Today is Monday, May 25th, and we’ve been settled in our home in Trevou-Treguignec in Brittany these past 2 days. Not sure I could have strung 2 sentences together before now, what with a foggy brain and (almost) malnutrition… more on that later.
This is the second time we’ve travelled overseas and rented a home from strangers, even though through a reputable service. But, despite the best research you think you’ve done, there’s always anxiety over what you’ll find at the other end. Three years ago, we were thrilled with our accommodation in Burgundy and, this time, we are thrilled again. We are 2 for 2!!!
The house is built in 3 sections. The centre section, complete with stone walls and wooden beams, was the original home and is now a very large dining area. Off the dining area, there is a step down to kitchen, laundry, and half bath. This section is also part of the original building but started life as a small stable for a few farm animals. Off the dining area, in the other direction, is the “new” part where you’ll find the living room and master bedroom with ensuite. There are also stairs off the back of the living room leading up to 2 other bedrooms, a full bath, and a den.
The outside is also gorgeous, with lots of room for off-street, secure parking – see for yourselves.
And, the house is located on a “road” that looks more like someone’s driveway. In order for 2 cars to pass, both have to put their outside tires onto the shoulders.
Our trip started Friday night when our flight took off at 11.35pm from Toronto. Seven hours later, with basically no sleep (no drug this time), we landed in Paris – 12:30pm local time on Saturday. Before we left home, Mr. Google told us it would take approx 5.5 hours to drive to our home. Wise people know to not believe everything you read on the internet. After clearing customs, picking up our luggage, and claiming our car (which was easier to find this time because we found an information booth, not because they’ve improved their signage in the airport), we left the airport at 3:00pm and 8.5 hours later!!! arrived. Needless to say, we were very, very tired and the only meal we had, following our coffee/tea and sponge bread on the flight an hour before we landed, was a burger and fries at a McD’s somewhere enroute. I was so disappointed (and am so embarrassed to admit) that my first meal in France was at McDonald’s!!!!! We also survived our first day of driving in France again, more on that later.
Our hosts, Danielle and Jean-Luc, were waiting for us and graciously welcomed us to their vacation rental. We got the grand tour and were shown how the dishwasher, washing machine, heater, and wood burning stove worked. We were shown where the extra bedding was and where the extra towels were. They left us with 12 crepes and a bottle of cider – both local specialties – along with beautiful calla lilies that they picked from their garden.
We passed on the cider but tucked into the crepes eagerly enough, and drank tea I had brought with me – no milk but with sugar we found in a cupboard – before we crashed around 1:30am Sunday. That was 36 hours after we woke up on Friday morning. Perhaps it would have been better to plan a stop-over about 2 hours outside of Paris – noted for next time.
Another surprise that awaited us was a national, religious long weekend – Pentecost. No big deal if we had known that before we arrived. Danielle told us around midnight, Saturday, too late to stock up on groceries as the stores were not open Sunday or today – something else noted to research for next time. On an orientation drive this afternoon, we managed to find an open bakery in Perros-Guirec so bought 8 croissants, a baguette, and 2 more bottles of local cider. We also bought some kind of ham and cheese pastry that we ate for lunch sitting on a bench, looking out over the sea and a marina. Interesting marina in that it is “locked” with gates before each tide goes out. Those that don’t pay for that privilege are left in the mud, literally.
Ooops, someone stayed too long at lunch!!!
After lunch, walking along the sea wall, we met Anna walking her dog. She sent us to the Café de la Marine Chez Titine with instructions to ask the owner for a brochure of the towns and sites to see. It was a small, typical French café where everyone knows each other (other patrons who came – some with dogs – gave and received kisses, drank a glass, then left). I was caught a little off-guard, though, by some of the artwork in this café owned and operated by octogenarians. On a small wall off to the side there were 2 pinups, one for the ladies, one for the gentlemen – equality for the sexes 🙂 Regardless, we ordered café crème which is a decent size cup of coffee served with warm cream in a small pitcher and accompanied by daintily wrapped sugar cubes and a square of bitter chocolate – so civilized – and took a table at the window to watch the world go by.
Our elderly hostess was happy to provide us with our brochure/map along with animated instructions for how to get to the Granite Rose Coast walking trail from where we were. In preparation, we drove over to a lookout, where we could see the trail and the parking lot, and are now anxious to get on it. We are waiting for our first round of friends to arrive to hike that together.
On our drive home, still desperate for any kind of groceries (we had eaten the rest of our crepes for breakfast), we found a souvenir-type shop and were able to purchase a small package of coffee, some honey, some strawberry jam, and some Madeleines, all of which would see us through breakfast tomorrow morning.
Following an urgent text to our friends earlier in the day, when Rosanne, Rudie, Joe, and Maria showed up late this afternoon, they added milk, butter, cheese, and some biscuits to our stash. You only need to have empty cupboards for a very short period of time to be thankful for what you have.
We were not quite so stressed out about dinners these past 2 days. There are 2 Creperies about 2 minutes away, across from “our beach”. We tried one of them last night and, it was so good, we brought our friends back tonight. The highlight of dinner was watching Joe “experience” his pot of moules (mussels). After about 5 minutes, he ditched his cutlery and dove in with both hands. Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me!
Tomorrow, we will all head out for groceries, then figure out what we want to do for the rest of the week. Life is good.