Philly & the knights on horseback

I was walking, half jogging through the alpine roads today. The fields and paddocks were so green and the cows so frisky. Young calves were literally frolicking in the sunshine and made me laugh. I jogged down the winding road to a mountain lake for a swim. Large fir trees surrounded the lake and one of its shores housed a very old Austrian log cabin. Hesitating at first at the dark water with green "stuff" and lilies floating around, I waded into the bracing water and then thoroughly enjoyed the refreshing swim. Later I sat by the paddock watching the cows and remembered the cows - La vache, in my beloved France.

Memories of my french summer flooded back and especially my new friend Phillipa. Phillipa likes to be called Philly, and it suits her lovely warm honest and friendly personality. Philly offered me to share her lovely home with her. She lives in a typical Breton farm house. It's large generous rooms have been renovated and we often sat together in front of her roaring log fire and watched movies whilst enjoying some exotic dish we had prepared together. It is an amazing thing as we grow older, we meet certain people and it either clicks or it doesn't - we clicked. There seemed to be an immediate trust after our meeting and the friendship grew from there. I never expected that, it was wonderful enough to stay in such a gorgeous french farm house but to find a new friend as well was just a touching bonus. We shared stories over glasses of wine, she white and me red........and the weeks flew by. She gave me a huge attic bedroom which housed a sleigh bed and the most fluffy delightful duvet I have ever slept under.



On one of my last days there, a local town named Malestroit celebrated its 700 year anniversary, or something close to that. Philly suggested it would be a super day so off we went. The ancient town had celtic dancers, musicians, knights in shining armour and a village set up to show us what it was like to live in the 14th century. We munched on breads and sweets made to ancient recipes and drank old style french cider. Wandering the streets where we normally bought our weekly fresh produce I watched the many folk in traditional dress and thought how fabulous it would have been to live in an era of such simple pleasures. The highlight of the day was the knights jousting on their horses. The crowd stood in the heat to watch it all and we joined them. It was a perfect day!

What made it so very special was to share it with a special friend. Thank you Philly! I can't wait to catch up again in January......for our next adventure.

How cool is my dude!

This post is mainly about my gorgeous Becky and the short but wonderful days we had together. She had a small window of time traveling through and chose to spend it with her mum! It is always a celebrated occasion when we meet up. The pure joy of sharing time together is unrivalled. We spent days mooching around; sightseeing ancient chateaus and towns surrounding us in Brittany; talking over a french coffee or vin rouge, cosy evenings making dinners together and watching a movie snuggled on the couch; or deciding our day's event when she jumped into my bed. We laughed and made the most of each moment.
Josselin is a town nearby with a superb chateau. It's grand and imposing walls dominate the town and the pic above and next is taken there. It is where I go to the market on a saturday morning to purchase my vegetables. The long cobblestoned street leading down towards the chateau is filled with all the fresh food you can imagine.
We decided to take a small road trip to the west coast of Brittany. We visited Lorient and its amazing old Nazi submarine enclosures steeped in WW2 history. Huge thick concrete buildings made to withstand any bombs. We wandered through the last french diesel submarine of 800 tons and awed at the tiny quarters the crew lived in. Lorient is the port where the french world class racing yachts take off from I was told. One of the Volvo RTW yachts was anchored there in all its glory!
Then we discovered Pont Aven, quite by accident. Becky had the map whilst I drove and we thought we'd head closer down the coast and came across this tiny fairytale town.
We spent the night there in a gorgeous little hotel with a thatched roof and ate a seafood dinner sitting in an old restaurant along the canal. It is famous for its large population of artists of all kinds and prides itself with a host of galleries to wander around in. Gaughin spent a fair time here painting. I highly recommend this town for anyone visiting France.
The next morning was spent driving up to the famous Brittany coast with its cliff faces, wild seas and amazing beaches. The photo you see of the big hotel and long beach in the distance is the one we drove down to and frolicked on!

We hit Point Van with its salty air that mists the long wide beaches like a softening camera lens, with lighthouses in the distance and cliff meadows filled with wild pink roses and other gorgeous flowers of every colour, those perfumed scents hit our nostrils as soon as we stepped out of the car. The air was heavy with the sea salt and perfumed flowers. Pure magic! The area was breath taking and the following photos are of our experience there. We ran and laughed at one of these beaches and Becky did cart wheels and hand stands for the pure joy of it all. I love her so much!

Thank you for being YOU Bec!
I had the time of my life!



How cool is my dude!