Good morning to an ever changing Brittany sea and sky!
Oh, hello, Sparrow!
The gang is up!
* * *
There are many reasons to love Finistère, the western-most department of Brittany, France and to want to bring your children here. One of them surely has to be to visit Oceanopolis. Today -- a cloudy day with the promise of light showers in the afternoon is perfect for such a trip.
Oceanopolis is a center for the study of sea life. Located in the city of Brest, it has, among countless other things, three beautifully designed pavilions showing off polar aquatic life, tropical sea life and finally the bounty of sea creatures living off the coast of Brittany. If you want to sell it to your kids, just tell them that at Oceanopolis, you will see up close and personal Europe's largest colony of penguins. But of course, there's so much more: it has 77 giant aquariums, 10,000 animals, it has films, photos and so much information so artfully presented that you could spend a week there and still not take in all of it.
We have tickets. We have booked a cab (we would need to take two separate buses and waste lots of time were we to use public transport; by cab, it's a mere 30 minute ride). We're enthused.
But first, there's breakfast. I ask if we are up for a switch to the lesser "beach bakery" downstairs, just to save time. The better bakery is a good 20 minute walk each way. The crowd heartily approves the change.
And guess what? The lesser bakery has excellent baguettes and some pretty fine morning pastries! True, their croissants aren't up to a Parisian standard, but everything else is quite excellent. I have to think that the French just love to state their own personal bread preferences. Indeed, our cab driver, upon learning where we were staying, proclaimed with some enthusiasm -- ah! right next to that good bakery!
(preparing breakfast plates...)
(Sparrow does not discriminate: he likes all croissants...)
(a mouthful!)
("okay, I'm ready for this ocean-whatever!")
(speaking of oceans and children -- a never ending story unfolds outside before us all the time as kids, young and old, come for their aquatic lessons at the nautical sports center just outside...)
("I'm ready too! Gogs, can I steal one or two or three of your secret cheese twists?")
Cab's here! We're off.
* * *
Brittany conjures up for me the sea. It's touched by it to the south, to the west, to the north. Fisheries abound. But it would be incorrect to view it as solely an oceanic province. The belly of this region is agriculturally significant. You see that the minute you leave the coast.
(from the cab window...)
Agriculture here is all about livestock farming and vegetable and cereal growing. Indeed, Brittany is the leading vegetable producer in France (green beans, artichokes, shallots, potatoes, tomatoes). And the butter! Ed always said that if he could pack it in a suitcase, he'd bring it back home.
* * *
But let's get on with our visit to Oceanopolis. First thing's first: the penguins!
(Snowdrop has been a penguin fan since she was a one year old. Penguin was one of her first words. True, it sounded sort of like "bis," but we all knew what she meant!)
(just a handful of the little guys for you!)
(one took a dive to check things out by the window... nice of him!)
(Still more at the polar pavilion...)
Sparrow at this point is a little restless. The stroller ride has too many pauses. It's too dark for good people watching. So we take turns taking him for short strolls. Here, the three other members of the young family are mesmerized by the bearded seals.
(oh, the colors of the sea anemone!)
(do fish smile?)
(shark tank! the kids watch divers attempt to net one, presumably for medical reasons...)
There are countless fascinating species of fish!
And now Sparrow is beginning to enjoy watching them as well...
Hey, who's watching who here??
Say hello to the fish, Sparrow!
And now for a change of venue: the rain forest, with pools of such unusual fish...
Snowdrop is charged! She is endlessly excited by every new exhibit. She doesn't walk, she runs from one spot to the next.
Sparrow, however, is hungry. Okay pal, time for a little walk with grandma.
One more pavilion (sea creatures of Brittany) and I dare say, we cover it quickly.
(jellyfish!)
Okay okay okay! Time for lunch. This is easy. Cafeteria food here is so very good: baguettes cut onto sandwiches, restocked every few minutes. Crepes, if you want something sweet at the end.
Or a good old chocolate chip cookie!
* * *
On the trip home, the cab driver asks us where we're from. The U.S.? Where in the U.S.? I say the usual -- Wisconsin, north of Chicago.
Ah, Chicago! Al Capone! That's how we know Chicago.
Labels die hard...
He puts on Elvis Presley music and talks admiringly of a hotel and spa, recently opened along the coast in Le Conquet.
You can eat so well there! And have a drink on the rooftop terrace, overlooking the sea! It's fabulous!
I have to smile at his incredible pride of locality! But my eyes dart back to the green fields of rural Brittany and the grazing cows, delivering that famous milk that has a whiff of ocean air in it.
* * *
We eat dinner at Sans Souci again: it's the local eatery just across the street from us. Last time we devoured their pizzas. Today, some of us go back to the moules-frites. (Others still devour their pizzas.) These are our last Brittany days. I have to keep that briny taste of seafood in my memory!
("where's the food??")
(ahhh... pizza!)
* * *
The ever changing light in Brittany! Clouds, drizzle, misty skies, sunshine. All in one day.
This evening? Take a look outside our window:
Pure gold.
Oh, hello, Sparrow!
The gang is up!
* * *
There are many reasons to love Finistère, the western-most department of Brittany, France and to want to bring your children here. One of them surely has to be to visit Oceanopolis. Today -- a cloudy day with the promise of light showers in the afternoon is perfect for such a trip.
Oceanopolis is a center for the study of sea life. Located in the city of Brest, it has, among countless other things, three beautifully designed pavilions showing off polar aquatic life, tropical sea life and finally the bounty of sea creatures living off the coast of Brittany. If you want to sell it to your kids, just tell them that at Oceanopolis, you will see up close and personal Europe's largest colony of penguins. But of course, there's so much more: it has 77 giant aquariums, 10,000 animals, it has films, photos and so much information so artfully presented that you could spend a week there and still not take in all of it.
We have tickets. We have booked a cab (we would need to take two separate buses and waste lots of time were we to use public transport; by cab, it's a mere 30 minute ride). We're enthused.
But first, there's breakfast. I ask if we are up for a switch to the lesser "beach bakery" downstairs, just to save time. The better bakery is a good 20 minute walk each way. The crowd heartily approves the change.
And guess what? The lesser bakery has excellent baguettes and some pretty fine morning pastries! True, their croissants aren't up to a Parisian standard, but everything else is quite excellent. I have to think that the French just love to state their own personal bread preferences. Indeed, our cab driver, upon learning where we were staying, proclaimed with some enthusiasm -- ah! right next to that good bakery!
(preparing breakfast plates...)
(Sparrow does not discriminate: he likes all croissants...)
(a mouthful!)
("okay, I'm ready for this ocean-whatever!")
(speaking of oceans and children -- a never ending story unfolds outside before us all the time as kids, young and old, come for their aquatic lessons at the nautical sports center just outside...)
("I'm ready too! Gogs, can I steal one or two or three of your secret cheese twists?")
Cab's here! We're off.
* * *
Brittany conjures up for me the sea. It's touched by it to the south, to the west, to the north. Fisheries abound. But it would be incorrect to view it as solely an oceanic province. The belly of this region is agriculturally significant. You see that the minute you leave the coast.
(from the cab window...)
Agriculture here is all about livestock farming and vegetable and cereal growing. Indeed, Brittany is the leading vegetable producer in France (green beans, artichokes, shallots, potatoes, tomatoes). And the butter! Ed always said that if he could pack it in a suitcase, he'd bring it back home.
* * *
But let's get on with our visit to Oceanopolis. First thing's first: the penguins!
(Snowdrop has been a penguin fan since she was a one year old. Penguin was one of her first words. True, it sounded sort of like "bis," but we all knew what she meant!)
(just a handful of the little guys for you!)
(one took a dive to check things out by the window... nice of him!)
(Still more at the polar pavilion...)
Sparrow at this point is a little restless. The stroller ride has too many pauses. It's too dark for good people watching. So we take turns taking him for short strolls. Here, the three other members of the young family are mesmerized by the bearded seals.
(oh, the colors of the sea anemone!)
(do fish smile?)
(shark tank! the kids watch divers attempt to net one, presumably for medical reasons...)
There are countless fascinating species of fish!
And now Sparrow is beginning to enjoy watching them as well...
Hey, who's watching who here??
Say hello to the fish, Sparrow!
And now for a change of venue: the rain forest, with pools of such unusual fish...
Snowdrop is charged! She is endlessly excited by every new exhibit. She doesn't walk, she runs from one spot to the next.
Sparrow, however, is hungry. Okay pal, time for a little walk with grandma.
One more pavilion (sea creatures of Brittany) and I dare say, we cover it quickly.
(jellyfish!)
Okay okay okay! Time for lunch. This is easy. Cafeteria food here is so very good: baguettes cut onto sandwiches, restocked every few minutes. Crepes, if you want something sweet at the end.
Or a good old chocolate chip cookie!
* * *
On the trip home, the cab driver asks us where we're from. The U.S.? Where in the U.S.? I say the usual -- Wisconsin, north of Chicago.
Ah, Chicago! Al Capone! That's how we know Chicago.
Labels die hard...
He puts on Elvis Presley music and talks admiringly of a hotel and spa, recently opened along the coast in Le Conquet.
You can eat so well there! And have a drink on the rooftop terrace, overlooking the sea! It's fabulous!
I have to smile at his incredible pride of locality! But my eyes dart back to the green fields of rural Brittany and the grazing cows, delivering that famous milk that has a whiff of ocean air in it.
* * *
We eat dinner at Sans Souci again: it's the local eatery just across the street from us. Last time we devoured their pizzas. Today, some of us go back to the moules-frites. (Others still devour their pizzas.) These are our last Brittany days. I have to keep that briny taste of seafood in my memory!
("where's the food??")
(ahhh... pizza!)
* * *
The ever changing light in Brittany! Clouds, drizzle, misty skies, sunshine. All in one day.
This evening? Take a look outside our window:
Pure gold.
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