Vacation Take 2

     So it's Sunday (well, nearly Monday for us) What did I tell you? Procrastination is my forte. Anyways, be prepared for lots exciting stories! (They always are, of course!)

     This week we spent a lot of time in the company of Juliette's dad, Patrick. He treated us to lots of tasty desserts, (which, unfortunately, were impossible to turn down) as well as an amazing week of sightseeing and new adventures! Remember how I said we'd be gone Tuesday-Friday? Turns out Patrick had some complications with work and we wouldn't be leaving for the sea-cation house until Wednesday, but he made sure we wouldn't be bored. The first extravagant experience? An awesome day at "La Baule"! (A giant bay shaped like a crescent). The French do love their beaches!
     When we arrived, we started off by browsing the "5th Avenue of La Baule", which was the main street and general tourist area. There were lots of fancy boutiques to make me feel bad about my own clothing, and Juliette even nabbed a sparkly yellow sweater that was on big discount.
      All that walking left us with the nibbles, so Patrick treated us to a mini macaron each. Juliette and I both agreed on Framboise-Chocolat, while Caroline opted for Cheesecake. Deeeeelish! But the snacking didn't stop there. After touring the very picturesque village surrounding downtown La Baule (some houses were there before the town was!) we stopped by a snack stop called "Manuel". Their specialty? Candy, ice cream and des gaufres! (Or as Juliette called them, wiffles!)

The best tasting wiffle I've ever had ;)

     We munched away at our heavily topped 'wiffles' and headed for a seat with an overhanging view of the widespread beach that is La Baule. Unfortunately for Patrick, he was so consumed by the view that his heavy topping of whipped cream went SPLAT right on the pavement.... And all of our shoes! Even after we'd cleaned them, Juliette and I ditched the shoes anyways to go for a lovely walk down the beach, while Patrick and Caroline stayed behind to watch the waves. We snapped a couple pictures first, though!

Fam shot!

     Juliette and I danced around to Maroon 5, I challenged the waves (I think they won) and even saw some horseback riders going for a run. Afterwards, we walked around town for awhile more, and stopped to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant called "La Villa". After pigging out, we headed home for a good night's rest before we were travelling once more... This time, to Juliette's step-mom's vacation house by the ocean!
     We met Kathy for dinner twice from Wednesday to Friday, once for galettes and crepes and another for fancy Italian cuisine. She introduced me to her cat Caramel, who had a bit of a heart attack when Juliette attempted to use a "human to cat translator" app. We also went on two lovely beach walks together, to look at the piers and the many sailboats.

It only took 5 tries to get this shot - smile, ladies!

     Thursday afternoon, Patrick surprised us with a trip to the Pont-Scorff zoo! (well, maybe he just surprised me, apparently I wasn't listening to the day plan) There were many adorable French animals, including a baby elephant, a leopard who was attracted to Juliette, a show-off sea lion, and many munces! :) We also enjoyed some frozen treats in the amazing shorts weather! (and I may have even gotten... dare I say it... a tan!)

     Friday was also a super beautiful day, not only because of the weather, but also because we spent the afternoon walking through the picturesque-perfect towns of Pont-Aven and Lorient! Included in the festivities were many epicurean treats (like chocolate mousse cakes), landmark viewing (like sunken boats, painting galleries and waterwheels), and one angry white goose! The wind also took our lunch napkins and sandwich bags hostage, but I managed to salvage a few. I was super happy to have spent one of my last weeks with Juliette's dad, I'll never forget what I saw and did!

Holy beautiful!

     Then came Saturday, when my living-downtown skills were put to the test. Juliette fearfully sent me into the heart of Nantes by myself to locate the market, and to meet up with Marie and Philippe to complete the grocery shopping. I'm proud to say that I managed to recognize the words "Talensac" and follow the signs, but also used my cerveau to remember the way. While Philippe finished the shopping, Marie was very kind and bought me some Nantais souvenirs and gifts for my family. (but I won't ruin the surprise ;) ) That afternoon, I also went back to Centreville with the entire family to buy more gifts, and visit the Lafayette Galerie to help pick out some clothes for Philippe's grandson. (Philippe is going to Ghana next week while we're in Paris). It only poured rain on us a little bit! ;)

     Lastly, there was today, which could fill up an entire blog entry on its own. Juliette's best friend Léa is in town for the week, so Juliette and I got to spend the day with her out and about in Nantes. We visited the Ile de Nantes to see the giant light-up rings along a boardwalk, took a boat taxi to the gorgeous little town of Trentemoult (and made daisy chains with our new 6 year old best friends), and stopped for Cokes at a cafe on the island. After we'd made it home (exhausted, but happy), Juliette decided to bake a real French chocolate cake. Let's just say it got a little messy... But we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Getting silly waiting for the water-taxi to Trentemoult. Mischievous, much? ;)

     ONE WEEK LEFT! I can't believe it, I refuse to believe it! I've made memories here that will last a lifetime, and in the next week, I hope to make even more! Thank you to all the people who have made this last week and my entire trip generally amazing!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans, you know I'll always come through!
Bisous!
Lia

PS. Photos will be uploaded tomorrow... Flickr takes forever and I'm up late enough as it is... Darn math homework ;)

The aftermath of a chocolate battle... This warrior is still ready to put up a fight.