It’s a whirlwind summer for us, which is a treat after a pretty difficult year. Our usual two weeks in Bretagne (Brittany) became one week because we had to squeeze in a trip to the US and our pre-teen and teen camps in Switzerland later this month. I was really bent on enjoying our time in Brittany because I’m not wired to stop and enjoy. I’m wired to run around anxiously, trying to prepare for the next thing to come. So I focused on having fun. And I did.
Here are some of the things we did. Went to our favorite beach (photo below), which is accessible only by a sandy climb under a shaded canopy of trees. We always picnic there so we can stay longer.
This is low tide so the water doesn’t look as blue. My nephews walked out to one of the rocks you can see to the left of the cliff, and my brother-in-law took a surfboard to make sure they were okay coming back because the tide had risen and they had to swim. They were okay, but tired. We reminisced about the time that same brother-in-law came to my rescue on a different beach when I had a toddler in each arm and a few kids hanging on to each shoulder (my own plus nieces and nephews) when the tide came in quicker than expected. He arrived minutes before my husband did and we got all the kids to safety.
We hung out in the garden and ate good food. This was buffet style since it was Bastille Day. There were 18 of us, plus a baby. We’ve had up to 22 at one time.
We spent time as a family with the siblings both arguing and playing, and the cousins just generally all getting along. I can’t show all the photos of cousins and my in-laws because they’re pretty private people. I wish I could show you some though – we got some amazing photos.
Me and Will.
We went to Dinard for ice-cream and the annual photos –
– which get harder every year with all their silliness.
Matthieu and I went on our usual date to Saint Malo.
This year, dinner was at Au Coup de Canon
Our time together (18 years married this year, 11 summers in Brittany)
to watch the sunset (the large rock there holds Chateaubriand’s tomb).
Many of these pictures are Matthieu’s with the Fuji camera he got for his 50th birthday. Not the one below though. That one was iPhone 6+ courtesy of yours truly. I love that man.
We walked to the island straight ahead while it was low tide. See those steps and the rocks down there? We had to climb them carrying an injured victim. More on that in a minute.
William was excited to catch baby crabs
I was excited to see mussels that weren’t on a plate, sautéed in white wine and shallots.
There was clay in the low tide. The kind of stuff you sell in a cosmetic jar because it’s so nutrient-rich.
And that’s how the accident happened. Gabriel was walking in the clay, squelching with each step. And there is this type of sea life called “couteaux”, which (accurately) means “knife.” Here‘s what it looks like in recipe format. Anyway, there were a bunch of couteaux in the clay and Gabriel cut his foot.
It was a little frightening because with each step, blood poured out of the sandals (he’d thrown on hastily – a tad late). Matthieu (50) and his youngest brother (40) had to take turns carrying him, and at age 12 and nearly as tall as me, the kid was not light.
Instead of walking back to our home beach as planned (there in the distance)
we cut across to where the cars were parked.
(Here is Gabriel and some of the cousins before the unfortunate event occurred, and that’s our home beach in the distance).
Still. Even to the car, it was far. And all this with the threat of the tide coming back in. It gave me a good opportunity to trust God and to teach my traumatised son to do the same.
We then had to climb over the rocks and up the stairs of the cliff carrying a 100+ pound kid. God was good though. We made it, got the foot cleaned up, and decided it didn’t need stitches. (After hearing that the hospital wait would be 4-5 hours).
That night we had our usual performances from all the nieces and nephews, followed by a “everybody join in” family dance. And then we went to the fireworks for the 14th.
Can you see that island there in the center? That’s where we were when Gabriel cut his foot. It’s high tide now. But you can see it’s pretty far.
After the fireworks, we had one more night in Bretagne before rushing home the next day to watch the World Cup.
And, you know, that… Well, it was pretty darn exciting.
Allez les Bleus!
I hope you all are having a fantastic summer. I’ll be back with photos from our trip to the States, and eventually Switzerland.
