Brittany

Hard to believe a week has already gone by! We found a great spot to stay in Brittany. Five minute walk to the beach and some food spots in one direction, and ten minutes to the rocks and tidal pools in the other. Beautiful trails along the coastline. Even found an amazing grocery store nearby.

Most of the time here has been quite restful. Hanging out at the beach, collecting sea shells, going for walks, playing games, cooking food. Getting a bit of work done on the novel and even starting a new website. We did some shopping in the closest city, Quimper, on Wednesday. It was an hour away. Beautiful old downtown! Looked a lot like England.

Thursday was our 10th anniversary, so we had a special day. We booked a ferry out to an island where we had a fancy lunch, hiked around, and Amelie and I even climbed the highest lighthouse I have ever seen. Even saw a couple dolphins! When we tried to get some food at the beach upon our return, we were met with the typical French expereince. Even though the guys were standing around with nothing to do, opening time wasn't for half an hour, so pizza would have to wait. We tried with the fish and chips guy, but he was planning to change the oil, so the deep fryer was shut down for the day. Dessert first while we wait for pizza? We walked up to the crepe place just as the lady shut and locked the door for the day. 

Brittany is an interesting place though. They have two languages here, a lot like in Wales. The local language has Celtic roots, so more connected to Britain, hence the name of the province. Everyone speaks French though. Road signs are in both languages. All the houses are white with black slate roofs. 

Not a bad place to get some work done!

Anniversary dinner by the beach with fancy clothes.

The giant lighthouse on the island of Sein.

Fancy lunch on the island.

View from the lighthouse.

More treats!

The ferry to the island.

Somehow tropical plants grow in this region. Crazy!

Small lighthouse near our house.

Fun at the rocks.

Downtown Quimper - looks a lot like England!

Oddly, the cathedral in Quimper is not straight - I wonder why?!

Lots of steps to climb in the lighthouse.

Quimper's cathedral.

On the ferry to the island of Sein.

Naomi and the girls had lots of fun collecting sea shells and decorating picture frames.

France

Sunday was a short goodbye. We stayed behind to pack up, clean the house and prepare for the funeral while Sara, Pat and Sean all drove to our house in France. They had trouble getting gas on the way, but found a solution eventually. It took a bite out of their time in Rouen though. Wish we could have joined for that! One of our favorite cities.

Monday was a difficult day. We barely made it to the funeral on time. The minister gave a long evangelical sermon which we found rather out of place. It was good that we were there, but Naomi is really struggling with her family. She has a good relationship with her Aunt Erna and those cousins, but the rest are bringing her a lot of grief. After saying our goodbyes, we made it to the house in record time with only one stop. 

Being in the air conditioned car most of the day before meant the heat didn't bother us much until we got up into the attic where we slept. Tuesday was over 100 degrees and the girls, Kristen and Naomi got to enjoy some rest at the swimming pool. The house we chose is great! Wonderful host and beautiful gardens. An old, rambling French farmhouse. Plenty of space for the eight of us. Lots of games, fruit and veggies to pick, and no traffic noise at all. Just the occasional tractor. 

Pat, Sara, Sean and I went on a guided tour of Normandy while they settled into the country life. It was quite interesting, but also hot. I learned things and saw places I hadn't before. Even saw the place where Walt Disney's ancestors came from 1000 years ago - the went over to England with William the Conqueror. We had a great dinner and then made it back rather late.

Wednesday was a down day. We just rested and relaxed. More pool time. Played some bocce ball (petanque) and other games. Ate some delicious food. Thursday morning was more of the same and then after lunch we set out for a tour of a orchard and distillery where they make cider, pommeau, calvados, and gin. Then we found ourselves on Mont Saint-Michel. Quite the place. Toured the Abbey this time which was really cool. It kept going on and on and on. Found a great dinner spot then headed back for another late night. The girls did so well!

Friday was the long goodbye. We all felt very sad. The Mitchells went to Paris for the night and then on to Switzerland. We visited Saint-Malo and then found our way down to our next house which is near the most westerly point of France in the provence of Brittany. It has its name beacause the people here speak a language that has more in common with Celtic languages than French, although they speak French here too. We can see the ocean and hear the seagulls. Very quiet. Short walk to a nice little beach. 

