Four weeks on the road, two slightly sandy dogs, one bruised cyclist and some of the best moules frites we've ever eaten… Day 27 certainly had a bit of everything!
Well, technically this is being recorded on Sunday morning, because by the time we got back to the motorhome on Saturday night, we were far too tired to remember what day it was, never mind write about it!
So, grab a coffee and join Steven, Suzanne, Tilley and Frankie for another day of our European motorhome adventure.
A Morning Visit to the Vet
We woke up in our rather unusual overnight stop at Saint-Pol-de-Léon, parked up on a free aire.
It was very tidy, very peaceful and, somewhat unusually, surrounded by a cemetery. That might sound a little strange, but the French really do keep their cemeteries beautifully maintained, and it certainly didn't bother us.
Our first job was a visit to the vet with the girls.
We'd decided the night before that we'd walk there because it was only about a mile away. Of course, when we woke up it was raining, so driving suddenly seemed like a much better idea. By the time we'd showered and got ourselves organised, however, the sun had come out, although the wind had clearly decided it was still going to have a say in proceedings! So coats on, umbrella packed and off we went.
The vet was lovely and very friendly. Tilley and Frankie were registered, checked over and, most importantly, their microchip numbers were checked. The girls have definitely lost a bit of weight during the trip. All that running around and swimming seems to have had an effect.
Frankie was just over 21kg and Tilley around 22kg, down from approximately 23kg and nearly 25kg respectively before we left.
Apparently, though, they were still considered overweight. The whole visit, including their paperwork and tablets, cost around €63 for both dogs, which was considerably less than we were expecting.
Saint-Pol-de-Léon: What a Lovely Town
After the vets, we wandered into town. And what a lovely place!
Saint-Pol-de-Léon is somewhere we've driven through before without really stopping, but this time we actually took the time to explore it. We found a lovely little café, stopped for coffee and had a bit of a wander around the shops and properties.
Naturally, no visit to France is complete without a trip to a boulangerie/patisserie. The cakes looked absolutely incredible. Unfortunately, appearances can be deceptive! Suzanne chose a rather impressive-looking cherry creation which turned out to be, in her words, "absolutely minging". 😂 Still, there were a couple of other cakes left for later, so all was not lost.
The baguette, however, was excellent. At least France got one thing right that morning!
Stocking Up Before Roscoff
Back at the motorhome, I updated the blog and uploaded it to the Touring Ideas website.
Then came another extremely important part of any European adventure…
Wine shopping... Obviously.
We also picked up a little gift for Kelly, who's been doing a sterling job of holding the fort while we've been away. Then it was time to head towards Roscoff. We arrived at the camping-car site reasonably early, which turned out to be a very good decision, because by later in the afternoon it was completely full. We got ourselves parked up, sorted the motorhome and decided we'd head into Roscoff later on.
A Beach Walk… With a Small Problem
Before heading into town, we took Tilley and Frankie for a walk.
We found a path leading towards the beach, only to discover a sign saying no dogs.
Now, Suzanne is very good at following rules...Steven… well, let's just say there was a brief disagreement about whether we could just have a look.
Fortunately, we found another entrance where the dogs were allowed. And they absolutely loved it. They ran along the beach, splashed around in the sea and generally behaved like they'd won the doggy lottery.
The scenery was spectacular. In fact, this stretch of coastline turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip. The white sandy beaches and coastline reminded us of parts of Cornwall, particularly around Falmouth and The Lizard.
And the best bit? It was only a couple of miles from the ferry. We'd travelled all the way around Europe and discovered some of our favourite coastal scenery practically on the doorstep of Roscoff!
The only downside was the wind. It was proper windy.
After around a 5km walk, the dogs were absolutely covered in sand. Which meant only one thing… A very sandy motorhome.
Cycling Into Roscoff… What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
After getting ourselves and the dogs sorted, we jumped on the electric bikes and headed into Roscoff for dinner.
We'd found a restaurant on TripAdvisor that looked fantastic, so we'd decided to give it a go. There was just one tiny problem.
Google Maps... Let's just say our relationship with Google Maps isn't currently in a good place.
It sent us around in circles, down roads that didn't seem to make sense and generally made finding the restaurant considerably more complicated than it needed to be.
