Saturday 18 December 2010

The snow is back and are we glad to be home once more!

Last week we decided to take a pre Christmas break and visit the port city of Brest, Brittany.
Our main reason for going was to attend the December, Thierry-Lannon & Assoc., sale of Quimper held at the Port de Plaisance de l'Hotel des Ventes.
If you would like to hear more about the auction and see which treasure came home with me, click here to visit the Quimper Club International blog.
Traffic at a standstill outside of Morlaix, Brittany.
We had booked three nights at the ultra moderne Hotel Oceania in the city centre, close to all the shops, restaurants and bars and just a short walk away from the Place where each year they hold a Bavarian style Christmas market.
However, once again the weather interfered with our plans and on Thursday, after the auction had ended, we decided that we would leave for home the next morning.
The TV news was full of reports about the heavy snow fall expected in the region and we wanted to be home for Christmas!!
We left Brest around 9.00am on Friday and pretty soon ran into the bad weather.
Several times the autoroute traffic was down to one lane and the "poids lourdes"/HGV's were having a terrible time of it.

Drivers on the opposite side weren't faring much better than us.
We took a quick break at McDo's in St. Briec for a burger and coffee (BTW, McDo's coffee in France is wonderful!) then hit the road again.
At the Les Routiers just outside of Torigni, we met up with Steve an English guy who has a thriving business selling English food and supplies, to ex-pat's like us who sometimes yearn for a taste of good old Blighty.

Mirror reflections in the library.
Thank goodness he made it through the blizzard, we now have a butterflied turkey, sausagemeat, double cream, a Christmas pud and many, many more treats to make the season jolly and bright.
We were surprised to see that the snow had not yet made it to our little village when we arrived home around 5.00 pm but shortly after, it did arrive "big time" and hasn't stopped falling since.

11 comments:

  1. Maggie,

    Glad you got home safely. I don't miss driving in the snow one bit!

    Your purchase at the auction is just lovely.

    Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

    Carol

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  2. Oh, so glad to hear you got home. My dad is HOPING to fly out to us on Monday - we'll see how it goes!

    I have to say that the HB mincemeat is growing on us. Personally, I still prefer Deila's. I won't spoil the great 'reveal' of our competition yet, though!

    Some friends pointed us towards a new English Cash and Carry out in the wilds to our west - I hope they make a go of it!

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  3. I used to hate driving in the snow. You've had a lot of it, too!
    Lovely reflective photo....and how nice to have all your English food and be nice and cozy in your home!

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  4. There's nothing better than arriving safely home after an arduous trip - and arriving home to Christmas decorations and goodies has got to be the best!

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  5. Glad you made it back and can have a cozy evening watching the snow from the inside!

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  6. Maggie, I'm glad you got home safely. We really had the snow all night and the roads in Zeeland, Netherlands are covered with 6 inches of snow. Take care, invit neighbors in and enjoy the romantic snow we probably won't see again. xxoo Jenny

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  7. Maggie, glad to hear that you are safely home. Sorry your little get away was cut short, but it wouldn't have been much fun to be stranded away from home for Christmas. There's always another time to return.
    I'm off to see what went back home in your bag. ;-)
    Holiday hugs ~ Sarah

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  8. Hi Maggie dear - just catching up and had a feeling you might have bad weather as most of Europe does!

    Glad you managed to get home safely.......and with a Christmas pud no less!!!!!

    We are in Washington for the weekend -some snow fell before we arrived but it's just been cold and dry.

    Happy Christmas dear - stay safe and warm.

    Hugs Mary

    Sent from my iPad

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  9. Enjoy the warm fires and comforts of home. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you both!

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  10. Hi Maggie,
    Happy to read you made it home safe and sound!
    My neighbors were supposed to fly to London this morning for a long visit to see their son. I am taking care of their dogs while they are gone so she just called me this morning to let me know that all flights in to Heathrow had been cancelled today due to the weather. I got on the internet news and read all about the snowy weather that your part of the world is experiencing. It definitely sounds like you will be having a white Christmas....which leads me to the other part of my message....a big thank you for the eChristmas card. I really enjoyed it. It was a nice little message to wake up to this morning.
    Hope you are having a wonderful day and a wonderful holiday season!! Stay safe and warm.
    Jane

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  11. I'm glad you're safely home. Now you can settle in to enjoy the snowfall and the delicious goodies of the season!

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!