The 16th century church Eglise Notre-Dame de Croaz Batz overlooks Roscoff and its harbor
Our next stop, Roscoff, is on the northern coast of Finistère (roughly, “end of the earth”), the westernmost department of Brittany. Finistère has the longest coastline of any department in mainland France, and it’s the kind of rugged, moody coast that we expected of Brittany. Dramatic tides sweep in and out of these beaches. Seagulls squawk and swoop above. And the long summer days produce big flowers and lush foliage.
The weather is also pretty rough and moody. Cool, gloomy mornings have been yielding to a little sun by mid-day and high temperatures in the low 60s. It’s really not bad touring weather at all, but it’s just not what we expected in mid-July. My mostly summer wardrobe has been packed away for over two weeks in favor of the jeans and sweaters I brought in case it got cold.
The pretty town of Roscoff
Choucroute de la mer — sauerkraut with a pile of local seafood
We went past the church just as a wedding party was entering
And there go the final entrants
Our hotel had a restaurant with a Michelin star. We dressed up a bit and enjoyed a fancier meal than usual.
We don’t have dessert very often. Jim went full on strawberries.
The days are long here, so we had to stay up pretty late to catch the Bastille Day fireworks. It’s even still a bit light, though it’s well after 11:00 pm.
We made one momentous decision here about the rest of our summer in France. We had expected to take a drive outside of Roscoff to see a coastal area known as the Pink Granite Coast. But once we’ve arrived here and parked our car, we can’t stand the thought of getting back into it until we have to. A similar thing happened earlier in Dinard when we wanted to do a day trip to Dinan. We ended up taking an hour-long bus ride to Dinan instead of a half-hour drive with our own car. We so much more enjoy the adventure and relaxation of taking a train or a bus someplace than the ordeal or driving and parking.
We already have plans to return the car we have in a few more days. Then we’d planned to pick up another one 10 days later for the entire month of August. After discussing how much we loathe dealing with the car, we canceled our month-long reservation for August. I think we can swing trains and buses for most of that period, even though it will sometimes add a few hours here and there. We’ll probably need a car for a week or so in the French Alps, but we are thrilled to have knocked off a few weeks of car travel!
Unable to bring ourselves to drive to the Pink Granite Coast, we instead decided to take a ferry to Ile de Batz, just off the coast of Roscoff for the day. The island is home to just 449 residents and is free of motorized vehicles. I was mildly worried about the amount of walking we’d have to do to get around the island, since my knees have degenerated to such a state that walking is very painful. (Not to fear, readers, I have knee replacements scheduled for this fall; this is my last major trip with messed up knees!) But quickly after we arrived we walked past a bike rental place. It is amazing how joyful it is for me to see places from a bicycle. You move a little faster than walking, and it is totally pain free for me.
This turned out to be a perfect day. The was the Brittany that we were seeking — the rugged coastlines, hardy and industrious people, houses and fences made of stone, perfectly manicured gardens. Followed by a lovely lunch at a friendly cafe overlooking the beach.
Our summer in France has been wonderful so far, and it promises to get even better — with less car and more bikes, buses, and trains. That suits us very well.
One of many beautiful stone houses on Ile de Batz
Biking past the lighthouse on Ile de Batz
What a beautiful place
This is how I love to see places — pain free!
Jim looks out at the beach, contemplating whether this is the right take to take a swim in the icy cold La Manche (known on the other side as the English Channel)
He goes for it!
