filled with smoked salmon in one, artichoke and celeriac mouse in another, and foie gras in the last.  The sweetness of the macarons perfectly complemented the fillings.  For my main I had a double order (to Elaine’s chagrin) of steak tartare with frites;  she had country chicken casserole seared in beer and served with potatoes and vegetables.  I had mi cuit chocolat for desert and Elaine enjoyed a final tarte tatin.

Sunday

The Ferry

We drove the hour from Abbeville to Calais in some dense fog, but it was clear by the time we reached the ferry terminal.  We had priority boarding on the P&O ferry and actually got on an earlier departure than our reservation.  The ride was smooth as we watched the white cliffs of Dover come closer and closer from the P&O club lounge.

Actually it was good that we caught the earlier ferry because the drive from Dover to Heathrow to turn in our car took longer than expected.  We dropped the car, and they then  dropped at the Heathrow terminal.  Oh, oh, no camera!  A quick call, and the nice man was back with the camera in hand.  At the terminal, we caught the National Express coach for the hour plus ride to Gatwick where our flight leaves from tomorrow.  We checked into a very nice Marriott Courtyard (using points).  We’ll have dinner there tonight.  The flight tomorrow is at 11;25 am.  We’ll overnight in Henderson, NV after we land and be home by noon on Tuesday.  I’ll check in with a post then.

I’m almost embarrassed to post Elaine’s trip postscript, but it’s a tradition, so here it is:

Elaine’s Postscript

As usual, Joe’s meticulous planning kept us busy for almost 5 full weeks.  We saw more of Brittany than most French people.  From big cathedrals to small gardens tucked away in some small town, there was little we missed.  Cornwall, Devon and the Isle of Jersey received the same attention to detail.  I sometimes say Joe is too anal about some things but when it comes to travel planning, he has no peer.  I also say that we do too much in a day but he says “we can always rest when we get home and we may never be here again” so we march on. 

Joe’s French was ever so good.  He dealt with the Renault service department with aplomb; he got directions for our hotel in Dinan when we were hopelessly lost; he explained to the pharmacist that I needed an antibiotic for an eye infection and he handled so many other things all the while ingratiating himself to the locals. 

There is no one I would rather have as a travel partner and no one I would rather share the road with.  Merci beaucoup, mon cher!

Answers to Some Comments and Questions:

No Oysters Tonight?  Actually, probably yes.  On evenings when we eat out, I normally get oysters for my appetizer (usually nine of them).  I did, in fact, have them when we were in Concarneau as that area is the production center for world famous Belon Oysters.  You can get Belon oysters in Maine, too.  They were exported to Maine from here and flourished there as well.

What’s the temperature average?  It was cool in the UK the whole time (upper 50’s and 60’s on most days).  In Brittany it has been surprisingly mild.  When the sun is out, which it has been for at least part of most and all of some days, the temperature easily gets into the 70’s.  It was close to 80 for several days, warm enough to go swimming (although we didn’t).  It cools off considerably during the night.

When does it get light in the morning and dark at night?  France is an hour ahead of the UK although Brittany is due south of England.  It barely gets light by 8:00 am in France, a disadvantage to early risers like us, so we have staying in bed until after 7:00 am most mornings.  The sun goes down at around 7:30 pm although light lingers on for some time after that.

Closings?  In Brittany in July and August many attractions are open all day every day.  Once September hits, the hours are reduced significantly with most things closing for two hours (minimum) at mid-day for lunch.  Some things only open in the morning or afternoon.  Some things only open certain days.  And when October hits, many things close down completely or stay open only one day a week.

Do they speak English?  In Brittany, basically, no.  They do at B&B’s and at restaurants located in very touristy areas, but otherwise very few people speak any English at all.  A lot do speak Breton which might help a little if I spoke Gaelic (I don’t) as the two Celtic languages are related.  All road signs here are in both French and Breton.  Anyway, my French has been pretty good this trip and has been tested in some trying circumstances (like when buying a new phone, when making phone reservations, in pharmacies, and at Renault dealers when recovering from using the wrong fuel).  I give full credit to my Harrap’s French in the Real World, a book I bought many years ago, to my brand new Larousse Dictionnaire (français-anglais; anglais-français), and to Miss Miche, my high school French teacher for three years.  Et une petite merci á Mianne pour l’assistance occasionalle pendant les années.

This will be the last serious post.  Tomorrow (Saturday) morning we leave for the six hour drive to Abbeville where we will stay at the Hotel de France.  We stayed there two or three times many years ago, one time with Bobby Messina.  It was an old hotel then, but now it has been taken over by Mercure Hotels and has been presumably updated considerably.  I’ll do a brief update from there about the drive from Plouezoc’h to Abbeville.  Sunday morning we drive an hour to Calais for our 10:45 ferry to Dover in the UK.  We gain an hour and arrive at 11:15.  Then we drive to Heathrow, turn in the car, and take the National Express coach to Gatwick.  At Gatwick we will stay overnight at the Marriott Courtyard (for free, using my Marriott points).  I’ll do another brief update then.  Monday morning we will be on the Virgin Atlantic plane for Phoenix.  Overnight Monday in Henderson, again using Marriott points at SpringHill Suites.  We’ll hit the road early on Tuesday and  be home around.

