Today started the beginning of a long holiday weekend and we drove to Keronquedoc, Cleder in Brittany where Thierry’s brother Lionel (everyone calls him Yoyo) and his girlfriend Delphine’s home.
When we woke up we could hear the usual church bells and the turtledoves. It’s such a peaceful sound compared to our sounds at home that consist of train horns and the planes flying overhead. We loaded up a rental minivan which is a challenge as the narrow roads keep you closing the van doors constantly as car comes by or they will be ripped off. Here it seems that the pedestrian need to watch for vehicles.
We had lunch in a city about halfway to Yoyo’s named Auray. It had the usual tall old church that you see in all towns, but the one thing we saw that was different were the roofs. All the houses in this area have black roofs made of slate where the houses further south are terra cotta which is an earthen color.
It was 600km to Yoyo's home in Keronquedoc, Brittany and we got there around dinner time. Their home is another built of stone which we now realize is the usual home here. It is small with a bedroom and bathroom on the 2nd story and in the attic they have made a bedroom for Yoyo’s son, Kylian. Yoyo & Delphine are going to sleep on the futon in the living area, Wes & I have their bedroom and Thierry’s family get the upstairs. The boys then get to play with all Kylian’s toys. Here is Thierry and Mia outside of Yoyo & Delphine's home.
After we had dinner we drove to the ocean which is a short 2-3 km away. There are a lot of boulders on the beach and many large rocks out in the surf. The clouds are huge and look like a storm is on it's way but it didn’t rain so it made for some dramatic photos.
There is an old abandoned stone house on an outcropping of rocks which was used for customs during the days when there was a lot of merchant shipping being done along the coast. Thierry said these abandoned customs houses are all along the coastline. Brittany is a very rugged area and the weather is very chilly, wet and wild. It is considered to be different from the rest of France as it’s been founded by the British. So they have evolved into a culture different from France & England but mix of both.
The Common House on a cliff overlooking the sea.
We were not sure what this home was or even if it is still occupied. Notice the Common House in the background.
This was a village inland in Brittany as we were driving to a marketplace.
Here is an archway in a church which led to the cemetery.
We stopped in a small village, called Locronan close to their home to get cheese and some other items for snacks. The village we stopped in has one of the last covered markets in Brittany. It is very old and is in the town square. All villages have this so on their market days the area is closed to vehicles. The vendors are local people who bring their produce, meats & sausages, flowers, any items they’ve made and set up their booths on certain days of the week. They no longer use the covered market though but are set up all around it. And in all these villages all the streets are cobblestone.
After we got what we needed we went back home and had some cheese and drinks. I've had a lot of wine here since I've been in France. Here in Brittany they are famous for apples. So there is an apple cider and apple beer. I had some hard apple cider and it wasn’t too bad. What I’ve discovered what realy like is what Thierry’s mother usually has. This is a blackberry liquor mixed with Perrier. This is very good.
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