So sorry! I’m really far behind on these posts. I’ve been crazy busy. Lots of French lessons with Natacha . . .

. . . who FINALLY let me take her picture, although she kept trying to hide behind Solal!

Also, I’ve been doing as much homework as I can get her to give me and creating my own when I don’t have enough from her. (Yes, I’m THAT kind of student.) I am here partly to improve my French after all.

Plus, there have been lunches, apéros, dinners, concerts, day-trips, and I just got back from an overnight with Pascale and Jacky down to Cap Ferret, Arcachon and environs. But I don’t want to miss sharing a few more photos of beautiful Bretagne (where Stéphane is from, by the way, though further north than where we were). So without further ado, here is Bretagne, Part 4.

Saturday, the 25th of May, we went inland. One of my favorite spots was the beautiful little village of Rochefort-en-Terre, where first we toured the grounds of the Château de Rochefort-en-Terre. Below is a shot looking down on the town from the grounds of the château.

It made me think about how wonderfully photogenic these old buildings are and what a responsibility it is to maintain them. But look how beautiful the main square is . . . .

Later in the afternoon we stopped here . . .

The 14th century octagonal keep you see on the left was the only building open, so Pascale and I climbed up the tiniest, creepiest, dim staircase–my fault, the beginning of the larger baron’s staircase looked darker at the beginning. But never mind, we made it up VERY high until I started noticing random wooden supports for ENORMOUS stones and sections of wall that would otherwise tumble down. The floors were already long gone, burned, I think, or rotted away or both. I decided this ruin had not  yet been restored quite enough to make me comfortable four of five stories above ground with tons of stone precariously perched around me. Pascale was unfazed, but I decided to climb back down tout de suite (NOW).

I’ll leave you with another gem, the Château de  Trédion . . .

. . . that we were not able to see up close, because a wedding had taken over the place. Not a bad setting for a fairy-tale wedding!

It takes years and years and LOTS of funding, as I’m sure you can imagine, to restore and maintain these treasures. Of course, all good things, if they are to remain good things, require care and attention. I am so grateful for those willing and able to do what it takes.

Wishing you beautiful things–and more importantly, relationships–worth caring for and the motivation and resources to do so!

Bretagne-Part 3: Since I love to be in France in May, I have managed to celebrate several birthdays here, this year included. Friday, the 24th, our goal was to tour the northern coast of the Golfe du Morbihan, where we saw things WAY older than I am, including the megaliths of Locmariaquer and the alignments of Carnac, Ménec and Kermario, with hundreds and hundreds of stones standing upright and, well, aligned. Not a simple task for prehistoric people, so very mysterious, both the how and the why. You can see them yourself on Google Earth, like these menhirs:

Funny aside: In trying to confirm various details, I Googled “menir” (accidentally misspelling “menhir”), which led me to an article I could sort of translate, because it was some variation of French or ??? If you know, please tell me in the comments! I put it into Google Translate hoping to identify the language, but no luck. Google “detected” French.

Here’s an example: On menir . . . , c’ est ene grosse pire dressêye pås Omes. . . . 

Here’s how I would translate this, first to standard French: Un menhir . . . , c’est une grosse pierre dressée [pås Omes???]

Now English: A menhir . . . is a large, standing stone [no idea on the “pås Omes” part, but I kept it in to show you the cool accent and for Google Translate’s hilarious version]. . . .

Now Google Translate: It is worse . . . , it is a lot worse dressed up in Omes. . . .

I’m still laughing.

Then on to the sea!

This was one of my 17,000 step days, and it was worth every one of them. We returned to Auray via le Côte Sauvage (the wild coast)– gorgeous.

Back at the hotel, Pascale asked the advice of the hotel receptionist for somewhere fun for my birthday dinner, and we ended up here . . .

. . . the quirkiest, kitschiest crêperie you can possibly imagine, but the proprietress / server / chef was friendly and the food was delicious. Super fun day and evening. So another year with my dear ones celebrated and even a bit of wisdom gained. 😉

Note to self: No matter how old you are, do NOT dress up in Omes! Thank you, Google Translate, for this fashion tip.*

And of course, many thanks again and again to Pascale and Jacky!

