The plan was to fit in one more hike before we left but, as it was raining again this morning, we postponed the hike until tomorrow. We’ve been in Trevou-Treguignec for almost a month and, with only 2 days left, decided to walk the neighbourhood this afternoon, something we’ve been meaning to do since we arrived.
We completed a fairly large circle – turned left from our gate and walked down 2 streets (to understand distance, think big city downtown blocks), turned left again which eventually brought us out by the pub, turned left again until we reached Beg ar Land (our street), and back up our road (second house in). All that took us about 2-3 hours. Why that long, you ask? Because we had our cameras with us 🙂
We took lots of photos of flowers, peoples’ gardens, their homes, their livestock, their fields, their farm equipment, etc. In some places, because we were elevated, we could easily see the ocean.
When we made our first left, we left the houses behind and entered farmland. A small irony… earlier in our vacation, we spent days looking for safe places to stop and take pictures of artichoke fields only to discover that there are 2 within walking distance.
The horses we came across must have been waiting for us as one of them put on quite the show of rolling in the grass. (There was a wire fence which got in the way of perfect photos…)
Slightly further along, we met a man who was repairing a stone wall. Because we showed an interest in his work, he took us around the other side to explain what he was doing. Seems over the years, these stone walls settle in and push the mortar out, causing the walls to shift. He was removing old mortar, straightening up the stones, and applying new mortar. That’s pretty labour intensive but he certainly looked very proud of his craft. We chatted for a bit and he was extra careful in how he spoke to us so he was fairly easy to understand. He was explaining that there’s very little fluctuation in temperatures in Brittany – summers around 22-25, winters hardly ever below freezing and hardly ever any snow (if it snows, no one goes to work – they can’t drive and there are no municipal vehicles to clear snow). That would explain the palm trees!!! something we definitely weren’t expecting just a wee bit south (and west) of Paris.
On the same road, there is an agricultural business which was busy with tractors coming and going. We had an anxious moment when a dog walked right underneath one of them!!! and out the other side. Silly puppy!!!!!!
After our next left, we were back into homes, most of which had the most gorgeous gardens. Makes you wonder if all French residents know how to build a beautiful garden or if they hire out to have them done.
We passed a few neighbours who said “bonjour” but who also kept a close eye on us as we clearly were not locals.
(that’s our street behind Steve)
Tonight, we used up random food in the fridge. I made scallop potatoes with leftover cream sauce from last night’s dinner and we also had salad, pate’s, cheeses, breads, wine, and cider. I can’t understand why we haven’t put on 10 lbs since we got here.