May 6, 2017. French market day

LOCATION:  Housesitting outside of Poullouen, Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Mostly cloudy.  Bit of rain.  Highs in 50s

 

It rained all night.  The farmers should be happy, as the hoomeowner told us that it has been a dry spring so far.     Morning chores incuded tidying up the coop, feeding the chickens, and collecting the eggs.

We decided to check out a different market this Saturday.  We drove about 30 miles to another old town.  The market is very large here.  It was fun going to different stalls.  We bought some "lard" which is French for bacon, some pate, unusual cheeses and some veg.  Many of the town's old buildings almost look Swiss.

 

After a hard morning of shopping, George was in need of a toilet and a beer.  We stopped in this bar to fulfill both needs.  It was a real "locals" hangout.

 

Then, we found a darling small cafe for lunch.  We had planned to buy some mussels in the market, but couldn't find any good ones.  This cafe was featuring steamed mussels, so we ordered a pot.

The mussels were absolutely delicious and were bigger than we have had before.  They were served with a big plate of fries.  Everyone else had a pot of mussels each, but we split one.  Even at that, we were so full that we had to leave some of the wonderful juice at the bottom of the pot that is so good soaked up with French bread.  All for $9!    

On our way back to the car, we stopped to buy our daily baguette...

The town has interesting architecture and a huge aquaduct that runs through it.

 

Back home, we made a fire in the fire pit outside and grilled some andouille sausage we had bought. It is different from the kind popular in Louisiana, USA.  This is literally "cow colon".  It is extremely popular here, and we even saw a stall at the market that only sold different kinds of andouille.  Our homeowners as well as the British campers warned us NOT to buy it as it  smells really awful and tastes really strong.  So, we had to buy some.   :-). We did cook it outside in case the odor was too strong for the indoors kitchen.  After we cooked it, we tasted it, and it tasted fine to us.  We will eat it another evening.     DINNER:  Cheesy polenta with a tomato sauce and meatballs.  

May 5, 2017. Day trip to picturesque medieval town

LOCATION:  Housesitting outside of Poullaouen, Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny.  Highs about 60

 

We had British expat campers camping in our field last night.  This morning, we chatted with them and they bought one of our homeowner's water colors as well as some eggs.

Then we took off for Lorcoran, classified as one of France's most picturesque villages.  It was about 40 miles away.  We drove through a lot of cute villages.     Lorcoran is preserved from the 15th century.  It has a population of about 800 and is mostly a tourist town now.  The buildings are drab, but the shutters and flowers brighten things up.

The wisteria has very old-looking vines on the fronts of many of the shops.

 

These blue doors and window frames must have been popular in olden times.  

 

Brittany seems fiercely proud of its past.  Most town names and road signs are in 2 languages, French and Briton.  The Briton language is printed like Gaelic in Ireland, reminding us of our times in ireland.  

 

 

We had lunch in this creperie.

The savory ones are made from buckwheat.  George had a forrestiere (wild mushroom) one and I had one filled with a local goat cheese.  Both very tasty.

Cider is very popular here.  I watched people order a local cider. They drank it from small bowls.  Interesting.

 

We strolled around the town after lunch. 

Then, we did our bit to help the local economy and bought some things in the tourist shops.  George bought some Brittany beers and I bought a can of local seafood soup, a can of sardines in whiskey, and a canned mousse made with scallops.  A very pleasant outing! On our way home, we took an alternate route to see different scenery and towns, and of course to get lost in.  We passed by this beautiful chateau, once a private home and now a swanky hotel.

DINNER:  Leftover cassoulet with a salad.      

May 4, 2017. Farm business day

LOCATION:  Housesitting outside of Poullaouen, Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Partly sunny.  Highs in 50s

 

Today is our day for selling eggs.  The homeowner has 1 customer who picks up eggs on Wednesdays and 4 on Thursdays.  Here is George sorting out the eggs, determining which are ok to be sold, and which are too ugly for sale, but are good for us.

The customers are all Brits who live in the area.  It was interesting talking with them when they stopped to pick up their weekly purchase.  

 

Since we couldn't really go anywhere, and possibly miss the customers, I walked into town to buy "essentials" (a baguette and a bottle of wine!), while George kept watch. The town of Poullouen is about 1.5 miles from our house.  It was a nice hike.  

In addition to the eggs, one customer also buys milk from us.  We get it from the dairy farm next door.  We place an empty milk bottle along with .$50 on a ledge in the milking room.  Then, a few hours later, we return to pick up a nice bottle of fresh milk.  

We have one cat who is a good mouser.  We put him in the chicken coop or grain storage bin overnight to do his duty.

In the late afternoon, a couple of campers stopped to camp in the field next to us.  They are English ex-pats who live about an hour from here, on their way to another part of Brittany. They came over for a drink and lots of good conversation.

 

DINNER:  Porkchop in a black peppercorn sauce.  Mashed potatoes and a salad.  Quite tasty!  

   

May 3, 2017. Visit to a rocky town

LOCATION:  Housesitting outside of Poullaouen, Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny.  Highs in 50s

 

We planted more tomoatoes and zucchini for the homeowners, and did our morning chores.

 

In the afternoon, we went to a nearby town Huelgoat  that is famous for its big boulders.  The landscape around here is all rolling hills with fields. As you near Huelgoat, it changes to forest and huge boulders.  It is a popular place for hikers.  

We followed one trail in town through lots of huge mossy rocks.

The rocks must be from glaciers melting in the area

The trail led us through some tight spots.

Then, down into a spooky area called the Devil's Grotto...

