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Published: April 20th 2014
Plovan
Tuesday 15th April 2014 This morning we woke quite early and Rags noticed that the kitchen windows were wide open. Imagine our shock when Elna, who had gone out to see Notre Dame in the evening, found the apartment full of gas when she returned at about midnight last night. We were all asleep and the stove had obviously not been turned off properly after cooking. She smelt it as soon as she walked in, turned it off and opened up the unit to air. Could have put an early end to our trip! Elna did comment wryly that if the worst had happened she at least would have had an extra couple of days in Paris.
We lugged our gear to the nearest Metro station and made our way to the Budget car rental. Here we picked up our vehicle, a Toyota Auris hybrid, similar to our Prius. Bit of a jam with all our gear but manageable. Interesting car to drive, electric at low speeds, then the petrol motor cuts in. Rags was the first driver, he having the “pleasure” of driving in an unknown car
in an unknown area, lots of traffic and driving on the RHS of the road. His GPS from home and the purchase of a map of France made it much easier to negotiate through the city.
Once on the freeway it became a bit more relaxed and the kilometres just seemed to pass by quite quickly, we stopping after about 150 kms at a rest stop for lunch before continuing on our way. Rags continued driving for some time, Mark took over at about the half way point. At Quimper, we stopped at a supermarket, finding it very difficult not to go on a shopping spree for some of the food there although space in the car was very limited. As it was we ended up with cheeses, pate, wine, biscuits and chocolate, as well as the bread and vegetables we required. Our waistlines are in great danger!
On reaching Plovan we had a little difficulty in finding the house, we headed in the wrong direction at first as the GPS didn't have the street in it. The neighbours were in the process of ringing the caretakers, Fred and Helena, when they turned up. We found
them to be a very friendly couple and very welcoming. We invited them to share a wine and some cheese with us.
The house is wonderful, a compliment to the owners, Christophe and Mariette. The large rooms are furnished with solid wood antique furniture and the walls and fittings are colourful with everything matching. Great kitchen, living area, bedrooms and bathroom. We were all very impressed!
Mark & Rags chopped some wood and lit a fire in the living area before we went off for a walk around the village. This consists of a cluster of older buildings, mostly renovated, as well as newer ones built in a similar style. In the centre of town there is a bar and a small shop attached, with an old church and the council buildings nearby. Very quiet and picturesque. Many of the houses were vacant, most being holiday accommodation in the warmer months. The ocean could be seen, the coast being a couple of kilometres away.
By the time we returned from our walk it was after 2030, still light but becoming darker. It was quite cold outside but the lower floor was comfortably warm due to
our fire. By this time we didn't feel like cooking, instead eating some of the delicious cheese, fish, bread and wine which Fred and Helena had left for us on Mariette's behalf, together with some of the food and wine we had brought.
Wednesday 16th April 2014 A lazy morning followed a good sleep for all of us, only Rags going out to explore. Today was deemed to be one where we didn't do much, after lunch being the time to go off in the car.
Our destination when we did leave was Pont l'Abbe, a nearby town with a Leclerc supermarket.
The town itself was well worth seeing, with its old buildings built around squares. We parked on the edge of one of these squares, it having been converted to a parking area.
Nearby was a tourist centre and we headed for this to find out more about the area. It was here, after Judy's prompting, that we were told of the parking cards, cards on which you showed when you arrived. In designated areas this then gave you 90 minutes of parking. Apparently this system
Creperie
Crepes are very popular in this area and we saw many places such as thisis used all over Europe, but this was the first time we had come across it.
After setting our card we set off exploring the town, looking at shops etc until we reached the market hall where fruit &vegetables, meat, fish are sold. As we weren't overly impressed with both the prices or the choice we didn't buy anything, instead going to a tavern for a coffee overlooking the square.
From here we went to the Leclerc supermarket as intended originally, this being a large complex with a huge range of goods. we bought a couple of thermos flasks so that we could have a coffee picnic style when we wished, as well as a wide selection of sausages, smoked chicken, pork as well as more cheese and yoghurts. We are aware that Easter is in a few days and that the shops will probably be closed. A few beers and wines were also bought, just in case!
On returning to the house later in the afternoon we prepared a delicious vegetable bolognaise sauce for our noodles before having some nibbles with our evening wine. A tasty meal was complemented with a desert consisting of crepes with
honey and the local sweet, a bit like a blancmange.
Coffee followed, with the laptops then coming out and a quiet evening of writing and reading completed our first full day in Plovan.
Thursday 17th April 2014 Ponte L'abbe was our destination this morning for the markets held in their two squares. We erred on the side of caution and parked about 700m away. Just as well as there were very little spaces any closer.
The market at the top of the hill near the Tourist Bureau was bustling but nothing really jumped out and said “buy me”. The fruit and vegetables were obviously organically grown as they didn't look anywhere near as attractive as that in the shops.
