Right after we got back from our week in the Loire Atlantique, my family came to visit. And then yesterday it was la rentrée (back to school) with tons of meetings planned for each class and extra-curricular activity. So this is a “lite” post containing mostly pictures of a couple of the towns we visited.
A few summers ago we spent time in Lacanau-Océan, which is also on the Atlantique but further down. This time, we were more north and so close to Brittany the area used to be considered Breton. It actually was Breton until 1942 to be precise, and even now some still consider it Breton and the signs are all in both languages. I posted a couple pictures of Guérande when I wrote about how to harvest sea salt, and now here are three more towns. I didn’t include a lot of historical background and the pictures are just to give you a flavour for each town.
Piriac-sur-Mer
We only had two hours to spend there, but it’s super charming, isn’t it? I love all the little signs with cartoon characters. And of course the hidden face popping out of the wall saying coucou. Coucou (pronounced coo-coo) simply means hi. It’s the sort of thing you say when you enter the house of someone you know well and you want to announce your presence.
La Turballe
For this place, I only have pictures of the beach, not of the town, although the town looked pretty cute when we drove through. We went specifically to take sunset pictures, and since we happened to be there just as the eclipse was happening in the US, we also took a ” total eclipse of the son” picture.
As for the rest, there is nothing more peaceful than the ocean (to me) and no better lighting than the close of day. This is on our way up the hill of sand to get to the ocean. It was also like that in Lacanau-Océan, although the sand dune was higher and harder to climb.
The ocean – especially on the French coast – is my happy place.
Le Croisic
I really did not capture the heart of this place. I don’t know why – not a lot of time and not motivated to take pictures. We went for dinner, but again only had two hours because that’s what the club offered us by way of childcare. It’s a sweet harbor town, though, with only the first picture showing evidence of the boats.
Otherwise, it’s filled with charming old streets and buildings.
I’ve made it look like a ghost town when it’s not. And the town hall looks surprisingly run down with rubble in the corner beyond the barrier. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but the facade is still gorgeous.
What I think gives the best feel for Le Croisic, however, is this 30 second video clip that I took and put on Instagram. I wish it lasted longer but I didn’t want to film the people that were sitting at the restaurant just around the corner. I’m so in love with it – the video, the place, (my husband) I want to play it again and again. When you watch, you’ll see what I mean. (If you’re reading this by e-mail, you have to click on the blog title at the top of the e-mail to see the video clip).
I’ll have one more post for you from our summer trip and it’s the château de Nantes. In the meantime, now that we’re starting to get into routine, I’m ready to finish my book (Regency – the first in a series). I’ve had input from four people so far, which has been very helpful. Now I need to include all their suggestions and rework a few things. It’s coming along though and I can’t wait to get it out into the world.
I discovered a new site that may one day be the Christian equivalent to BookBub (although they’re just starting out and they don’t feature only Christian books. They do include a rating for violence, language, and purity. It’s called Christian Book Heaven, and if you want to sign up for free or discount books (you can choose which categories interest you), you can do so here. In full disclosure, I get discounts on book advertising if you sign up through me.
Meanwhile, I hope you’re enjoying your back to routine. Sending bisous from France.
Ah… Those pictures are GORGEOUS!! It feels just so dreamy… I love that you get to experience the beauty of traveling and the joy of sharing these new exquisite places with your kids. <3
I think you captured just the right spirit for each of these places, even though I’ve never been.
It still feels like a glimpse into somewhere special.
You have a gift for that, you know.
XO