Enfin (finally), we took a navette (shuttle bus) to the center of Paris. It was amazing seeing the city again and be reminded that France is now our home. We got to the train station and waited for the train. When it arrived we had 10 minutes to board. So we began our search for our car. Car #1 should be at one of the ends (said our American brains) so we looked at the one closest to us - chouette! - it wasn't car 1, so we ran as fast as two people with 4 pieces of luggage and 2 back packs could run. Awesome - the last car wasn't car 1 either. So as they were making the final boarding calls we found our car and got in. Obviously there was no space for our luggage so we just kind of put it somewhere (a nice frenchman helped us make some room) and we sat down. Erin quickly stood up and got my deodorant and a clean shirt and handed them to me. I was soaked in sweat from our little ordeal.
We arrived in Auray and were hesitantly greeted by Angelique who had made us some sandwiches (thank you!!). She narrated as she drove us to our new home. I remember her say that on the left side was something about a poubelle (trash can) bay. Since it was dark I couldn't see, I just guessed the bay was really ugly. (After hearing lots of people talk about poubelle this and poubelle that it finally dawned on me that they were saying plus belle, or most beautiful!)
The next day Sophie's parents came to visit. They are incredibly sweet! They took us out to lunch and her dad made jokes very similar to jokes Erin's dad makes (asking for the subtraction instead of the addition, what they call the bill). They then showed us around the house and how to keep things working. And then as a good bye gift, he played the acordian for us! It was awesome. Then we didn't know what to do! So we took a walk behind the house and found a tower to climb. And also some fresh blackberries to pick and eat (my new favorite hobby!). And we also made it over to La Cote Sauvage and saw the dramatic cliffs made by the ocean pounding against the coast.
The next day Angelique picked us up and we met her friends and the kids and went surfing! Another idiot moment was when Erik, in French, told me if I don't understand something just ask him to repeat it in English. My response was "huh?" The waves weren't big at all and since it was a beach break it meant we could just walk the boards out and not really paddle. Everything about it was different. But after my first wave, things felt better. Finally, something I could do! We had a good time and it mostly worked (except when I said the wetsuit kept me warm except for my two backs - and Erik was like "feet?", "ah yes, feet, not backs!").
Angelique very kindly invited us to her house to celebrate the fete on the 15th. Erik (the guy who loaned me a board and wetsuit) cooked the meat and someone had cooked this incredible cake called "far" which tastes like the best warm mochi you've ever had with a crust on top of sugar. Soooooooo good! We then went down to the beach and watched fireworks which had Breton music accompanying it. Very awesome!
The next day we ventured out in the car. First off, holy cow the space to back out of the garage is TINY. If the car needs 10'...I mean 3.5m to back out, then the space we have is 3.501. I had to back up and pull forward about 10 times. (you can read about our neighbors comments later on from Erin) And with cars darting out at you from all directions on roads that are barely big enough for our tiny car - my old attitude of driving as being a relaxing thing is no longer true! In addition to the stress of backing out and driving, I wouldn't even get in the car without spending about 2 hours researching roads and alternative ways etc.
So here we are - stressed and unhappy at Super-U (the grocery store) and then one back home once the driving is over for the day! And us celebrating our first meal cooked at home (it was pasta - nothing exciting!).
After dinner, I took a walk and saw my first sunset over la cote sauvage. It was beautiful - not a bad replacement for hawaiian sunsets.
The next day we wanted to drive up the coast and go for a walk. Unfortunately as soon as we pulled out onto the road (after about 30 minutes of trying to get out of the garage!) the cops started to tail us (by "tail us" I mean we were on a small road with no turns and they were just following us). They were following us forever and I was panicking (by "forever" I mean we were on the only road that would lead them into town)! So at the first rond-point I had to lose them! It was touch and go for a while, but we got away. When we finally got to the beach, there were no spots left so after panicking while trying to dodge other cars hunting for a space, we finally found a tiny spot. We had a nice enjoyable walk and saw some old ruins and also an old house that had windows aimed at the various islands (I assume for navigation or something similar). The sign as you enter the beach says "swimming prohibited" and someone wrote under it "surfing is obligated" - I like that sign.
We also took a walk in town and saw the main beach and also walked through some of the trails behind our house. And I of course went berry picking (because that's my new favorite thing to do!). I also made dinner that night in the breton way: une galette (de Super-U) au saucisse, pommes, et fromage (a savory crepe, made by super-u, with sausage, apples, and cheese). It was very very good!
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