Posting from McDonald's

Sorry for the long silence, but we’ve been without internet for a few days here in Orval. The weather has been rather nasty and a thunderstorm knocked out the internet cables nearby; the person who owns the stable has informed us that it should be fixed within a week (hopefully), but that the French are like the Chinese in the sense that they give you the worst possible prediction, yet end up completing the work in a shorter amount of time than originally expected. Hopefully, this practice will be true because we are suffering from severe web-withdrawals. (I wrote this entry last night, but I'm posting it from McDonald's on Sunday morning.) 


Here’s a brief explanation of what we’ve done since my last entry:


Tuesday
We drove to the American Cemetery near Omaha beach, which was one of the American landing sites during the D-Day invasion. There was an educational, and moving, visitor center that we toured before entering the cemetery; the exhibits provided an excellent overview of the events and they reinforced what I’m learning in the book I’m reading about the military operation.


After wandering around the cemetery for a while, we took some stairs down to the beach. It was eerie, moving, and strange to visit a place I’ve heard so much about over the years and that has made such an impact on the world. This trip to Europe has taught me that history is important, but that we’re constantly moving forward and we should focus our attention on the past, present, and future because all are equally important. We need the past to help us understand our present and future, our future to push us to make a better present, and our present to live the lessons we’ve learned from our past. 


On the beach we encountered people playing in the waves, taking pictures of the historic landscape, and contemplating the scene. Though it was little disconcerting at first to see people being frivolous in such a historically bloody place, I became happy that the French had reclaimed their beach because it’s such a beautiful spot. I feel that we should always remember the people who made sacrifices for our freedoms, but if we’re busy mourning all the time and not living and enjoying the gift peace, it’s a tragedy.  


Once we had finished our visit, we stopped at Pointe-du-Hoc for a quick stop. Then we returned home to Orval (after eating a hamburger at a Leclerc and seeing a prostitute eating with her pimp), made dinner, watched some terribly trashy British TV (is there any other kind?) and went to sleep.


Wednesday
I was feeling quite terrible on Wednesday, so we took a break from touring and stayed in our stables in Orval. I read a lot, took a nap, and recuperated.


Thursday
Thursday was one of the market days in Coutances, so we made the trip into town, wandered around the market, bought some produce (the fruits were good, but the veggies weren’t quite as tasty), grabbed some food for lunch (sausage in a bun with mustard!), returned to our stables and relaxed the rest of the day.


Friday
We drove on the backroads to get to Mont Saint-Michel and man are the roads tiny! There were times when the road was only the width of our car, which is far smaller than most American autos, but it was considered a two-lane road. We were holding our breath through many corners hoping that we wouldn’t meet anther vehicle coming in the opposite direction; most of the time we were lucky, but we almost collided with a tractor at one point.


The Abby was fascinating, but extremely crowded; we paid that nine Euro entrance fee to tour the famous religious monument and, though it was expensive, I enjoyed the experience. At one point, Jean-Jacques and I lost one another and it took some time to reconnect because there were so many visitors.


After our trip to Mont-Saint-Michel, we tried to find a restaurant for lunch, but nothing was open. The longer we’re here, the more we’re discovering that we don’t understand the rhythm of French life; each country moves at its own pace, and has its own time table. We’re American, so we expect to be able to find food in eating establishments between the hours of eight AM to eight PM; however, in France this doesn’t seem to be the case. We have quite figured it out yet when the French eat lunch, but we do know that many of them eat dinner from eight PM to midnight. We’ll figure it out eventually, I hope.


Saturday
We drove more back roads to Sainte-Mère-Église and tried to find a mansion and chateau along the way; though we finally tracked down both locations, we were disappointed to find out that they were only open for about four hours in the afternoon. (We still aren’t accustomed to life’s rhythms here.) We did stop at a market and bought more sausages in a bun for lunch; we ate our meal sitting on the steps of an abandoned shop while people watching.


When we finally arrived at Sainte-Mère-Église, we toured a fascinating museum dedicated to the paratroopers who landed in the city to capture it before the main invasions forces arrived. Jean-Jacques and I both really enjoyed the museum and were impressed by the interesting displays; we both agreed that it was probably one of the most interesting and well-done museums we’ve visited on this trip (and by this time we’ve seen a few...). 


Along the way back to Orval, we stopped at a few chateaux, one of which was probably one of the most exciting places I’ve ever visited because of my cultural background. The Great Wall and Forbidden Palace will always be the most exotic sites I’ve wandered through, but seeing the medieval castle today thrilled me because I’ve studied, read and seen movies about European history for as long as I can remember, so being able to experience a real castle was a dream come true. 


