French road trip Day 3: Visiting friends in Pontivy

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 absolutely wonderful hosts. They offered us local drinks and snacks and made delicious food. They were so kind and welcoming. Even though we didn’t know each other before this visit, we felt like old friends. Note the chickens in this photo:


We arrived in the evening and had supper. The next day, we walked into Pontivy with the four oldest kids to explore. Their property is right along a canal that links two sea ports, Nantes and Brest. You can even bike along the canal. We took the path into town.

In the afternoon, we took the kids swimming at the local pool. This has definitely been a highlight for our kids so far. I kept thinking to myself that kids are so amazing; the way they can just meet, make connections, find things in common and spend meaningful time together. Then I realized that’s exactly what happened with the adults, too. Humans are amazing.

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