A COUPLE OF WEEKS ASHORE - WE LOVED IT!
A couple of
weeks ashore
On August 9th, we picked up a rental car and headed off for a
little vacation. Boy did we put in some miles. In brief it was
Long days drive to St Malo, via
St Malo a quaint
medieval town.
Our B&B in St Malo
Arrived in St Malo late in the day without a reservation and after driving around for sometime, we finally drove into a B&B on the outskirts of town, they were full of course, and one thing led to another and following their directions we finally found a beautiful B&B which occupied ½ a chateau and the boudoir was elegant as was the price! By this time it was around 10:30pm and we still had to eat so we sallied forth in a wooded neighbourhood and found a fellow just closing who took pity on us and feed us a rather nice seafood collection.
From St Malo it was a short ferry ride to Jersey in the
St Helena,
Jersey
Back to the mainland and the real reason for our trip ashore, a visit with Jo-Anne & Jacques Larretche at their newly acquired summer house at Castets, near Dax just north of the French/Spanish border.
Jacques,
Jo-Anne, Irene &
After a joyful welcome from Jo-Anne & Jacques and their extended family we settled down to several days of being entertained and really spoiled. The following day was the Dax Festival, I am sure I have the name wrong and after publication, Jo-Anne can correct me please. The theme for the festival in red and white and Jo-Anne provided us with the appropriate neck wear and off to town we went. Jacques is a typical Frenchman; he does not really park the car but instead abandons it in an appropriate location adjacent to where he wants to be! In this case as we were turning a corner, a space opened up on the middle of the road, adjacent to a traffic island behind a truck which had been used to truck the bulls into town for the bull fights, I think the truck had special dispensation to park where it did however, Jacques with the urging of Jo-Anne & Irene decide that the space behind was just right for his car and there he parked! On returning to the car it was with relief that we had no ticket! Abandonment works!
Some of the
characters from the
This is my special friend Lou-Anne the daughter of Laure & Guinge. One of the most charismatic children I have ever met. Bright, vivacious, her eyes sparkle with special enjoyment and absolutely beautiful. The tiger was a special delight for all the children.
The rest of Jo-Anne & Jacques extended family made both of
us very welcome and it was with regret that after 5 days we had to return to
From the left: Lou-Anne,
On the way back to
Our very own
‘Westie’ at the Guggenheim museum,
From there we drove back to
Love to all; John & Irene