Bretagne Festivals!

We're staying in the Recouvrance neighborhood of Brest, and it had a little festival last Friday - it's a short walk for us, so of course we went!

There were booths selling crafts and books, plus 2 sets of DJs. We got there in time to score a table with drinks, and caught the Klezmer band!

We enjoyed the DJ playing some oldies, then got some Brazilian food (super tasty feijoada - black bean stew) to take home for dinner 😋

The next day, we met our friends in Rostrenen for the Festival Fisel! Although we only went for one evening, this was a week-long festival, full of Breton music and dance. They had workshops for learning and practicing "the fisel" dance as well as playing various instruments. Besides traditional music, there were other types of bands, and there were several booths for food - crepes, grilled sausage, fries...

From a plaque:

Capital of Fisel country (named after the thread (la ficelle) which ornamented the hat men used to wear in ancient times), many events take place here every year. A site of natural beauty, the historical Nantes to Brest canal, the woods of Kerbeskont and the green path we now use as a cycle road. Its strategic situation and strong cultural Breton identity makes Rostraněn a welcoming and an exceptional center for visiting great touristic places.

Olympic Flame in Sète

Today, the Olympic Flame traversed Sète, and we were on hand to watch it!

We watched from the roof-top terrace of a friend, just along the canal where jousting usually takes place. This time, Simon Caselli, two-time winner of the Saint -Louis, carried the flame on the platform of a jousting boat! (So very sétois, right?)

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More photos in the Olympic Flame 2024 album.

Portugal 2024 - Mardi Gras

Today was quite a party! It's Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, here in small-town Portugal 😊

It began with a small gathering at the beach, blossomed into a parade (4 times around the route), and ended with a concert!

Within an hour of the parade ending, the street sweepers were out (they like it clean here)...

The obligatory men-as-women section 

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See all the photos in the Portugal 2024 photo album.

Portugal 2024 - Relax!

Wednesday was the last fully sunny day for a while, so we went on our West Coast drive then. That left the next few days for relaxing! That is, stay inside, out of the rain, and get caught up on posting, playing games, and reading... ahhhh....

17° C = 63° F
20° C = 68° F 

It turns out that Carnaval is either side of this weekend - hopefully they won't get caught in too much rain!

We have plans to go listen to "Fado" on Sunday; now we just have to figure out what to do Saturday!

Portugal 2023 - Boat Tour

Winter weather is iffy, and even if the day is sunny, sometimes the sea is rough! After a week of checking, finally all the weather lined up - the boat tour was on!

Benagil Cavern 

Here's the first arch we drove through...

Then we went between the cliffs and the rocks!

To see the "baby elephant"

We saw more cliffs

Caves with hidden beaches

And "our beach" from the water!

Algar Seco from the water too!

See the people in the window?

Here's Skull Cave 

More caves...

Huge!

Heart Cave

Ghost Cave 

On to Benagil Cavern!

More beaches and caverns

Recently collapsed "window"

Kayaks

Even a crocodile!

And The Big Elephant!

Fantastic Rocks!

(Those are birds!)

On the way back, we got a last look at the lighthouse...

~~~ Details ~~~

I called a bit after 10am, and was usually told "not today" - this time, I got a reservation! I arrived at Carvoeiro beach at 11:45, paid 35€, and waited for the van to Portimão. The boat went eastward to Marinha Beach, then back to Portimão. I was back at the apartment by 3pm

Map: Portimão on the left; Carvoeiro black dot; Marinha Beach red marker 

Route showing stops

This was the weather at 9am - super foggy!

See a *ton* of photos in the Portugal 2024 Boat Tour album.

Sevilla 2024 - Alcázar

We toured the Alcázar of Sevilla yesterday - it's impressive! 

We popped out before seeing everything, so we headed out to a tapas place we remembered from last year - still as good!

After a relaxing snack, we went to another favorite (Al-Wadi) and got takeout for dinner 😋

Tram and bus back to the apartment, and a pleasant evening "home" (not counting the electrical outages 🙄)

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See the Sevilla 2024 Alcázar album for more photos.

We didn't buy our tickets in advance:

- we couldn't be sure that we could be there for the date and time (timed entrance)

- the tickets were non-refundable, and the rules for which to buy were not clear. Buying the wrong one could mean being turned away and re-buying. In one explanation, EU citizens got a different one, but it turned out you also had to be 65+

- there were plenty of tickets for each time slot (half hours), so we knew they wouldn't run out. Also, reports said there was virtually no line.

- we spent 45 minutes waiting in line just to buy tickets - there was just one agent, and each ticket had to have the name, verified by ID. We missed the first time slot *and* wasted our feet (even with a cane-chair to share). At the entrance, there was no line...

What we might have done was go, ask the entry guards about the right tickets, sit on a bench, and then buy our tickets via smartphone and data. I've seen so many people do something similar at other venues, but I'm still not used to thinking of it...