The market in the main square had very little vegetables for sale, instead the stalls were mainly of clothing and the things you see at most markets round the world. there were lots of shoes and scarves and many stall piled high with various clothes but the asking price fro these was around 30 or 40 Euros.
We all became separated whilst walking around, Rags and Mark bumping into each other
a couple of times and Rags and Judy meeting after just over an hour. As we believed we only had 1.5 hours of parking we decided it was time to go. Mark joined us and then he and Judy went off looking for Elna, Rags staying in the top corner keeping his eye out. After about 30 minutes without success a frustrated Elna turned up, she having been at the other square where we had casually said we'd meet earlier on. This will teach us to communicate meeting places better.
As we had a thermos of coffee we set off towards the coast to find a spot to enjoy it. We ended up on an island, Ile Chevalier, and after parking the car walked to the “beach”. The tide was out and rather than a sandy beach as we are used to, it was a muddy and moss-covered area where we finally drank our coffee.
When coffee was finished we walked around the headland, coming across some people who had been digging for cockles on the low tide, and admired the town of Loctudy visible on the other side of the bay.
This then became our destination
and as we drove into town we came across a supermarket where we were able to buy supplies for this evening's meal as well as some quiches and some delicious apple tartlets.
These were enjoyed sitting on the beach by the harbour in Loctudy in beautiful sunshine. The weather has been very kind to us so far for all of our stay in France.
The drive home was via a couple of other towns, Plomeur and St Jean-Troliman, before we ended up on what is becoming a familiar route “home”.
The rest of the afternoon was spent either sitting out in the sun outside until it got too cool, and having an afternoon snooze. Elna appears to be coming down with a cold and has been unusually quiet!
A home-cooked sir fry meal cooked by Rags was followed by some Rummikub before the day ended with four people with their noses in their laptops.
Friday, 18th April 2014 Surprisingly there were no church bells ringing anywhere near us and we saw nothing today to show it was Good Friday, even in the towns we passed through during the
Pointe de la Torche -Surf beach
Standing on the beach after the tide has gone out. day.
Today we decided to go to the beach, not for a swim as it was much too cold for that! We headed south on the inland road for Pointe de la Torche, an area popular with surfers and beach lovers.
We were very surprised to see surf in France coming into white, sandy beaches. Not at all what we expected after seeing the muddy shores yesterday.
There were many braving the cold out on boards, the surf sporadic but of reasonable size. The scenery here was quite spectacular with white beaches stretching out in large bays from the point where we were standing.
On our way out we spotted some tulip fields which still had some flowers, most already being picked. We had to jump over a small moat to get to the actual field itself and as Rags landed on the other bank his hands and a leg came in contact with some stinging nettles. He found they are named stinging for a reason and it took some time before the uncomfortable sensation stopped. He'll certainly keep clear of them in future!
A packed lunch and coffee was enjoyed at a small church
by the roadside near the town of Tronoen, here we also stopped to look at a nearby pottery shop. Nothing here really caught anyone's eye, even though the display was attractive most work appeared dated.
Following a meandering road we again reached the coast, this time we found a huge wall and the remains of buildings probably in use in WW2. Mark theorised that it was a launching site for V1 and V2 rockets, as it seemed to be pointing towards Britain. We humoured him, and anything that couldn't be explained was explained along these lines. Judy researched this later and found it was a pebble crushing plant for aggregate made by the Germans during the war!
This continued at the next beach we drove to, where there were concrete tetrahedrons coming out of the sand at low tide. These, he explained, were to stop landing craft from coming in. All that was said was logical and could have been so, we just had no way of knowing.
The beach here had a line of rocks, smoothly worn ones such as you get in flowing streams, between the water's edge and the beginning of the sand dunes.
Notre-Dame de Tronoën
This is where we stopped for coffee. Behind the dunes was a stretch of fresh water, from which issued the loud sound of frogs croaking. Each of us collected 3 round stones of varying sizes and we proceeded to have an impromptu game of boule. Great fun was had and we should have had a fourth game to give Elna a chance to win!
Afternoon tea was had just inside the Plovan boundary at the ruins of an old church with a picnic area attached. A fun photo session starring Judy and Elna was had in the ruins making a fitting end to an enjoyable outing.
Once we returned “home” we still had time to do a couple of loads of washing as the clothes dry quickly outside, helped by the fact that even though it got cool after about 1600, it remained light until 2200.
Computer time and reading filled in the gap before dinner, roast chicken and veges being on the menu for tonight.
More Rummikub was played after dinner but Tony has taught Judy too well and she won both games.
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Fred Stroo
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Enjoing Brittany
How beautiful, just arrived and in only a few days you saw so many of the little hotspots in this region!