Yesterday we settled in and found an amazing grocery store. A bit like the coop in Marquette but with French food, so its even better. We got all unpacked, ate some great food, and even spent some time at the beach. The three girls love to collect shells. Finally, a normal bedtime! 

The long goodbye.

View from our house by the Atlantic.

Saint-Malo - huge walls around the old city.

Paratrooper stained glass in Normandy.

Delicious treats!

The human powered elevator to lift supplies up to the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel back when it was a prison.

Streets of Saint-Malo

French gun made during the first world war that the Germans captured and used during the second.

Le Mont Saint-Michel.

The cathedral in Bayeaux.

Utah beach.

This German gun was taken out by a lucky shot from the beach.

The street in Bayeaux where we ate dinner.

A German munitions depot that exploded on Pointe du Hoc.

Our lovely old farmhouse. 

The view from the top of Mont Saint-Michel.

Tour of the orchard and distillery.

The sighting bunker/command post at Pointe du Hoc.

The Mitchells

We had a great visit with Sara, Pat, and Sean! They left this morning for France. We will follow them there tomorrow because Naomi's grandma passed away on Monday and her funeral is tomorrow morning. The visitation was on Wednesday while the Mitchells were in Amsterdam. 

To add to the bad news, we got a 4500 euro car bill. I guess the problems were much bigger than we thought. The garage was able to fix it in time for our trip to France though. They had to cancel some of their other appointments to do so. 

On Thursday Naomi and Sean went to pick up the car and see some museums while Sara and Pat took the girls to a local amusement park. They had a blast! I stayed home to take care of the groceries and make some delicious burgers for dinner. Also got to go for a hike and a bike ride. We have been lucking out with the weather!

Friday was the museum day. We all went to Amsterdam to see the Rijksmuseum together. Impressive place. They even had room for us at the restaurant there. The food is very good. We went back early while they stayed to see a couple other museums. 

Sean couldn't get enough, so he went back on his own yesterday. We hung around the house for a bit, visited the castle in town, and ran a few errands. Even that felt like a busy day! Today is all about cleaning up and preparing for two weeks in France. No down time!

A celebration dinner in Zutphen for a great school year! The girls were telling each other dirty jokes.

Fun at the amusement park in Apeldoorn!

I found a snack in the forest.

Julianatoren.

Delicious hamburgers!

Lunch at the Rijksmuseum.

The Mitchells got Naomi a special rose for her Grandma's passing.

Amélie worked very hard to make us a tasty fruit salad!

Efteling

On Friday Naomi and I skipped the closing ceremonies at our respective schools as the girls were done one day early. That meant we could go to Dutch Disneyland (the Efteling) when most of the other kids were still in school. The thought was it wouldn't be too busy, but it was. The first wait was 45 minutes, then we waited nearly an hour in line just to have the ride shut down when we got to the gate. Then Abigail wanted to go to a bigger roller coaster but chickened out after 20 minutes. 

The morning was a bit rough. The afternoon was nicer though. We did the stuff that wasn't so popular. The upside down house was cool. Going through an imaginary village was a lot of fun too! The girls liked the 4D movie. We found a nice dinner spot and then enjoyed the fountain show. Then it was a second ride on the kiddie roller coaster as it was so fun, and we drove the hour and a half back home. 

When we got back, I noticed the clutch was slipping in 4th and 5th. We made an appointment at the dealer, and by the time Naomi got there yesterday the underside of the car was covered in oil and the oil pressure gauge came on. She arranged a nice loner car for us, but they couldn't guarantee it will be fixed before our trip to France in a week. Yikes. 

I got all the pieces for the branching bookshelf rough cut, so that is a good stopping point before the holiday. Almost done going through the novel again, so that will be ready for proofreading before we leave. The girls wrapped up their school year nicely, and Naomi was even able to visit her mom's former boyfriend, Marinus. He isn't doing very well. It brought back a lot of memories and sadness. Now it is time to get the house cleaned up for our visitors that should be arriving on Tuesday! 

Final days of the school year.

Got the ponds cleaned out and the trees trimmed!

Rough cut all the pieces.

First roller coaster ever - a wooden one.

The pirate ride that got shut down.

Too scary!

Dizzy.

The imaginary villge.

They had more fun pulling each other than some of the rides.

Big entrance way.

The ride home.

First big tomato of the year!