Bruges, 20.10.2018 In Bruges

The movie was great. So is the town, very pretty. But to quote whoever said it first: The tourist destroys what he seeks by finding it. We felt there were just too many people strolling the city, and I can`t imagine how it might feel on a midsummers day. Crowded I guess.

Dieppe, 21.10.2018 Scallops

Dieppe felt just the other way around. Also a characterful town, with a nice harbour, but pretty worn down. I haven`t seen so much dog shit in a very long time. So I guess, this place needs more advertising, more tourists and more cleaning services. Apart from that: the amount of scallops was impressing!

Le Mont-St-Michel, 22.10.2018 Picture book idyll

Only thirty people live here in that picture book idyll. Cars and other vehicles are strictly forbidden and it is a pleasure to walk all the way to the urbanistic gem.

St. Malo, 23.10.2018 Fish cannery

Guerande, 24.10.2018 Salt marshes

The salterns of Guerande is a swamp of salt water where the famous Fleur de sel is harvested. We had a look at the farmground, which exists in its current form since over 200 years.

La Rochelle, 25.10.2018 Coquillages et Crustaces

The visit of La Rochelle brought back memories of my last trip here with my sister Uta and close friend Steffi over twenty years ago. I remember we bought colourful shirts and watched the sun set from La Rochelle harbour. Strange to realize that my kids are now closer to my former self in age than I am now (I was 18 then). We had the best fish and seafood obviously fresh from the sea, enjoying the last days of summer.

Arcachon bay, 26.10.2018 Bird sanctuary

Bilbao, 27.10.2018 Change in the weather pattern

It was already difficult to order vegetarian food in France, but at least we were able to communicate. In Bilbao, with tons of beautiful tapas welcoming visitors, it actually hurts to watch our daughter suffer. With me eating fish and egg, it is not too complicated, but for Mia, it is basically patatas fritas and bread topped with tomato. That is boring after a while! The weather also turned accordingly from mixed into awful. After crossing the Spanish border, it started raining. And it went on raining. Not the friendly kind of drizzle, but the torrential rain that Europe rarely hits. So while we still had some rays of sunshine in Bilbao visiting the Guggenheim museum, we couldn`t enjoy any other basque town I was so keen to get to know.

San Sebastian, 28.10.2018 Aquarium

In between one rain shower and the next one.

Carcasson, 29.10.2018 Escape plan

We couldn`t stand the rain any longer, so we changed our trip from the Basque country to the Mediterranean Sea. What a relief to get another chance to leave the car! Our stop en route was Carcasson. We have a board game named Carcassone, and it was funny to realize that the game was really designed after this medieval township.

Ceret, 30.10.2018 Pyrenees

Such a great walk with great views!

Colliour, 30.10.2018 The other seaside