I’m off to bed now. We’ll be home in less than three weeks!

At "home" in Orval

On Saturday we left Quimper at around 10 AM, and drove on back roads for a few hours through lush, rolling countryside until we arrived in Orval at 5 PM. We "checked-in" with our British host, went into Coutances for some emergency supplies (grocery stores are all closed on Sundays), returned to our converted stables, settled in, and cooked dinner. 

Yesterday, I wasn't feeling my best (I've been fighting a cold for a few days now), so we spent the day relaxing; I read a trashy novel (the whole thing, mind you), started a book about the D-Day invasion, did some laundry, hung it up outside to dry in the summer sunshine, took a nap, and processed some photos. I was surprised to discover that it was the first time in about ten months that I felt truly relaxed. China was many wonderful, educational things, but calming or soothing are not words I would use to describe it. 

Today I awoke feeling much better, so we headed into Coutances to explore the town. We wandered around an ancient cathedral, past a number of cute shops in old buildings, and through a game-themed botanical garden. On the way "home", we stopped by the Carrefour for more supplies and discovered a carnival setting up in the store's parking lot. Feeling terrible for the animals, we didn't have the heart to visit the attraction this evening. (Some ostriches were cooped up in a pen on hot pavement; it didn't seem very humane.)

Tomorrow we're heading to the D-Day American landing sites at Utah and Omaha beaches. It will be a sobering visit, but definitely one worth making because it will be extremely educational.

It's late, so I should head off to bed. Hugs to all!

Quimper, Days 1 & 2

At the top left, you can see Jean-Jacques charging off to find us a haircutter

Yesterday we left Quimper to explore the coast and we drove to Point du Raz (we simply drove around the parking lot because we refused to pay six euro to stare at the Atlantic), Douarnenez, and through some other towns. We ate a picnic of bread, cheese, and sausage on a beautiful sandy beach and returned to the room a little early because I wasn’t feeling my best. Unfortunately, the room hadn’t been cleaned yet, so we had to visit a bio (organic) store and have a beverage at a cute coffee/tea shop before it was ready again.


Today I woke up feeling much better, so we took a bus into Quimper, window shopped, ate a savory crêpe for lunch, and wandered around the city before walking back to our hotel. 


Along the way home, we stopped by a fascinating, but eerie, church that had been constructed in the ninth century; in the stone we could see marks that looked like bullet holes, so that added to the somber atmosphere. (We saw a statue in the middle of the town commemorating the liberation of Quimper in 1944, so it's possible that a battle was fought close to the church.)

A slightly less touristy part of Quimper

The trip “home” was surprisingly pleasant because we walked through some beautiful gardens and nature preserves. We even passed by a former German prisoner of war compound, which was located in the middle of a dark forest, so it was rather gloomy. Part of the historical area has now been converted to a golf course, so I guess it’s a good use of the space.


Tomorrow it’s off to Orval, which is where we’re going to spend the next three weeks in a converted stable that we rented back in January. I’ve certainly enjoyed our touring thus far, but I will also be happy to have a home base where we can do some cooking for ourselves and laundry. 


Oh yeah, we also got haircuts today! Thankfully, we’re no longer the Shaggy Têtus.

From Vannes to Quimper

It was another busy and fascinating day in France. We ate breakfast at our B&B, set off at around 9:30 AM, drove back roads along the coast through some stunning countryside, took a short hike to an abbey gate (we didn’t go in because it seemed too expensive for what we’d see), looked at a castle where Rasputin lived for a while (we decided not to tour it because it didn’t seem worth the 12 Euro it would have cost to enter the gates), ate lunch and shopped around in a seaside town called Concarneau (the old city was surrounded by ramparts and I was amazed by the advanced architecture that kept the sea at bay),  got takeout from small pizzeria (there wasn’t even seating inside and the man gave us a free pizza because the people hadn’t arrived to pick it up, so it was going to waste), and relaxed in our room. 

Outside of Vannes

As I recently posted on Facebook, I’m all cuted out. In my travels, I’ve never been to a place as adorable, cute, and just durn beautiful as France. Accuse the French of whatever you want, but you can’t label them as being uninterested in aesthetics. As you travel though France, you realize that to the people living here, beauty is life. You sense that appreciation of quality in everything you see, smell, or taste and that care is causing me to fall in love with this country.


In our adventures today, we passed though breathtaking countryside filled with forests, wheat, corn, or rolled bales of hay; wandered though villages composed of houses with plastered white walls, roofs painted black, and brightly painted shutters of dark blues, reds, or other bold colors; and strolled along beaches of fine, blisteringly white sand. When we arrived at our B&B this evening, my senses were over stimulated by all the beautiful things we had seen today and I’m not sure I can take much more adorable, though I’m sure there’s more on the horizon. 

