This trip started as a result of Mr. P’s paternal-side 10-year cousinade (reunion), held on the Brittany coast of France, attended by cousins near and as far away as Australia. Originally Mr. P was going to go solo, for a long weekend, as I didn’t want to spend a third consecutive vacation in France… but then he started talking about bringing Little Boy, and I thought it would look weird if I didn’t go, plus the hotels would cost the same if I went or not… so then, since we were dropping 3 airfares to Europe, it turned into a 5 days in France and 4 days in Ireland. Why not?
I’m writing this almost 2 weeks later, so I’ll rely on pictures to help tell the story. We left Boston Friday night on the red-eye to Dublin. We had a six-hour layover in Dublin — not enough time to leave the airport, not enough time to furlough comfortably in regular airport conditions. So Mr. P splurged on passes to the Aer Lingus lounge, where free drinks, comfortable sofa, and functional showers awaited.
Then, from Dublin, a short flight to Rennes, the capital of Brittany. This picture sums up my overall impression of Brittany:
Brittany, France (with kite-surfer in background)
Gray, cold, rainy skies. My beaux-parents picked us up at the airport and whisked us to the most fabulous dinner I’ve ever eaten that involved uber-bony fish. Little Boy was reunited with his cousins. We were jet-lagged to the point of being energized.
The next day, the reunion. Little Boy frolicked with his British cousins, though he was incredibly wary of the French ones.
Cousins
There were about 100 people. The meal started at 1pm with salads, escalated to ham and veggies, digressed to cheese, and finally ended with dessert at around 6pm.
Official reunion cake
Desserts galore
Enjoying the eclair
Then, after we finally stopped eating, the pictures:
And there are more pictures and people, but I think the idea has been conveyed. It was a nice event. I always welcome the opportunity meet new French people while eating delicious food for 5 hours straight.
The next day, with my beaux-parents as guides, we started exploring Brittany. First we went to the famed tourist destination of Saint-Malo, a walled city known for being a pirate-enclave in centuries past.
Saint Malo's walls: pirate haven
Saint Malo -- sea swimming pool
Walkway to the Grand Bé, a tidal peninsula
This is why Grand Bé is only open low tide -- we had to turn around
Beach of Saint Malo
At the aquarium, touching fish with Papi
The next day we headed to Normandy to visit Mont Saint-Michel, a famed fortified island with an active monastery.
Mont Saint-Michel
We roamed the steep streets amid countless other tourists, including many Americans wearing “Normandy beach” shirts and hats with American flags (what, did they want to be thanked?)
Quaint streets of Mont Saint-Michel
At the monastery
at the monastery
Beaux-parents
Walking back to the car
I must add that, amid all this sightseeing, I ran everyday on a trail on the beach for about 90 minutes. What a workout! The terrain varied from dirt to rocks to clay to sand; the weather varied from the threat of rain to drizzle to actual windy rain. Never a dull moment, and my legs felt strong and renewed.
The next day, we were taking the train to the Paris airport in the afternoon. On the way to the train station in Rennes, we stopped in Dinan, yet another picturesque walled town with steep sidewalks.
Dinan
Dinan
After walking around and having lunch, Mr. P’s parents drove us to the Rennes train station and we bulleted to Paris CDG. We were staying overnight at the Hilton, where thanks to Mr. P’s loyalty points we were granted entry to the Executive lounge. Free drinks and enough appetizers to constituent a dinner!
The next morning, it was off to Dublin for four days of…
Happy times in Ireland
to be continued…