*If you have a favorite Google Translate fail, please share it in the comments!

Bretagne, Part 2 — Thursday (the 23rd of May) we took a boat tour of the Golfe du Morbihan with a long stop on Île-aux-Moines. We got on the ferry at Port Blanc and about three minutes later were already there. Pascale, as usual, had done her research, so we set off on the red walking route, marked on the road at various intersections.

This island was beautiful and green and sometimes reminded me of Sunapee. Seriously. Check this out . . .

But then I’d see something like this . . .

Or this crêperie with the thatched roof . . .

. . . where I had this amazing salad for lunch . . .

. . . after we returned from our walk out to the point. Here’s the map.

A few sights along the way . . .

La chapel Sainte Anne, Île-aux-Moines

Didn’t even notice the lizard when I took this shot!

Île-aux-Moines, France

I absolutely soaked in the peace of the place.

After lunch and a winding stroll back down to the port we caught the boat for the tour of the entire gulf. The guide was apparently hilarious, since everyone kept laughing, but I understood next to nothing due to the distortion of the sound system coupled with my limited attention as I enjoyed the sunshine and taking a bazillion photos. Still loved it. By the end the light just kept getting more and more beautiful. The photo doesn’t really capture it, but here’s the best I’ve got . . .

Bonus, my 17,000 steps gave me permission to have this for desert at dinner . . .

I couldn’t quite finish it (Jacky had no trouble with his). Isn’t it a work of art?

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be back in France with friends who care about me and remember great times with David. Also for new adventures that remind me that my life is not over. There’s always more to see and do. I know. But I’m also revisiting favorite places from the past, partly to prove to myself I can. The other day I walked across the street from La Grosse Horloge (the huge clock that’s a major landmark in La Rochelle) over to Cours des Dames, one of the main places I associate with David. He loved people-watching there, waiting for me after my French lessons. Just as I stepped up on the curb and faced the pedestrian walkway, I could feel a wave of sadness threatening. Suddenly I heard David saying, “Don’t start thinking how sad you are I’m not here, because I am here. I’m with you everywhere. . . .” And of course he is. He is a part of me.

So the adventure continues . . . .

I’m now installed in the super-cute little house I’m renting for the next month.

Front door leads into the living room, with the bedroom on the left. It’s basically a U. In the photo below the kitchen is on the right, bathroom on the left, living room next to the kitchen, bedroom where I stood to take this photo–wrapped around this perfect, private little space, with doors leading out from all of them. Love it!

So now I have a few minutes to tell you about our adventures in Brittany, or as it’s called here in France, Bretagne (the end rhymes with lasagne). We were headed to the Gulf of Morbihan, where Pascale had planned various excursions to see ALL of it, including islands in the middle. Thanks, Pascale! All of it was well worth seeing. Way too much for one post, so here’s Part 1.

We packed up and headed out from La Rochelle around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday the 22nd and made it to Vannes in time for lunch at our first of many traditional Breton crêperies. We walked through the base of the tower out to a stone-walled terrace.

La Tour Trompette, Crêperie, Vannes

Pascale at lunch La Tour Trompette, Vannes

Jacky’s flambéed dessert

The most impressive part, though, was les toilettes — the tiniest, wedge-shaped, stone-walled, low-ceilinged, claustrophobia-inducing WC, too tiny even to take a photo, except of this sign by the tiny sink:

So, yeah, note to self: It could be worse.

I sure wish I had been participating in FitBit challenges, because I would have rocked it. I logged roughly 17,000 steps a day Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Wednesday and Sunday we were driving there and back, and I still managed 12,500 on Wednesday and 8,000 on Sunday. Wednesday was high because the lunch stop in Vannes included a walk around the town . . .

Translation: Vannes and his wife

Vannes, France

Vannes, France

Then Wednesday evening we also walked to dinner, twenty minutes from the hotel down to the port in Auray. And back, of course . . UP.

But in the company of friends, even that wasn’t too bad! My lesson for the day: life can be hard, but it can also be beautiful. Pascale and Jacky’s next door neighbor apparently agrees: