Saints Be Praised in England: El Túnel - Part Quatre

I read that the largest indoor pool in Brittany was close to where we were staying. I thought that might be a fun thing to do with the boys, and I haven't been swimming in eons. I then lost the link and couldn't find it again before leaving Crowthorne, but we brought our suits anyway and happened to drive by it on our second day in France. It didn't look that great. But it was one of those things, where I saw it, and then without thinking, too loudly announced, ''Oh! There's that pool I read about!''

The begging started and we caved and said, ok, we'll go there sometime on this trip. So that was our plan for day four. Super lame. Not on my list. But close and would keep the boys happy. We were a little worn out searching for Gazole.

God is indeed great, the pool was closed (and for many other reasons)!

We saw a sign for Zooparc Trégomeur and decided to check it out. I don't love zoos (although I do love our Reid Park Zoo in Tucson!), I usually feel sorry for the animals and then I hate reading about how they are losing habitat, and how few are left in the wild. It's depressing!

The drive to Zooparc Trégomeur is lovely. It takes you through the town of Trégomeur, which is charming,

We were very curious to see partial mud adobe structures. Feels like home...

and then through fields with big blonde cows. I am a fan of cows. If I had to come back as a cow, I hope it would be a French dairy cow. I think it might be a decent life, hanging out all day, grazing with my sister cows, chewing the cud and gazing at the gorgeous countryside. For now, I will thoroughly enjoy their handiwork, oh happy cheese...

Hi pretty!

Mike and I thought the zoo was pretty expensive. It was 48 euros for the four of us, and that included a bag of popcorn to feed the goats. That is $68.00 which felt over the top.

Mike and I thought this bamboo lined bridge was beautiful.

It is a lovely zoo, the enclosures are fairly large and there are some interesting animals to see, including a snow leopard family with two young kittens (super cute! jumping all over daddy, I could hear the mama cat saying, ''go away! go play somewhere else!'').

I fell in love with the binturong, a strange animal also known as an Asian Bearcat. According to Wikipedia, the Binturong can make chuckling sounds when it seems to be happy and utter a high-pitched wail if annoyed. I can relate to that!

The popcorn eating goats seem to have aggression issues, there was a lot of butting of smaller goats to knock them out of the way of the not-so-tasty treat. Relax! It's lousy popcorn! I'd be right there with you if someone were throwing chocolate covered caramels sprinkled with sea salt...

From there we found ourselves unexpectedly walking up to a gorgeous Thai house. What? Odd, but really lovely.

Mike said we could check it off of the list of places we want to visit,
(just to tease Rainy Dawn). "Thailand, DONE!" Next.

This was the coldest day yet. The high was probably in the low 40's. After having a ball in a the zoo playground, which featured two jumping castles and nice playground equipment, we ran back to Binic to warm ourselves up with an early dinner.

In the off season, if it is after 2:00 pm and before 7:00 pm, there ain't no food to be had...goldarnit!! We were so cold we headed into a bar, and chose a few items off of their bar food menu. So sorry, no croque monsieur, which might have been perfect for our boys (although you never know, it might have been horrible). We ordered the three things they had, a cheese plate, a sausage, and bruschetta, two hot chocolates, and two large breton beers. I would have loved to have downed about seven more, but my alcoholic fun times will have to wait.

The boys ate about a loaf of white bread, Michael had a bite of the sausage, said, "Yum!! I love it!!" and didn't have another bite. I loved it, but it was a might gamey for a seven year old. The cheese was stinky and gooey and perfect. When I have open heart surgery, and the doctors open my clogged arteries, I imagine there will be more than a whiff of gorgonzola in the air. (Can you believe I wrote that?! That's dinner conversation in my family.)

The next day Mike took the reigns and we left for a forced march through our new town of St. Quay Portrieux. It is a gorgeous town. Seaside, our cottage was a seven minute walk to the beach, mostly deserted in the off season. I enjoy the off season. I like the space not taken up by multitudes of hot, hungry people. I like seeing the locals living their daily life.

Snails

Our walk took us along the beach and then up into a neighborhood overlooking the sea with a 300 degree view. I would love to see inside these homes.

We met a very sweet Rubbee look alike, and then had to pause to cry for the kitties we left behind.

Then we walked down to the next beach and found the restaurant that was recommended to us. Please please please plan to eat there, if you are ever in St. Quay Portrieux. Bistrot La Marine in Port Vieux.

Their website is quite cool.
Click on the link above if you have the time to wander around this teensy place.

After spending an hour or so on the beach and collecting shells and other treasures, we entered the restaurant and Michael saw a girl with a giant bowl of mussels! To his shell-collecting-fixated mind, this was the mother load!

''I want the mussels!"

They have a kids menu which features:

mussels with frites (mmmmm!)
steak haché - which is a burger without the bun, also served with frites,
fish avec frites
and something else I can't remember

Of my two little boys, Dominic is the foodie. He loves to cook and has since he was a tiny person. He loves to grocery shop and he loves to eat. He takes after his big sister Anna. Michael is more of the chow hound type, the carbier the better. Pizza, chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, pbj. So I have been pleasantly surprised by his willingness, even enthusiasm to try new foods since our move to England.

He wanted the mussels, dadgummit! Let him have mussels!

I was very excited to teach him the mussel eating trick my luminous, earth-mama, beautiful, food and life loving friend Karlin taught me. You eat one mussel however you can, then you use the shell like tweezers, to extract and to feed yourself the rest of the mussels.

They were heavenly. So simple and so delicious. Salty, sweet little morsels of goodness. And the onions! Which I think were shallots, sent me over the top. Thank you mére nature! Michael probably ate about five, until Mike's curried mussels arrived.

A mountain of mussels.

The sweet curry worked better for Michael than his mussels dressed only in their birthday suits. I ordered Nickerbocker the steak haché because he couldn't come to terms with any of the choices. He is definitely having a harder time with this adventure. His world was working for him in Tucson and it has been a big adjustment for him. Michael is 100% gung ho, from the moment of his conception, likely. The other day he complained to me that a new kid at school wouldn't talk to him. I said that he should keep trying because the new boy probably really appreciated Michael's attempts to make friends, and that new kids are sometimes very scared and it takes some time to settle into a new school. "Scared of what?" Michael asked me. He has no concept of feeling worried about entering a new social environment. It is pure excitement for him. I think that is why he will try any new food and Dominic is holding back. My poor foodie is too overwhelmed by all of the change to embrace this food that I know he would love. He wouldn't even try a mussel.

I am happy. My little man is working on his quest for happiness.
Notice charming murals.

I ordered a fish with the word jaune in the name, yellow something. It was the special and sounded yummy because it was served with lentils, and then it came and was served on a bed of cous cous. So confusing! Delectable, it was the sauce. Sauce is so important... Also we ordered more stinky cheese. And Mike and I shared a bottle of vin. I firmly believe in wine with lunch, it is my new thing.

Funky cheese with freaky ham.

Dessert, apple torte and espresso...

The view from Bistrot La Marine.
Low tide...

We walked back the way we came, and had promised the boys more time to play on the beach.

Michael stepped on something sharp? poisonous? Mike ran back to the cottage and got the car. Hot baths warmed up stingingly numb boys.

That evening we wandered down and lollygagged at a play ground, enjoyed a local specialty, galettes and treated ourselves to crepes and ice cream.

I like the similar expressions on the faces of my two very different young ones.

Michael and Mike hammed for Dominic the photographer.

We ordered the local specialty, a galette, which is a buckwheat crepe, with cheese. Later we saw a man who looked like he knew what he was doing, with a galette with ham and cheese and an egg (barely) cooked sunny side up on top. He cracked a bunch of pepper over the top, folded the whole thing over and mashed it up a little with his fork. Doesn't that sound divine? I want one right now.