Wednesday Night Dinner

Our repeat dinner at Café du Port in Dourdoff, a tinier section of tiny Plouezoc’h was as good as the first time.  We had the same fish special as our first visit.  And the oysters, hatched locally, were delicious as well.  Elaine had fish soup as her appetizer.  The waiter/maitre d’ explained to me in French something about the oysters that I didn’t understand – With some English and some French, he communicated that the oysters were good but pregnant right now and therefore a little greasy.  Did I still want them?  D’accord, apportez les á moi!

Thursday

A Morning in Morlaix and Lunch by the Sea

As we got up and showered, it was raining steadily, and it looked like this time it might be an all day affair.  The big (although not terribly so) city nearest to Plouezoc’h is Morlaix, about a 12 minute drive away.  We hadn’t really spent any time in Morlaix, so with the rain we decided to visit their museum.  Our guidebook reported it was open from 10:00 to 12:00 and again from 2:00 to 5:00 during October.

First stop was at the little pharmacy here in town to seek out some eye ointment for Elaine.  The very nice lady behind the counter spoke no English.  “Bonjour, madame, mon français est trés limité.  Peut-etre avez-vous un médicament ou une pommade pour l’œil?”  She had a look at Elaine’s eye and came up with an ointment (pommade) for her.

It was still raining lightly as we found a parking place near the museum, but the sky was lightening up considerably.  Good thing!  Le Musée est fermé jusqu’à 26 Octobre.  Sorry, we’ll be gone by then.  So magically (again!), the rain stopped and the sun came out.  We spent a very pleasant 90 minutes or so walking around Morlaix which is really quite a pretty place.  It is dominated by the old aqueduct built in the 1880’s for the Paris to Brest rail line.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story of our walk which included many a staircase as we wended our way from the bottom of the town to the top.  Highlights included the aqueduct, the narrow streets and old buildings, Ste-Melanie’s Church, and the fountain at the Carmelite church.  The Carmelites were invited here in the 17^th century to help with an outbreak of the plague.  It must have helped as we didn’t encounter any plague problems.

As lunch time was approaching, we decided to return to the first place we had lunch in the area, a seaside café in Tenerez just outside Plouezoc’h.  I had inquired when we were first there, and the proprietor assured us he was open for lunch “tous les jours a midi sauf mardi”.  We got there at 12:30.  Fermé.  Humph.  In driving around we had spotted another restaurant called L’Abbesse, part of a small hotel named Au Temps des Voiles, that looked appealing and we headed for it.  It was open and we had a delightful lunch:  moules frites for Elaine and an exquisite bar (sea bass) for me.  We accompanied it with a demi litre du vin rouge de la maison.  And they also served us an amuse-bouche that was wonderful.

Then it was home far a nap before another return visit to a restaurant for tonight’s dinner – Les Chaises in Plougasnou.  We were greeted like old friends at the restaurant.  Elaine had crevettes (shrimp) as a starter while I noshed on delicious foie gras.  (Non, desolé, pas des huitres (oysters) ce soir.)  Elaine had a chicken main and I opted for duck breast.  Delectable.  For desert Elaine had deux boules de sorbet (citron et passion) while repeated my desert from the prior visit – mi cuit de chocolat maison.

FRIDAY

Last Full Day in Brittany

The stars were magnificent last night, and today looks like a good day, but anything can happen with the weather here, so we’ll see how the day progresses.  We decided to stay close to home today and explore a few spots that we have missed.  First we went to a historic village depicting life in a French town in the 1800’s.  Michelin assured me it was open every day in October from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.  Wrong,  Closed.

So we went on the Guerlesquin, a quaint old town with a historic prison and a famous chapel.  We knew they would be closed, but we saw them from the outside.  We also visited the town church.  It’s a very pretty town.

Then we drove to Plougonven to see it’s parish close.  Lo and behold, it was actually open.  It’s actually more impressive from the outside.  Here the good weather disappeared and the clouds rolled in again.

Lunchtime now, so we decided to go home, pick up sandwiches from our glorious little boulangerie, and eat at home.  Time to nap and start packing up.  Tonight we will eat at home as well, a simple meal of fresh bread, cheese, paté, and a fine bottle of wine.

Be back tomorrow night for a short post on the ride to Abbeville.

 

Monday Revisited

Monday, which I reported on in the last post, was such a picturesque day, here are some more photos:

TUESDAY

The Fishing Museum and a Drive Home

We awoke Tuesday morning in our hotel, had breakfast, and checked out.  We spent a little more time walking around Concarneau which really is a wonderful fishing port.  Then we visited the town’s highly regarded Musée du Pêche (FishingMuseum).  It sounds boring, but it wasn’t.  Some good exhibits and a chance to wander around on an old fishing boat tied up in the harbor next to the Museum.  They had some excellent movies showing different types of fishing that is done from Concarneau.  Besides being a historically important sardine fishing (and canning) port, it has now become a center for tuna fishing.