Eventually, we switched to Apple Maps. Much better. Although things didn't go completely to plan…
Suzanne managed to have a rather unfortunate encounter with the ground while attempting to turn her electric bike around... The bike ended up on top of her. And, naturally, while all this was happening, Steven was staring at Google Maps and didn't initially realise she'd fallen off. Two people even walked past without helping! Fortunately, Suzanne escaped with a grazed arm and a few pulled muscles, although getting back up off the floor isn't quite as easy as it used to be. Apparently, things don't bend and you don't bounce in quite the same way, once you've reached a certain age!
The Best Moules Frites Ever?
Eventually, we found the restaurant. Le... well, let's just say it was a little hidden away! It was tucked down a side street, with a tiny entrance that required a slight duck of the head before heading downstairs. Very French.
We were told there was a one-hour wait for a table, so we booked it and headed into town for a drink. Roscoff was absolutely buzzing. There was some sort of festival taking place, with waiters and waitresses running around carrying trays of drinks. The whole place had a fantastic atmosphere and felt incredibly sociable. Before we knew it, our hour was up and it was time to head back for dinner.
And then came the main event…
Moules Frites.
Oh. My. Goodness. They were absolutely fantastic. We both had moules, with the sauce packed with flavour, and they arrived remarkably quickly. The portion was huge, the mussels were delicious and the sauce at the bottom was so good that we had to order bread just to mop it up. We've eaten plenty of moules frites over the years, but these were genuinely among the best we've ever tasted.
The whole meal, including wine and dessert, came to around €88, which we thought was excellent value. We'll definitely go back. Assuming, of course, we can actually find the place again! Click here for the restaurant on Apple Maps
Dessert With a Surprise
After the moules, Suzanne had coffee and Steven had coffee and a dessert.
What we thought was a panna cotta turned out to be something a little different, but it came with honey and, rather surprisingly, black pepper. And the combination was absolutely divine. Another little French food discovery to add to the list.
Cycling Home in the Dark
Eventually it was time to head back to the motorhome.
It was completely dark by then, so it was just bike lights and Apple Maps guiding us home. Thankfully, this time there were no more incidents.
- No falling off.
- No nearly taking out unsuspecting cyclists.
- And no getting lost.
- The electric assistance definitely came in handy after the wine and a full meal!
- Back at the motorhome, we settled down to watch a film.
We tried a Jason Statham film, although neither of us thought it was one of his best. Suzanne was already feeling a little uncomfortable after the bike incident, and before long we were both nodding off.
We went to bed and completely forgot to record Day 27. Hence… Sunday morning coffee and catch-up!
The Penultimate Day
And now we're into the final stretch. Tomorrow (today...because we're documenting this morning) is the final day before we catch the ferry home.
After four weeks of travelling around Europe, it feels very strange knowing we're heading back to reality. We'll spend today getting ourselves organised, giving the motorhome a tidy-up and, no doubt, taking Tilley and Frankie back to the beach for one last run.
Although cleaning the motorhome after two dogs have rolled around in several kilometres of sand is going to be a different matter altogether!
Four Weeks We'll Never Forget
Looking back, this trip has been so much better than anything we originally planned. We'd talked about doing a long European adventure for years. The original idea was going to be a much shorter trip, perhaps heading across to Germany and back.
Instead, we've managed to do a huge European loop, travelling through some incredible places, seeing amazing scenery, meeting people, eating fantastic food and creating memories we'll be talking about for years.
From Slovenia and Lake Bled, through Croatia and all the other places we've visited, right through to the French coast and Roscoff, it's been one hell of an adventure.
And the best part? We've done it all together, Steven, Suzanne, Tilley and Frankie.
Four weeks away. Four weeks of motorhome life. Four weeks of beautiful places, questionable navigation, sandy dogs, great food, wine, cycling, walking and the occasional disagreement over which direction we're supposed to be going!
Would we do it again? Absolutely.
Although next time, Suzanne might want a slightly smaller bike… And Steven might finally uninstall Google Maps! 😂
Day 27 — done and dusted.
📍 Day 27 Highlights
🇫🇷 Saint-Pol-de-Léon
🇫🇷 Roscoff
🐕 Tilley & Frankie visit the vet
🏖️ Coastal walks and sandy dogs
🚲 Electric bike adventures
🗺️ Another battle with Google Maps
🍽️ Incredible moules frites
🍷 French wine
🥖 Fresh baguette
😂 One very unfortunate bike incident
🏡 Another night in the motorhome
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