Fouesnant, Concarneau, Quimper

25 - 27 August

Fouesnant is a smallish town not far from the sea and a very good walk is to be had from Françoise and Keith's through the forest to the sea, around the coast and back through some walking tracks to the town. Very varied, very pleasant even passed kiwi-fruit growing beside the track. It was interesting to walk around the vast mud flats in the morning, then to come down for a swim in the evening with the tide almost in and no sign of anything resembling a mud-flat.

It was hard to realise it was the same place. Everybody went swimming in the cold water, except for me. Everybody agreed it was very cold. But it was nice sitting on the beach and we had fun with tunnels and the tide on the hard sand. Françoise, Keith and the girls made us feel very welcome, and Django the dog, who Chris looked after in Wellington for a while many years ago, is still active and interested in life, though not the same ball of energy any more!

Another day Keith took us to nearby Concarneau, which  is a short drive around the coast. Nowadays Concarneau's main attraction is the fact that it is a walled city. We walked right around the ramparts and up the middle, stopping to buy a few of the tasty offerings of 'the best chocolatier in France'. The same selection as at Auray, so I knew what I was getting, to take back to Françoise and the girls. 

This chocolate shop had amazing creations made of chocolate - like sculptures, some of them. There was a summer attraction of various musicians in the first courtyard, and lots of visitors!

We also visited Quimper, the largest town in the area, from where we were to take a train the following day. We only had a short time there and walked around some of the streets of the town, dating from medieval times, with the characteristic wooden framing visible from the outside and visiting the cathedral.

The ride from Fouesnant to Quimper, along smallish roads with not too much traffic, was much quicker than we had envisaged, possibly due to a goodly amount of downhill riding. We even had time for a drink in the sun before catching our train to Nantes.