Discovering Morlaix and Winding Down

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.