Normandy, Redux

After Bretagne, since we are "in the neighborhood," we stop by our the Normandy home of our French friends who we first hosted in San Francisco four years ago. At this point, it's pretty much like having French cousins. And since we adore Christine's (the mom's) parents, it's like getting French cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all rolled into one.

 

  

 

Normandy has a reputation for rain, as does Bretagne. The weather is an issue. Just like people will say they don't want to live in San Francisco because of the fog, many people reject Bretagne et Normandie for the weather. In Bretagne, my friend alternately told me, "It never rains in Brittany"; "In Brittany, it only rains on cons (idiots/assholes)"; and "It's sunny every day in Brittany...but maybe not the whole day." Disregarding the inconsistency, she added, "It's not like Provence, where if it rained the workmen would stop. Here last week it rained all week, but our contractor just kept going." She explained "It's never below 10°C and never above twen....I was just about to say 20°. I meant 30°. It's never above 30°C." (That's between 50°F and 86°F). Just tell that to all the people who vacation here in the freezing rain. This sign, seen in Normandy, says it all.

 

 

However, as you can see, we get nothing but blue skies whenever we're here, and Bretagne was constant beach weather, too, if you notice the photos. Of course, due to well-timed vacations, I also believe that England, Ireland, and Seattle are also sunny spots, so take it as you will.

 

 

 

We are here for a tide that is favorable to shooting off fireworks on the beach (close enough that embers rain down on the nearby buildings, thereby causing the American in me to think of impending lawsuits...). Because the tides weren't right on Bastille Day, Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer celebrates it with late fireworks. I love how old-fashioned and/or small-town it is. We simply walk up to the beach, sit anywhere on the empty stretch of sand -- as close as we want to the launch site -- and watch them go for about twenty minutes. I can't remember the last July 4th fireworks I saw that didn't involve major crowds and transportation hassles. Hooray for visiting small towns!