13 mars 2008
Next trip
Japan.
We are taking off tomorrow.
Needless to say we're really excited.
You will not hear a lot from us in the three coming weeks. But promised, you'll get a detailed travel report and the usual tips, as soon as we come back.
Rita and Jeremie
10 mars 2008
Viagra
I am not a marketing expert, but I am sure you'll agree that this ad for Viagra says it all!
24 août 2007
Last day in Brittany
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It’s a nice day with nothing much achieved except enjoying the sun and the day passing by. Jeremie does a bit of gardening again whereas Boris and Rita read some newspapers and rest. After another excellent lunch, time for Boris to head back to Paris. We bring him to St Brieuc so that he catches his train and we head back home. We leave tomorrow to Cambodia and still have many things to do: packing the house, packing our bags, etc. Not many fascinating things to say about it I am afraid…
23 août 2007
Côte de Granit Rose
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Briac has left early, as we were still asleep. He has to get back to work. With only a couple hours of sleep, I guess his day shall not be the very productive…
We wake up pretty late and enjoy the morning. Time for some tourism. Since this is Boris’s first time in Brittany, we want to show him around and do some tourism. Hard choices, there are so many things to do in the region. We decide for the Cote de Granit Rose (the Pink granite coast) so called because of the colour of the stones in this part of Brittany. The weather is slightly less nice today, and we fear some showers will spoil the day. From home to Paimpol, it’s an hour’s drive through some roads. We reach the coast and picnic on the beach. As we finish, it starts raining, so we drive around, showing Boris the countryside. We reach Tréguier, a city full of character with a superb traditional architecture. The Cathedral is stunning and not to be missed. We wander around the city a bit and then drive to Perros Guirrec. This is where one can find the world famous pink rocks. The weather is now superb, it’s late so very few people are around and we can enjoy the place at our own pace.
Back home, we prepare Brittany’s speciality (there aren’t many anyways…): galettes (buckwheat pancake) and crêpes. Not to forget Brittany’s equivalent to water: Apple cider!
Lovely evening by the fore again. But we’re all pretty tired so do not last long.
22 août 2007
Eating, Drinking, Gardening, Drinking, Playing, Smoking
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We all wake up late and don’t do much in the morning. Jannig has to leave, since Lison has to take sailing courses later in the day. Briac stays with us. Jeremie goes to St Brieuc to welcome Boris who came to pay us a visit. That’s his first time in Brittany (he comes from Avignon, Southern France). With so many French around, I guess there aren’t much choice but doing the national sport: aperitif and good food. The weather is still excellent, so barbecue is on offer. Everyone gets busy preparing lunch. We enjoy it all under the tree. Boris tries to get accustomed to the weather. For us, it’s hot. For him, used to Southern France’s heat, it’s almost cold here. Even under the sun!
We’ve drunk significantly and need to exercise a bit. Jeremie suggests to his friends to help him out in the garden. At 7p.m. the three boys who for hours were clearing bushes and cutting the grass, stop and enjoy the last bits of sun for an aperitif outside. Team work again for dinner: a stunning salmon cooked “en papillote.” Red wine and white wine abound. We spend the rest of the evening by the fire, chattering about everything, drinking pear eau de vie and whisky. At 1 a.m., someone proposes to play Trivial Pursuit. We team up: Briac with me and Jeremie and Boris. Jeremie and Boris win the game, relatively easily. Boys get drunk progressively and Boris suggests another game. Briac agrees but only if this doesn’t last more than 20 mns. Forgot to say it’s 2:30 a.m. We play again and we got crushed. Jeremie and Boris – with a mix of luck and excellent responses – just got everything right. They have answered all questions in just 20 mns. The fastest game ever!
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21 août 2007
Friends arrive
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Still many things to do in the house and in the garden before our friends arrive. The weather is fantastic. Okay, looks normal since we’re in July but hey, it’s Brittany and one never knows. Beautiful blue sky, very sunny, some winds to clear some daring clouds, absolutely perfect for us. Briac and Jannig arrive, with their children Lison (8) and Marjan (a 6 months old baby). It’s been a very long time we haven’t seen each other. It’s good to meet old friends again. Briac is in charge of the barbecue, his speciality. Jeremie keeps on clearing some bushes to leave us space to eat outside in the garden. Rita prepares some Foie Gras, that we enjoy with a stunning Côteaux du Layon. We have lunch under a tree, enjoying a good red wine and various sausages. We spend the rest of the afternoon in the garden, enjoying the weather.
It’s a bit chilly in the evening and we have an aperitif inside. We make a fire in the chimney and enjoy prawns.
I want to apologise for talking so much about food. We miss all those goodies way too much. Looks like an illness to talk so much about it… Since we’re forgiven, let me just talk about dinner: braised white tuna.
We spend a lovely evening by the fire.
20 août 2007
Home Sweet Home
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It’s been 2 years we haven’t been to our house in France. Needless to say we were pretty apprehensive about it, wondering in what condition we would find it. Not afraid it would be robbed or something (there are neighbours around watching what goes on in a Lilliputian hamlet), but the more general condition of the place. Leaving Congo, we were not expecting to find jungle in Brittany. But our garden made the trick. Our 4 hectares of land was covered by overgrown vegetation, with wild grass as high as one metre.
Brittany receives its fair share of rain and we can just feel the impact on our desperate garden. Our two orchards can’t even be reached. They have been taken over by brambles and bushes. The task to clean all that up seems daunting. Okay, let’s have a look inside the house. No major damage except the mice who seem to appreciate our home as much as we do. And dust.
We have friends visiting us the following day so we need to get this started and make our house clean and welcoming. Rita gets busy with the interior, whereas Jeremie decides to start clearing the bush. We are tired before starting. Jeremie has celebrated his birthday with Boris and friends in Paris until late (with a decent amount of drinks gulped down…) and Rita has barely slept on her way back from Congo (we came our separate ways, as Jeremie had some things to do in Paris.) It’s then a 5 hour drive from Paris to home. Though it was supposed to be the worst WE when it comes to traffic, we haven’t experienced a problem whilst leaving Paris. We stop by a supermarket. It’s been two years we didn’t do some hypermarket shopping. Coming from Goma – where almost nothing can be found – it’s a real treat being able to choose so many good things we missed so much (cheese, fish, cooked meats, etc)
After several hours of cleaning the house and gardening, we go to bed exhausted for a well deserved sleep.
04 juillet 2007
Where are you from???
Time to take stock.
We've started this blog a year and half ago. Since then, 65,000 people visited it and read more than 350,000 pages.
But what we like above all is that you visitors come from almost all over the world.
This map shows where you are all from (in red).
Thanks for your fidelity and all the kind messages sent.
03 juillet 2007
Cambodia
I guess this photo leaves no doubt.
Our next destination is Cambodia.
We'll tell you more about our trip when we return. In the meantime, as promised, we're gonna entertain you in the coming days with our colombian friends' visit to the land of Congo.
Below some more photos on Cambodia, picked here
01 juillet 2007
Our next trip?
You know we're quite addicted to travelling.
In a couple of weeks, we'll be on the road again.
This photo should give you a clue where we're heading to.
Any idea?
