It was about a 3.5 hour drive, mostly on toll roads or freeways. As we got into Brittany, we noticed that the sign for each town included both the French name and the name in the Breton language, which is a Gaelic language. Brittany has a Gaelic heritage, similar to Ireland and other countries in the region.
We checked into the "Paul Gauguin" room in the hotel Les Ajoncs d'Or, and went for a walk. We visited a number of galleries, as well as the dock area. Pont Aven is where the river meets an inlet of the ocean, so it has a rushing stream on one end, and a tidal area at the other end.
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| Low tide |
We had a very nice dinner at the restaurant Au Petite Bouchon. This is a relatively serious restaurant, at which we had a three course 18 euro dinner, which was quite nice.
Our sleep was disturbed by a delivery truck unloading directly below our window at 3 AM. We were somewhat bleary eyed the next day.
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| Our hotel |
We decided to head for the Atlantic Coast, Port Manec'h. We found a small beach area with a sailing school and a number of boats for rent. Richard walked out up to his knees, but found the water cold. The whole area was very scenic, but of course we could say that for most of France. We had lunch in a bar near the beach, where we watched the end of the stage of the Tour de France.
When we got back to our hotel, we watched the end of the stage of the Tour de France in our room. Cynthia has been a fan for decades, and Richard is starting to get into it. If you have not seen the Tour de France on TV, the scenery is a continuous advertisement for the beauty of France. Even if you are not interested in the Tour, tune it in and watch the scenery.
We had a good dinner at our hotel, 12 Euros. We had changed rooms, and slept better Tuesday night.
Richard wanted to see the Megalithic sites near the city of Carnac. Most of the Megalithic sites in this area are long rows of large stones on end, dating from around 4000 BC. There are more than 3000 large upright stones in this area. Cynthia believes that this must have been a prehistoric holy site, and notes that four of the local churches have been pilgrimage sites in historic times, in a kind of continuity between the past and present.
We had lunch at a McDonalds near Carnac, and found that a meal with fries and a drink cost 7 euros, or about $10 US, substantially higher than in the USA. They also had multi-lingual touch screens at which you could order and pay for your meal, although we ordered face to face. I was surprised to see that the sign had yellow arches on a black background, not the usual red background that we see in the USA. So there were some differences.
After we drove home, we went to the hypermarket, and tried to buy gas. Unfortunately, the pumps would not accept our credit cards, because they do not have "chips" inside, just magnetic stripes. We left in frustration. Cynthia persuaded me to go back and ask if they would accept cash; it turned out that they would. We were successful on our second attempt. This is a reminder that even small differences between countries can become problems, especially if you don't understand these differences.
Our neighbors, Jean-Louis and Ghylene had invited us over for wine and cheese. Their daughter, Sabrina was there, and one grandchild. Sabrina spoke English, which facilitated communication. They did complement Richard on his French, and most of the conversation took place in French. They were very gracious, gave us tips on seeing the Tour de France, and talked about the national hot air balloon championships, which will be held in Brissac in August.
Thursday we will form part of the crowds lining the streets to watch the Tour de France.
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