Another busy week behind us which, while still technically summer, has seen anything but summery weather. We feel very disappointed for our guests who have come to enjoy time spent on holiday and, as this is such a beautiful part of the world, generally outside. That hasn’t been consistently possible for much of the summer but even less so in the last week and it appears will be so in the forthcoming week as well – at least we see that much of the UK is enduring the same weather systems which are affecting us as well.
However, we continue to be very lucky to have some lovely guests stay with us which included a Cambridgeshire family and their lovely Westie, Rory, in Priory and a very nice couple who have had 2 weeks in Granary.
Rory managed to ‘train’ Garratt much faster than we ever could have done! As an older dog, Rory was very tolerant of Garratt except when he was a little too boisterous and jumped around a little too much. After a few warning noises Garratt got quickly got the message and met Rory calmly every subsequent time and they became good friends.
While school is out for summer, Dave’s teacher held her annual summer BBQ on Tuesday night which we attended and participated in the (compulsory) Breton dancing. Having seen Breton footwork at the Fest Nozs we have attended we had never plucked up the courage to join in. Now having tried a little it is surprisingly difficult although it is true that I am a terrible dancer in every format! I still can’t quite understand how they know which particular dance to do to the music which is playing, and certainly not when to change from one to another mid-dance when the music doesn’t seem to change.
We have started to pick up the many tasks that took a back seat while we were finishing the gîte renovations. These included sorting out the man-shed (still can’t find my 2 favourite screwdrivers however!) and Dave has cleared his gym, at least to a point that it can be used again although it still has a kitchen island in (which needs some renovation) and a number of rugs which we need to find a new home. Not sadly to the point that he will allow photographs to be taken so can’t publish any yet.
Inevitably the clearing involved yet more trips to the déchetterie to dispose of the multiple cardboard boxes that had been accumulated. Dave has asked me for a while to make him a number of things to make life easier, including the equivalent of a maid’s trolley for gîte change-over day. So, when on one of my déchetterie visits I found the carcass of an old pram which would make an ideal frame for his trolley, I was surprised he was so disappointed I gave it to him as a birthday present!
Actually on Dave’s birthday we enjoyed a(nother?) relaxed day and, thankfully, the weather turned out to be much better than forecast. We took the opportunity to start visiting some of the places we need to see so we can make sensible recommendations to our guests and went to Locronan. The village, between Chateaulin and Quimper, is a wonderfully preserved Breton village dating from the mid 17th century with lovely cafes, boutique shops and buildings. Very much worth a visit.
That was followed by a short stroll on part of the Crozon coastal path and discovering yet more amazing wide golden sand beaches and evening dinner at Au Lac restaurant, where we ate for Dave’s birthday last year. This year we had the additional bonus of meeting with the chef / owner’s relatives who were in town from Sydney and the UK as well as an English couple who we have been emailing since we arrived but had not managed to meet with both. It was a fantastic evening and Garratt, who came with us to celebrate his one of his Dad’s birthday, behaved impeccably and was a big hit with the other diners.
À bientôt.