 Then we drove to nearby Pont-Aven, a small town noted as a resort where painters liked to congregate.  Gaughin headed the Pont-Aven School started in 1888.  We skipped the small museum and opted for lunch on the terrace of a restaurant right on the AvenRiver.  We sat under a sturdy canopy, a good choice since it started raining very hard while we were there.  Elaine Moules au Curry et Frites; I had Moules au Roquefort et Frites.

Then it was back to Plouezoc’h and Manoir de Keristin (La Maison des Araignées).  Before getting home we stopped at a supermarket to get some stuff a dinner at home and, of course, at the local boulangerie for a baguette and desert.  It rained for almost the whole drive home and the prospects for drinks on the patio seemed non-existent.  Again, the weather changed almost on cue, and it was a beautiful sunny late afternoon cocktail hour at our outdoor table.  Dinner was a simple grilled chicken salad with wine.  Then off to bed after killing the day’s quota of spiders (arigneées).

WEDNESDAY

Air Rescue Training at Pointe de St. Mathieu

It was a beautiful sunny morning and we decided to drive the 70 kilometers to Pointe-de-St.-Mathieu, just west of Brest.  We didn’t have the time to do it on our day in Brest, and the weather was promising.  Well, halfway there the weather turned miserable – ominous dark clouds and driving rain.  Not a good sign.  We carried on, and once again, the weather changed almost the moment we arrived in the Pointe-de-St.-Mathieu area.

It’s a beautiful sight at the western edge of France close to the official border between the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel.  It has two lighthouses, a monument dedicated to the sailors of France (military and otherwise) who have given their lives in defense of the country, and the remains of an old abbey.  Pictures tell the story better than words.

To make things more interesting, the local rescue workers were practicing helicopter rescues on the rugged rocks below the Pointe.  It was interesting to watch.

Then we bought sandwiches at a boulangerie and ate them in a local park that was unfortunately devoid of any good views.  After lunch we drove home, stopping just outside Plouezoc’h to reserve a table for tonight in a return visit to the Bar du Port.  More on that in the next posting.

There will be one more posting from Plouezoc’h (on Friday).  Saturday we will spend the day driving east to Abbeville where we will spend Saturday night (at the same hotel that Bobby Messina stayed with us many years ago).  I will post again from there.  Sunday morning we drive the hour to Calais for a 10:45 ferry back to the UK.

Monday

A Day Away from the House

There was a post late yesterday, so you may have missed it.  Scroll down.   And remember, click on pictures for larger views.

Monday we decided to see some of southern Brittany.  It’s only just over an hour and a half away, but driving in Brittany can be exhausting, so three hours of driving just to get there and back was not appealing.  We decided to do an overnight trip.  After looking at options Sunday night, we decided to spend Monday night in Concarneau.  I found a hotel that sounded appealing (modern and on the ocean – enough with ancient and quaint), so I called and made a reservation.

We left early Monday morning (8:00 am) when it was barely light outside.  Our first stop was in Sizun, a small town with a noted Parish Close (remember your previous lessons?).  It was impressive, but we only viewed it from the outside as it didn’t open until 2:30.  No big deal.

 Then it was on to Quimper, a larger city is southern Finestre, a section of Brittany.  We parked near the river and visited both the impressive Cathedral and the Museum of Art.  The museum is relatively small.  It’s main feature is an exhibit about Max Jacobs, a French writer who was friends with many noted artists including Picasso.

From there we diverted west to visit the Pointe du Raz, highlighted in all guide books as a must see coastal view.  The weather was dreary and overcast but at least not foggy, so we gave it a go.  Just before reaching the Point we stopped to buy sandwiches and cokes for a picnic. (No, Jane, not Subway although we did see one in Quimper.)  From the parking lot at Pointe de Raz, it’s another fifteen minute walk to the overlook.  Still cloudy and dreary, it seemed pointless, but we soldiered on.  Lo and behold, when we reached the overlook, the sun peeked through and the weather improved steadily from there.  The views were indeed impressive, and our trek to the overlook was worth it.  After returning to the car we enjoyed our sandwiches as a nearby picnic table.

Then we stopped at the Pointe du Van, a short ride away.  It doesn’t get the accolades of Raz, and, therefore, it doesn’t get as many people.  Yet, in many ways, it is even more picturesque.

 On to Concarneau, the premiere fishing port in Brittany  As usual, it took a bit to find our hotel.  It’s right on the water, and it’s refreshingly new and modern.  Wi-fi included; English television channels including Sky News, BBC, and, oddly, CNBC and Bloomberg TV.  We checked in, and then headed out to view the ancient ramparts on Concarneau’s port.  We walked the walls and part of the pedestrian only part of town, a tourist mecca.  But off season like now, it’s relatively empty.  Some scenes from Concarneau:

After that, it was wine on our balcony, showers, relaxation, and eventually dinner in the hotel dining room.