A Magnum Classic at last!!

Robert at the cairn; HUGE structure! Gannets galore! Also, me with my Magnum Classic ... and the house I want to have!!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Bonjour! So hard to believe this is our second (and last!) Monday here! Where has the time gone??

Our plan for today got slightly derailed when we were awakened at 4 a.m. by a thunder storm! Lots of thunder and lightning everywhere. When we woke up at 6, it was raining and foggy, so we decided to stay in bed … for awhile. Finally up around 7, and out by 8:30-ish, by which time it had stopped raining and was beginning to clear! (Being from Tucson, we’re not used to weather changing this quickly; it’s great!) Decided to head to Perros-Guirec, the Sept-Iles and the Cote de Granit-Rose – coast of rose-colored granite. Lovely drive, and arrived around 11 a.m. Went first to the Gare Maritime along a stunning beach, to see about pelagic cruises. Found that the only cruise would be at 3:15 p.m., for two hours. Unfortunately, no stops at either of the islands planned for that day; oh well!

This part of the coast is composed primarily of a pink shade of granite, with lovely huge crystals of some kind of silicate just glistening in the sunshine! And they’re right – it’s really PINK! Hard to believe, especially as it’s a very popular building stone around there – roads paved in it, walls made out of blocks of it; houses completely in granite – really lovely!

As we had several hours before the cruise, decided to head to the Carn of Barnenez, one of the oldest and biggest Neolithic mounds in the world. And WOW, it was HUGE! Had it basically to ourselves, which was lovely. Great location, at the end of a peninsula; estimated to have been built in a stepped pyramid style from about 4500 b.c. Had a good look around, then headed back to Perros-Guirec, not forgetting to stop for seasick pills, as … you never know! (Almost didn’t find them, though, as we forgot … Monday morning! Not being content to have everything closed all day Sunday, most places are also closed on Monday morning!! (Editor’s note: Watching a special Andrea Bocelli concert from the Coliseum in Rome – AMAZING – TRULY hope they do this on CD; definitely worth having!!) So…back to seasick pills … found “Mercalm” – (calm sea)…sure hope they work! Stopped for a quick lunch – R had a salad, I had a sandwich – AND FINALLY found my long-lost Magnum Classic ice cream bar….YUM!

Boat departed right on time. Nice cruise out and around the seven small islands, some no more than huge rocks rising out of the sea. Saw LOTS of birds, including puffins – but by far the biggest population was of gannets – THOUSANDS of nesting pairs, many still in the process of building nests; carrying seaweed back to the island – even watched as one gannet actually did a mid-air steal of another gannet’s seaweed; grabbed it right out of his mouth! Fortunately, there were some clouds overhead, so we weren’t flooded with sun – the wind was sharp enough when we got started. Cruised the islands and then proceeded down the coast – saw several wonderful mansions built on separate islands – all out of pink granite. Imagine that must have been an interesting job!

Landed about 5:15 p.m., retrieved the car, and headed back to Dinan. About ¾ of the way home, the skies just opened up with torrential rain! Luckily, it didn’t last too long, but wow, what a soaking! Got back to the hotel in a sprinkle, and decided to try one of the restaurants at the port for dinner.

Looked at the various menus, and actually managed to find what we thought was chicken at Les Voyageurs. R ordered moules (mussels) again, and they were great! I had a warm goat cheese salad with lardons (type of bacon), lettuce, tomato and hard-boiled egg – terrific! We both ordered the chicken – and it turned out to be turkey – which is fine! It was strips of turkey meat in a mushroom sauce, with boiled potatoes, a grilled tomato, and a grilled apple (among other things). The plate was a beautiful presentation! For dessert, R had the tarte tatin (apple tart) and I had ice cream … yes, again! (Would have had a Magnum Classic if I’d been given the chance…)

Walked back to the hotel across the stone bridge. Will be very sorry to leave this lovely place, but tomorrow it’s on through the beaches of Normandy and to Ermenonville and then home…

Oh well! We’ll definitely be back!
More later!
m