Go West Young Shoes

Today we went house hunting--one of my favorite things to do in France. I love seeing what one must pay to live in different places around the world. It's great to meet people and see how they live. Andria has been thinking about opening a B&B in France for a while. We visited two houses, one built in the eighteenth century, had been remodeled to look like a ship. The balconies were blue ropes, the kitchen a sleek galley, and even the lights looked seaworthy. A ladder from the living room led to a loft with a drum kit sitting there. No one was interested in that one. We all loved the second place. Built in 1903, it was an old farmhouse with outbuildings for chickens, rabbits and pigs, a gorgeous garden with fruit trees and flowers, and lots of space. In the end, she decided against them both, but it was a great way to see neighborhoods in the coastal area we've been visiting.

After a lunch of crêpes de blé noir, we hiked out to the Point du Raz, a place we'd been told was the western most point of France. It's the second, but a great attraction anyway. Waves crash and winds howl on the best of days. Today is not the best of days. We had rain to go with the waves and winds. We hiked for about an hour on rocks. The Little Black Shoe did well. Although I felt all the gravely parts, they didn't hurt, and I was able to scamper over the wet stones from pebbles to boulders.

We made a stop at Pont Croix on the way back. A quaint town that is home or second home to many British folk, Pont Croix is very charming. We met some ex-pats and visited the church. It has one of the steeples we've taken to calling gaudy gothic, but the correct architectural term is flamboyant Gothic. We were close.

Dinner was with Patrick and Queen at their house where they prepared the clams and sardines we bought at the market in the morning. They've rigged up their wood stove to grill meats and fish. It's incredibly efficient and there's no odor. We had a wonderful meal and a delightful evening looking out over the setting sun on the Bay of Biscay.