The Nomadic Four

For the final leg of our road trip, we headed to central Brittany to a town called Pontivy, where we met up with a family that used to live in Halifax. We never actually met Lauriane and Florian, but their eldest daughter Lily-Rose and Ella were in the same grade at school. They have three kids: Lily-Rose, Charlie (who is the same age as Theo) and Matisse, who is four. They have a lovely house on a big property, with all kinds of outdoor games for the kids, plus sheep, chickens and a duck. They also have a large tent set up opposite the pond, which they actually rent out on Airbnb! This is where Jon and I slept. It’s extremely comfortable and spacious. There are enough beds for all of us, but the kids wanted to have a sleepover with their friends in the house. The view of the pond from the tent: Not surprisingly, the kids had a blast. They all got along well and had so much fun running around the property, playing, checking out the animals and catching up. Lauriane and Florian are abso...

We got up early and drove from the outskirts of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy back into Brittany to spend the day in Saint-Malo. This is also an ancient walled city, but nestled right into the more modern town beside it. It’s the setting for the book and movie, All the Light You Cannot See (highly recommend!). We wandered the streets and walked along the ramparts. The city was heavily damaged during World War II, and subsequently rebuilt, but you can still see remnants of the original buildings: Here too, we watched the changing of the tide, but this time in reverse, because we arrived in the morning. The beach at St-Malo was beautiful and watching it change as the day went on was fascinating. There are nearby islands that look so far away, but as the tide recedes, you can walk to them. Here they are surrounded by water: We also noticed in the morning a platform out in the water that people were jumping off of. We were so curious about it, and wondered what would be revealed below when...

We rented a car for a few days and headed north. Our first stop: Le Mont-Saint-Michel, a town built into a mountain in the ocean. It’s a walled city and at the top is a huge abbey. When the tide is in, it looks like it’s floating in the ocean. We had seen pictures of it, and as we drove closer, we could see it in the distance, on its own, towering above the fields that lead to it. We stopped and took some pictures. Looks pretty big, eh?! As we got closer, we parked in a designated parking area, and from there you can take a shuttle (20 minutes) or walk (35 minutes). We walked across the bridge, which was a good choice, because you can see the city as you get closer and closer. There were huge crowds walking in both directions. When we got there, the tide was out, so we walked along the sandy beach and got to enjoy the view from below. I think I took the most photos so far on this trip here… it’s absolutely incredible. The first church was built here in 966, after a bishop had a series ...

«Travelling is exhausting,» a colleague said to me recently, after going on a big trip. I agreed, then paused and had a moment of panic. Are the next five months going to be crazy for us? Then I remembered that our trip isn’t like other trips we’ve been on. The point isn’t to run around and see as much as we can in a short amount of time. It’s more of a marathon then a sprint. Here are some initial thoughts on that… I wonder if this will hold up for the full five months… One thing we’ve really embraced is the idea of living more simply and slowing down the pace. Usually when we travel, we try to pack so much in. Now, we have the incredible benefit of having plenty of time in one place, not working, not having a schedule or commitments. We’re trying to keep things simple. This extends to material things as well. We don’t have much of a choice - we’re living in a small house and we didn’t bring many personal belongings. We’re wearing the same clothes twice (and sometimes longer). We shop...

We registered the kids in one week of afternoon sailing lessons in Carnac, a bigger coastal town not far from Auray. I thought this would be a good way for them to practise their French, be around other kids and keep up their sailing skills. Bonus! We get 2.5 hours to ourselves while the kids are in their lessons. (Keep reading for a really cool video of Ella in her boat!) To get to Carnac, we have a 40-minute bus ride. The bus gets us there about 30 minutes before the class starts, which is enough time to walk to the Yacht Club de Carnac and get the kids into their wetsuits. This is different than the sailing camps they do at home, which don’t require wetsuits. Even though the water is warmer than at home, it’s still pretty cool (18C). Plus they basically tip over every day, so I can see why it’s useful. Ella is the only kid in her group, strangely. She said she was happy about it because she’s getting 1:2 time (yes, she has two «moniteurs»), and she still gets to be around other kids...