A Shoe for All Seasons

Today we had to dress for all four seasons. We spent the day in and out of our coats and sweaters. The wind had winter fangs, but the sun was summer hot-when it was out. We had spring showers along the way, and in the evening we had an autumn fire.

We visited our friends, Patrick and Queen, who have recently moved into a snug wooden house right on the ocean. It's a wonderful house and the location is idyllic. Johnny Depp's main squeeze, French actress Vanessa Paradis, has been filming a movie at the house next door. The movie is about a woman who hates Brittany inherits several houses in the region and has to spend time disposing of them. Along the way, the wild beauty of the place charms her. We understand.

Andria and I went into Quimper, a delightful town nearby. We had a fabulous lunch at the Crêperie La Krampouzerie. Crepes here are either froment, regular wheat flour, or ble noir, which is buckwheat. After our lunch we asked the manager if we could see the pans the crepes are made in. He stopped what he was doing and demonstrated the making of a crepe. He poured the batter onto a flat, round griddle about 15 inches in diameter. Then he took a trowel like tool and spread the batter quickly and evenly over the surface. With a very long spatula-like took he lifted the edge of the cooked crepe and folded the edge in. He continued folding edges until he had a four-sided open square envelope. Delicious!  A paradise for gluten intolerants, Brittany has fabulous crispy crepes and loaves of bread that make tasty toast with the local beurre salé (Breton salted butter).

The Cathédrale Saint-Corentin, centerpiece of Quimper, was begun in 1239 by Raynaud, Bishop of Quimper, who decided to use the foundations of an old Romanesque cathedral.  Alas, Raynaud never lived to see the realization of his plan as it wasn't finished until the mid 19th century. The ground was marshy so the cathedral has a sway in the middle to allow better support. Lovely stained glass windows seem to be of every period passed through during the building process.

From the cathedral, we went to the Museum de Faisance to see their collection of regional pottery from the late seventeenth century. A factory tour in French told us most everything we needed to know about the making of the local pottery. Interestingly, every newborn in Quimper is given a bowl (pink or blue) with name inscribed from the mayor. And every bride gets some piece-I was glad to have understood this much. A fun way to spend a rainy afternoon; in better weather, I'd recommend walking through this lovely town looking at the buildings and flowers and sitting in a café near the river for a glass of wine or the local cider.

We returned to Poulihinec for dinner with Patrick and Queen. They had a fire going in the stove and delicious seafood waiting for us. Our after dinner walk took us down to a trail that runs 1000 kilometers around Brittany, the Grande Randonée 34. GR34 takes you up hills, through woods, and down by the sea with its crashing waves. The Little Black Shoe made the walk with no trouble at all. My feet were warm and dry. It was a fine day for the LBS.