French Holiday for the Little Black Shoe

A five-hour drive south and west took us through glorious countryside. We left the barn at Chatwall Old Home Farm early to make the three o' clock ferry from Plymouth. Our destination: Roscoff, a sea town in Brittany. Although there have been rough patches in the relationship between the British and inhabitants of Roscoff, many ship owners here built lavish homes with profits from the smuggling trade in the eighteenth century.

Ferries run regularly from Plymouth to Roscoff bringing loads of British tourists and their cars with steering wheels on the right side. Before leaving England, motorists are required to get patches for their headlights to prevent dazzling on-coming drivers. Apparently the slant of the headlights in British cars is just right for blinding drivers on the right side of the road. We were also told to get a GB sticker for the rear of the car, reflective vests in case of accident, and a triangle to put on the road. I can only imagine the number of accidents that have led to such regulations. No car I've ever rented in France had this gear. However, it wouldn't have been a bad idea to have a sticker reading "American Driver Aboard."

The shoes had an easy day. The drive and a five and a half hour ferry ride gave them a rest before tackling the streets of Roscoff. The shoes handled the cobbled and brick streets ably as we walked about looking for dinner. Our ferry landed at 9:30PM local time, which just happens to be the time all the restaurants in town close on a week day. A tip here: make eating your first priority and find a café with the kitchen still open as you drive into town, eat on the ferry, or go to the Casino grocery store to grab a bite for dinner.

The town is really lovely and the Celtic influence is felt immediately. Heavy stone buildings designed to withstand the winds and chill of the sea stand side by side along the coastline. Lots of people come here for spa treatments and the facilities are hulking castle-like places while the new ones have more glass and less bulk, but are still imposing.

We stayed at the Hotel aux Tamaris, a small, clean hotel with excellent service and a stunning view to the sea. Everyone we saw around the place had been on the ferry with us, and it's a good place to settle before heading to other parts of Brittany.