Today, we headed off in a different direction – southwest of Lannion – and ended up leaving the Cote d’Armour region (where we are living) and touring around a small portion of the Finistere coast which is also rugged, yet different in that it doesn’t have those huge rock formations yet has what looks more like hardened lava flow. It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for cruising and stopping here and there to take pictures.
Our first stop was in a very pretty village, just northeast of Lannion (so still fairly close to home), called Ploumilliau. We were attracted to the church, so found a parking spot and wandered around a bit. There were so many flowers – everywhere. I’m sure the village funds take care of the plantings in the village, but I wonder if they also plant and care for the flowers around the church and, if not, who does that? There were also a few interesting old photographs of a few streets leading out from the square, strategically placed so you could see what the street looked liked years ago and what it looks like today.
Our second stop was on the coast, southwest of Lannion, in St. Michel en Greve. That is a huge beach. It just keeps going on and on and on and on and on. It was an educational stop because of the signage posted along the beach advising of the green algae that floats in with the tide. It’s not just any old green algae. If this one is not cleaned up before it starts to rot, it can produce serious health risks (including death – YIKES) because it emits hydrogen sulfide as it decomposes. The town obviously takes this very seriously as there were a number of workers cleaning up the beach when we were there.
I have no idea where our third stop was. We took an opportunity to pull off the road where we were able to walk down a slope to another beach and where we made a friend on the way back up…
Our fourth stop was in Locquirec, just inside of the Finistere region and situated on a point of land, so another place with awesome views. We found an open patisserie, parked on the curb like the French do (we are getting the hang of this), bought some snacks, then “got out of Dodge” as Locquirec is very touristy and was somewhat crowded. A little further down the road, we found a scenic lookout over the ocean and another beach, where we sat on a wall and fed our stomachs and our souls.
You just never know where you’re going to end up, or what you’re going to find, when you take random side roads…
Our fifth stop was in St. Jean du Doigt, still further west and along the coast. The beach was not near the town, which suited us just fine. We strolled a bit but it started to get chilly, and late, so decided it was time to start heading back.
We drove inland (south) to Morlaix, then cross-country back through Lannion, and ended up in Louannec (close to home) at L’Arbicotier Restaurant-Creperie for dinner (close to the roundabout going into Perros-Guirec). With a table in their sunroom, we had another fabulous view and another exceptional meal.