Though we had vowed to take it easier today, we still managed to pack in a number of activities. We drove through a number of seaside villages (Carnac, Quiberon, Plouhamel, St-Pierre-Quiberon, Étel, Gavre, Belz, and Erdeven), saw the amazing megliths at Carnac and walked along the beach there, ate lunch at a créperie, explored an old fort, took a short break from our travels to eat some sorbet and drink a Perrier at a small boulangerie/patisserie, tracked down some freshly made goat cheese, and ate a lengthy dinner at our B&B with another guest. I was thrilled because I was able to understand almost all the conversation, though I had a difficult time speaking in French.

Tomorrow it’s on to Quimper!

From Nantes to Vannes

After a lengthy drive, we finally arrived in Vannes, France. Though the distance was short, we were our normal selves and got lost a number of times; it was fun to see the beautiful French countryside, though. Jean-Jacques and I remarked to one another that it reminded us of the Willamette Valley, Benin, and San Juan Island. 

Once we arrived in Vannes, we tried to check into our B&B, but the owner wasn’t around so we drove into the city center to explore. We walked along the docks, passed by touristy shops in the old city, and enjoyed some Perrier at a café. Jean-Jacques crashed when we finally were able to check into our room, so I had to venture out to find dinner. Unfortunately, the only grub within walking distance was a Chinese restaurant; I ordered sweet and sour pork and a beef dish. It wasn’t thrilling, but it fed us. It’s already late, so I’m heading off to bed! I think we’re going to Carnac tomorrow, so that should be an interesting outing.

Nantes, France

We’re now in France! Yesterday, we woke up at around 5:00 AM, took showers, ate a small breakfast of a banana, lugged our bags to the Tube, got off at the train station, took two high speed trains, and arrived in Nantes at around 5:30 PM. We checked into our hotel, took naps (I slept for about 2 hours), walked to a Carrefour and bought some bread and cheese for dinner. When we were finished with everything, it was about 11:00 PM; the time is deceiving because it stays light so late that it feels much earlier than the real time.


This morning we ate breakfast in our room and left at around 10:00 AM to explore the city of Nantes; this was a little later than normal, but we decided to take it a little easier today since it was Sunday. As we were walking along the river, we noticed some police cars and ambulances driving up to a spot near a bridge. When we got a little closer, we discovered that the authorities were investigating a body and I glimpsed the dead man’s face. Needless to say, it was one of my first experiences with seeing dead people (I might have seen a couple of people in China, though) and it was rather sad. It definitely put a damper on the rest of the day.

After seeing the deceased man, we continued walking and soon heard a kitten mewing. Confused by the sound because we were on a busy street, we decided to investigate and found a little kitten who was stranded in some bushes. It took a few minutes of our best cat impersonations, and some crawling around in the bushes, but Jean-Jacques was finally able to grab the kitty. We had to ask a few people if they knew about an animal shelter that was close before we found a family (mother, father, and toddler) who wanted to take the cat (either to adopt it or to run it to the shelter). They were thrilled and so were we, so all ended up well in the kitty rescue!


At this point, I discovered that I had left my purse in the hotel room. I’m not sure how Jean-Jacques manages to put up with my forgetfulness sometimes, because this isn’t the first time this has happened to me. Once I realized my mistake, we rapidly retraced our route back to the hotel (which, strangely enough, caused blisters on our feet) to recover the wallet. Fortunately, nothing had been taken, so the mishap had a happy ending.


We headed out into the heat again, though by this time Jean-Jacques and I were rather warm. We walked around Nantes for about an hour before we found the restaurant where we ate lunch, which was voted the best in the region. Deciding to splurge to celebrate Jean-Jacques’ job offer, we went with the menu special of a three course meal and were thrilled by our choice. I had a leg of lamb, Jean-Jacques chose the fish, and we both agreed that it was one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten. The restaurant’s décor was breathtaking and the food outstanding. 


Once we finished lunch (at around 3PM), we decided that it was time to return to the hotel because our blisters were hurting too much and we were rather overheated. There’s a reason that people in France relax during the middle of the day in the summer! It’s too darn hot to do much more than sit around enjoying coffee and conversation. 


This evening we ate dinner in the room because we had some left over food and were too full from lunch to eat a large meal. In total, I think we walked about six miles, so I’m sure we’ll sleep well tonight!


Tomorrow we’re picking up our car here in Nantes and driving to Vannes, which is about two hours away. Along the way, I think we’re going to stop at some stone formations that are similar to Stone Henge. À demain!