For breakfast I made eggs and we enjoyed them over tasty mugs of warm milk and honey. Our fellow campers told us "bon appetit!" as we were eating :) Afterwards as Tyler packed up I taught him how to say each item he put away in French. One of his favorite expressions so far is "tiens" or "tenez"—what you say when you hand something to someone. He loves to hand me things (especially when my hands are full or when I am working on something else), saying it is more "efficient" for me to deal with the object than him. Ha! Thanks to our daily pracice, though, his French is starting to improve a bit and we are able to carry on very short conversations at camp. I am so proud!
After sharing many french nouns and stowing our only worldly possessions safely away in our panniers, we headed back to the village of Carentec. Tyler confirmed that the power adapter he saw in the grocery store yesterday was what we needed, so we were on a mission to buy it. When we arrived he went in and purchased it himself using his new french skills, while I stayed by the bikes! We were both pleased he was able to understand the lady at the register. We're also especially excited because now we'll be able to plug in our laptop, camera, and phone at campsites everywhere, ending any concerns we might have about batteries or power!
By the time we left the grocery store to "officially" start biking for the day, it was almost 12:00 PM. There were only three hills TOTAL during our ride and the rest was wonderfully flat! Oh how I love easy cycling! The roads are much wider and quieter here, and when there are cars they approach slowly and pass with care. Everything feels a bit more open now that the landscape isn't smushed (buckling into hills and mountains) into one little island. Compared to the US France is miniscule, but as we are now used to British standards, everything here seems spacious!
We called it quits after about 60 kilometers and it was only 3:30 in the afternoon! We saw a sign for a campsite (they are everywhere) and followed it until we arrived at a tiny village just outside of Plouguerneau, right by the ocean. We paid 11 and the owner was utterly blown away by how far we had cycled. He was even more astonished when I told him we didn't start until noon! It was nice to hear, but also amusing because today was by far one of the easiest cycling days we've had. After paying, we scouted the site for a good spot (with a plug!) and started making ourselves at home.
We set up slowly, stopping to lay in the sun on our sleeping bag and listen to the waves. It felt so good to succumb to the sleepy atmosphere that permeates France on the weekend. After our rest, Tyler put the finishing touches on our camp and left the rain fly off. It turns the tent into sauna under the hot French sun and thankfully with the constant threat of rain behind us, we can do that! Thoroughly relaxed, we headed down to the beach and looked at shells, rocks, and the squishy brown blobs that cling to them.
When we were through splashing around and taking photos, we headed back so Tyler could prepare my current favorite camp meal: fried potatoes. For this batch he added a crumbled up chicken boullion cube and some new spices—it was sooo good! We put slices of cheese in the bowl, spooned steaming hot fried potatoes on top to melt them, and then put a big blob of ketchup on the side. Neither of us uttered a single coherent word as we ravenously devoured our dinner. Before we were through we also finished off our pain au laits (slightly sweet, little white breads that are good for breakfast) with butter and honey. After our huge, carbohydrate-rich feast, Tyler was still hungry so he made popcorn, which we ate while reading Lord of the Rings.
By the time the sun set, it was almost 11:00 PM! I'm not sure how that is possible, as in England, the sun would set around 9:30, but nevertheless it feels like we have endless hours of daylight. When night did fall, however, we plugged in our new power adapter on the sly, and charged our laptop while watching a few episodes of House. Hooray for power! Now we never need to worry about finding a place that will let us charge our electronics!
Tomorrow morning we have ocean, sun, and fresh bread to look forward to. The campsite owner has a deal where he goes to the boulangerie when it opens in the morning, picks up fresh bread and croissants (which you've pre-ordered), and delivers them to your tent! I ordered a "miche" which we will enjoy bright and early, delivered to our front door. What service!