Oh my gosh we’re all alone with a pooch, a house, a large woodland property and each other…. in France…AHHHHHH.

Its a bit surreal the past few days are a bit of a blur. My body is completely out of whack. I find that going to bed at 12PM or 1AM feels normal and yet waking up at 630AM also feels normal. But then I’m ready for a solid 3 hour nap around 10AM.

We said goodbye to our wonderful hosts a few days ago, our last day with them was pretty low key. Jake and I wanted to get some bonding time with Meeka so we took her on a walk through the neighborhood. Maybe “neighborhood” isn’t the right word, as its more of wide-open country and farm, my FAVORITE kind of living. We feel right at home.

Ian picked up some fresh croissant from the local boulangerie (bakery). They were oh so good, and yet I think we could do better (* note to self, get ingredients to make homemade croissants better than local boulangerie).

I finally got around to unpacking when I realized that we didn’t bring any warm clothes. I have one long sleeve sun shirt and a light jacket (more fashion than warm). Its pretty hot right now but I know the weather here will get much cooler at night (around 50’s F). Such an amateur move to pack so much and leave out something so obvious. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Ian and Lynne left us the use of their car, which is going to open up the gateway to loads of wonderful places to visit. You may remember the driving down the wrong side of the road in Scotland experience, but thankfully in France they drive on the right side (the one we know in USA). The only small caveat is that the steering wheel in our hosts car is from England and therefor on the right side (we are used to the left). But its an easy thing to get used to, plus its an automatic so Jake is relieved.

Small villages and towns in France have stores that are only open for a couple of hours a day (sometimes only for 2-3) and often not open at all on Sunday. As it was a Saturday, Ian suggested that we take the car to Rostrenan, the closest town, to get some groceries.

We were excited and a bit nervous about our first excursion. It remind me of the first time I drove with a drivers license when I turned 16. The roads were mostly empty (thank god) and it took a bit of getting used to the road signs but we made it to Intermarché.

The store was packed with people and everyone speaking in French, as you would expect. I really hate that I don’t know French enough [yet] to have much of a clue to what anyone is saying. In all of our travels up to this point I have been the one in charge, mostly because its been Spanish as the secondary language we encounter, and I’m far more comfortable in that world. But that’s a huge part of why this is going to be a great experience for me, because I really can’t do anything but try my best with it, smile a lot and hopefully not come off as a silly American. 🙂

Its fun to explore the aisles of food, but we also wanted to keep it simple for now since we really didn’t know what we had at home to work with and so we got some basic fruit, veg, meat, cheese and bread. The bread, cheese and wine are so inexpensive here its very difficult to not go overboard. I think I’ve already gained 5 pounds in the last 2 days. I’m just wondering how anyone here can stay fit?

Flowers Galore

I’ve taken hundreds of photos of every nook and cranny in and around this lovely abode. I am floored by the sheer volume of blooming flowers everywhere you turn. The hydrangeas are absolutely stunning in shades of purple, pink, white and even blue. I’ve never seen a true blue flower before this, and I think its my new favorite.

Beyond the volume of plants and forest, we’ve taken a couple of smaller “jaunts” with Meeka beyond the immediate area. There is a water garden in Maël-Carhaix, which is just down the road from us with wonderful walking paths around a large lake and a few smaller ponds. The weather has been so warm and sunny, absolutely perfect to get out and get the pooch (and ourselves) some much needed exercise.

With access to a wonderful kitchen and loads of absolutely fantastic produce (including cheese, meat and butter), we have been cooking all of our meals from scratch. Jake whipped up a pizza in less than 10 minutes that was one of the best I’ve ever had. We think its simply the high quality of ingredients with nothing artificial in there that makes food taste so darn good. I made us crepes with such ease I was kind of amazed, especially since I’ve had a bad record with crepes in my cooking past.

Its still early and we have so many things on our docket that we want to do while we are here. In so many ways it feels like we’ve gone back in time. There are a lot of technology advancements that they simply do without here, like air conditioning. Windows are kept open to allow the breeze to come through, bugs are encouraged because that means they bring thriving life to gardens, flowers and plants. Most homes are built with original stone skeleton and kept mostly simple. Recycling, composting and doing the best to maintain the environment are held in very high regard.

There is a simplicity to life out here, or maybe that’s just country life in general. It might be a little rough around the edges much like Jake and I. It suits us perfectly.