Au revoir, la France!

I woke this morning to the mournful sounds of foghorns, and a quick glance outside confirmed that we’ve lost the sunshine this morning – not actually raining, but it has been....  I could only just make out the shape of the Quai Neuf in the mist.  I needed to check out at noon, but decided that I would have an indoors morning instead, and leave my bags in storage for the afternoon.  I looked up bus schedules for St Pol de Leon, but they were mostly afternoon, and I was more than a little wary about needing to be at the ferry in good time, so decided to stay in Roscoff. 

Misty morning...

At noon I checked out, and ended up taking my bags as well.  Grey day – not much to see or to do, and most of the potentials were out of easy reach.  I walked along the waterfront, with stops to contemplate the water, the Roscoff Lighthouse, and the unloading of seaweed from a small boat – potential fertilizer, I guess. 

The Roscoff lighthouse

Cleaning out after a load of seaweed

By the end of the waterfront I needed to make a decision, so headed up towards the ferry terminal through a nice bit of residential Roscoff, with some great gardens. 

wonderful colour in the gardens

I was too early to check in, but hoped that I could leave my bags and go visit the botanical gardens just south of the terminal – but the ferry staff said that wasn’t possible.  However, there’s a nice little restaurant there, and I was able to take my time having a really good final French lunch: charcuterie, a pasta carbonara (OK, so that’s not really French, but it was part of the “special”), a couple of well-ripened cheeses, and a really nice glass of Sauvignon and take my time with it.

Saying goodbye to Roscoff in the late afternoon sun

There were only about twenty of us as walk-on passengers, and once we were through customs, they popped us on a bus to get us closer to the ferry.  All very efficient, and we left on schedule – and in the sunshine, that just cleared in the last hour.

Rounding the last pier

The farewell wake...

I should probably have got a cabin, but they offered “comfy chairs” – however, though it was possible to recline them a bit, there was no way to raise my legs.  I got about four hours of sleep on and off, and then left my assigned seat to find a bench nearby where I could actually lie down.  It was a nice smooth sail, with the lightest bit of swell, and we woke to a clear morning, with the southern Ireland coast in view.