Back in town, we strolled down the main street.  Within about 100 yards, I saw 3 creperies.

 

This area is famous for its crepes, although we haven't had one yet.  

 

After our hike we quenched our thirst at this cozy pub.

DINNER:  Leftovers - risotto, venison with some cauliflower added.  

 

May 2, 2017. Sad day for Sootie

LOCATION:  House-sitting outside of Poullaouen, Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Much nicer.  Mostly sunny. Highs in 50s

 

In addition to the 21 chickens under our care, we are watching two cats.  Both are farm cats - roaming inside and out.  One sleeps sometimes in the chicken coop to keep the mouse population under control.  The other cat, Sooty, had a run-in with the neighbor's big dog the day before we arrived, so we have been nursing him back to health.

When I went to bed last night, he was snug on his little bed in the utility room.  He wasn't around this morning to beg for breakfast.  The cats have a catflap so they can come and go.  Mid-morning, our neighbor stopped by to tell us the sad news....Sootie had been run over and was lying in a ditch in front of his house.  We felt so bad, but there was nothing we could have done to prevent it.  We buried him for the homeowner. This is the first accident or death we have had pet-sitting.  

 

In preparation for today's day trip, we put some eggs in the mailbox in case any passerby wanted to buy some while we are out.

 

Then, we took a drive around the area.  We made a circle, stopping in several cute villages.  

After about an hour, I started worrying about gas, lack of cash, and was hungry.  We were out in the middle of nowhere, with just tiny hamlets with nothing open.  We happily found a town that filled all of our needs.  We stopped there for lunch, and found an ATM and a gas station.  We left with a full gas tank, a heavy wallet, and happy tummies.  Lunch was a French pizza.  Like the ones in Italy, the crust was paper thin.  We ordered one with goat cheese and mushrooms.  Yum!

The waiter put this interesting bottle of olive oil on our table with lots of herbs inside...

Most of the towns have a big church in their centers.

The fields are absolutely stunning.  The landscape views are  fields with ripening crops of rapeseed and wheat.  It reminds me of the rolling hills in southern Minnesota, except different crops. 

We found a super market and I stocked up .  Back home, we planted some tomato and zucchini plants for the homeowners.  

DINNER:  I  made my brother's cassoulet recipe.  It was superb!  It was easier to make here in France since all the ingredients are readily available.  

May 1, 2017. May Day shopping bust

LOCATION:  Housesitting outside of Poullaouen, Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Cold and rainy.  Highs in 40s

 

We are tracking the number of eggs we gather to report to the homeowners.  Today's count was 14 plus two unsellable ones for us.  

After chicken duty, we took off for Carhaix, a medium-sized town about 15 miles from us, to do some major grocery shopping.  Our first stop was the post office, as we needed to return a hotel key that George had forgotten to turn in at the hotel's front desk when we arrived here from Paris.  All closed up!  Then, we looked around and absolutely every shop was closed up tight.  

I had a long grocery list with plans to cook some French dishes like coq au vin and cassoulet. We decided it must be a holiday, but surely the large chain grocery stores would be open?  Nope!  The only shop open was a boulangerie.  I think nothing can stop the French from buying their daily baguette!  There wasn't even a cafe open for lunch, and our larder back at the house was almost empty.  

So, empty-handed and with hungry tummies, we returned toward home.  We decided to stop in our little village of Poullaouen. The town has just a few shops - a small grocery, a butcher shop, pub, hotel, and pharmacy. 

Their small grocery was closed up, too. 

However, the pub looked open, so we went in.  

It was full of men, all puffing away on their cigarettes.  I had a glass of wine ($2.20) and George a beer.  We saw a sign saying that they have Croque Madam sandwiches, so we ordered one.  It was really good.  $3.50

Back home, we cleaned out the chicken coop, which we have to do every 2-3 days.  I looked up "France holidays" on the internet and found that today is Labor Day, or May Day.  The list of public holidays is very long!  There is another one next Monday, so now we are  prepared.  

 

We are supposed to lock one of the cats into the chicken coop at night for mouse duty, but she didn't want to go tonight.  Maybe too cold.  

 

DINNER:  We didn't starve.....I had brought some arborio rice from Italy and made risotto again.  This time with the rest of the chicken carcass as broth, a carrot, onion and a can of mushrooms.  It actually turned out well, but we MUST find a grocery store tomorrow!  

 

 

 

April 30, 2017. A day on the farm

LOCATION:  Housesitting outside of Poullaounen, a village in central Brittany, France

WEATHER:  Cold and rainy.  High about 50

 

We stayed home all day as the weather was unpleasant and because most things are closed up here in rural Brittany on Sundays.  We started the day with our chicken duties....

We collected 17 eggs, 2 that were ugly and cannot sell (for us to eat) and 15 good ones.  

One of the neighbors raises cows. We get our milk there.  We take an empty bottle over along with 50 cents, leave it on a ledge, then pick up the milk a few hours later.  We had left the empty bottle and money there yesterday, but we forgot to go pick it up.  So, the neighbor dropped it by today.  We had a frustrating conversation in French.  We don't know what she was trying to tell us. We tried telling her that we would buy another bottle on Wednesday, for one of our customers who picks up eggs.  She was totally confused.  I even wrote it out on my ipad using a French translation app, to no avail.  

 George did a few little maintenance jobs, like repairing gates.  I spent most of the day reading in front of the fire.  

  The sun came out a bit.  This is the view from our front window.    

 DINNER:  Chicken vegetable soup.  I used the chicken carcass from the roasted chicken we had with the homeowners.  It was perfect for a cool, rainy evening.