Wish You Were Here: Scenes from Summer Vacation in France

Plus: Small Talk in French, and Is It Weird That I've Never Taken a 2-Week Vacation Before?

Salut les amis (Hello friends),

I’m writing to you from a little desk overlooking the rocky marée basse (low tide) beach at a beautiful hotel called Castel Beau Site en Bretagne (in Brittany).

Monsieur B is downstairs reading a novel, his long legs stretched out on un transat (a beach lounger) sur la terrasse (on the terrace).

I’ve got a slight sunburn and glass of a rosé made from a rare Pays Nantais (western Loire Valley) grape called abouriou close at hand. We bought a few cases from a vigneron (winemaker) at a roadside stand the other day.

I have to stand on my tip-toes to take a selfie with Monsieur B :-)

What I said in the subtitle is true. I’ve never had a vacation this long. Before I moved to France, even a few days away seemed like such a luxury and I often worked while “taking some time.” I’m feeling so grateful for these moments, for this chance to wander and discover more of la belle France, for the adventures with my new husband, who loves to show me marvelous things.

And I’m always thankful beyond words for the support and community and delight I find here on Substack. Merci du fond de mon cœur (Thank you from the bottom of my heart).

Road Trip: Two Weeks in Normandy and Brittany

Monsieur B is a history buff, and on our way to la Bretagne, he took me to see the beaches at Normandy. C’était tellement émouvant (it was really moving) to walk the very coastline where this monumental human effort took place, and to look at the maps of how the Allies planned and coordinated and pressed on and on. He showed me how the first troops came in at low tide and how far they walked across the wide open beach just to get to the cliffs they had to climb with all their gear, all the while under fire. The heavy sky and rough winds matched my emotions, but I’m so happy to have had the chance to be there, and afterward the trip was full of lighter moments. Here’s a short video postcard, with love :-)

French Small Talk: Make It Vacation

French people don’t generally dig small talk, but they love to talk about vacation. Almost anyone you meet will ask you at some point, “Vous partez quand ?” (When are you leaving on vacation?)

As you may already know, Monsieur B and I are aoûtiens, or French people who go on vacation en août (in August, which by the way is pronounced “oot”). Ceux qui partent en vacances en juillet sont des juilletistes (those who go on vacation in July are called juilletistes).

We lost no opportunity to taste all the delights--butter lovers will surely know the famed Maison Bordier, so of course we had to make a pilgrimage. We built a sunset picnic around a fresh goat cheese that a vigneron gifted us, and spent l'apéro on our hotel terrace. We sampled nearly every cheese off the cheese cart at La Table de Mon Père.

A Postcard from Summer in France

You can feel the French summer starting to wind down, the light softening, and the weather here en Bretagne is generally a bit fresher and cooler, which I love. Some people are already back home, tans fading, preparing for la rentrée, when life (and school) restart at the beginning of September. But there are still families and couples and friends wandering the beaches and les planches (boardwalks), plenty of swimmers and bateaux à voile (sailboats) on the water, and everywhere still piles of fruits de mer (seafood), des crevettes (shrimp), des huîtres plates et creuses (flat- and hollow-shelled oysters).

We were driving on a coastal road near Cancale when Monsieur B spotted a small wine stand and turned the car around so I could have a little degustation. I learned about some grapes I'd never heard of!

Dans le port (in the harbor) at Cancale there is a small but bustling marché aux huîtres where you can sample the freshest, sweetest oysters (and cheapest) you’ll ever find, tasting of the sea herself. You can carry a tray of your favorites and a cool, crisp bottle of white wine to the old stone steps, where you’ll sit with everyone looking out over des parcs d’huîtres (the beachy farm beds where the oysters are sleeping) toward the far horizon.

And if for any reason you should need oysters urgently at midnight, you can always pop by le distributeur, a 24/7 oyster automat, where you pay by card to unlock a refrigerated crate full of take-home deliciousness. Only problem: you gotta open them yourself!

Qu’est-ce que vous faites cet été ? Dites-le-nous dans les commentaires !

What are you doing this summer? Tell us in the comments!

I'd heard so much about the beautiful Brittany coast and it was magnificent. At top center you can see a parc d'huîtres (oyster beds) at low tide in Cancale.

France’s Endless Coastline

We’ve driven for hours le long de la Côte d’Emeraude et la Côte du Granit Rose (along the Emerald and Rose Granite Coasts) and even made a sweet stop at le Rocher des Amoureux, a majestic natural stone formation at Plougrescant that powerfully resembles two lovers facing the sea in a strong embrace.

In Saint Malo and other beach towns, we’ve strolled through sumptuous markets and past silly souvenir shops where the same jokey signs in English would make me cringe, but here in France, I’m just happy to understand the jokes finally after so many years of learning French! I do still sometimes need Monsieur B’s help with the jeux de mots (word games) that the French love so much, but more and more I’m starting to “get it” and that feels good.

French side note for learning the language: If you’re into upping your joke/culture game in French, Le Gorafi is a comical Instagram account created by Le Figaro , the famed French journal (newspaper). Do you see the way they flipped around the name? If, however, you just want to work on more basic French phrases with some funny guys, join the rest of the francophile community in following these two cuties.

From L to R: a fun play on the French motto of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (this one is Liberty, Rosé, Salty Kiss). "Kenavo" is Breton for "Bonjour." A store selling Kouign Amann, a Breton classic sweet treat, with a silly name: Steve McKouign !

Bon bref, I’m sending you happy, light and restorative vibes wherever the summer breeze takes you this year. Prenez soin de vous ! (Take care of yourselves.)

à la rentrée mes chers (see you in September my dears),

Karen