I might give a few years off the tail end of my life if I could ensure that all days work out like this one. To begin with: We did not miss our wake up or run into any sort of issue disembarking the ferry. We woke up at 5am Irish time (6am local) to both my alarm as well as the gentle Irish folk music provided curtesy of Brittany Ferries. We had breakfast, bought just in time to avoid the mad rush and vacated our genius cabin in due time to leave the ship among the first waves. I even had time for a quick shower in our ensuite.
Next up, first destination back on French soil: Boulangerie patisserie – one of the few things open on Sundays in this land of liberty. By the time we had our first baguette in hand we were greeted by a wonderful sunrise over Roscoff’s old harbour. The light of the new day revealed what a quaint and pretty little town Roscoff was. We stuck around for a while, admiring the strange bell-tower, walking out on this seemingly endless pier. We liked it.
Still early in the day on a beach just out of the old town, we sat for a while thinking about what to do and where to go next. We were sorely missing a Lonely Planet guide for Brittany – it has become such a part of our traveling by now. Just something to sharpen the focus and find inspiration. Without such aide, we decided on an ambling “long way” route to a campsite only 140km to the east. We were glad to be able to draw upon the Rustiek Kamperen site again.
Before hitting the campground early for once, there was some road to be travelled. The ride was pretty high up there, following along through more cute villages along the shore as well as the cities of Morlaix and Lannion. The former of which was such a sudden revelation of cool and picturesque that we had to stop for a coffee and a wander. The main feature (for us) was this absolutely enormous railway viaduct crossing the narrow valley right at the point where the estuary was capped off by a small harbour and covered over to make space for the village square. Best of all, there was a path on the first level of arches accessible to cross and take in the views. A perfect surprise.
Just a short while after the baguette from this morning was ritually sacrificed on another of our now almost customary beach-side lunch stops. After lunch, given our early start, I was the only one left to really admire the scenery as snoozing ensued all around me for most of the rest of the way.
That also meant no additional stops or delays before the campground, though. What a jackpot it was. Le Cheval Rouge was a rural farm renovated and run as a B&B / Glamping site by Dutch couple Chantal & Oliver. It was like it was made for us – very small and intimate, exceptionally kid friendly and without big campervans. Or many other campers at all – most other guests took the chance to stay in big family tents kitted out as glamping sites for families. Just as we were about to set up and enjoy the afternoon, the cherry on top was delivered: Sunday was the day for a communal dinner. Today it was Indonesian Rice Platter. We were just in time to decided to join in. Indonesian food? Mostly vegetarian, as Chantal is vegetarian, too! So many times, yes.
And so, we had, completely by accident, one of the coolest evenings of our European travels. A perfect warm late summer evening, everyone around a long table set out in their garden. Although we were the only non-Dutch guests, everyone was very kind in switching to German or English to accommodate us. Most of the guests were families with young children as well, the kids were playing, and the wine was good. I even got to spend a few minutes at the campfire even though the rest of my family has called it an early night.
Good times!
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