Brest -> Paris

Moulin Blanc marina

It's our last chance. All week we've been threatening to get Laura out of bed with the foghorn. It's now or never. We give her a short blast, and it turns out to be quite effective! She is not impressed. I'll have to remember that one for home...

Breakfast, and then we have to pack our bags and tidy up the boat before we leave. We have a few towels hanging out to dry on the lifelines, but Richard spots a black cloud and suggests we bring them in. Five minutes later it's raining! I get out the hose and re-fill the water tanks while Laura does the vacuuming below. Excuse me, can you repeat that please? You heard it right! Is Richard "Super Nanny" or what? 

Eileen and Laura proudly receive their RYA Competent Crew course certificates! Bravo!!! We thank Richard and say our good-byes. Then grab our bags and head up the long visitor's pontoon. There is a café - restaurant in the marina called Le Tour du Monde (owned by Olivier de Kersauson, apparently) so we decide to stop for a coffee and a croissant. We are in no hurry as our train isn't until late afternoon. We watch Richard leave from the balcony, he's heading back to Camaret. I'm very impressed by his single-handed departure in the windy conditions, and then I think jeez, maybe we should have helped him instead of sitting here sipping coffee? Too late now!

La Tour Tanguy, and the lifting bridge on the right

The plan is to do a bit of sight-seeing in Brest, have lunch, and then catch our train back to Paris. We find a bus stop and figure out which one will take us to the Maritime Museum. It's in the château overlooking the entrance to the Penfeld River which is also part of the Naval Base, the Arsenal de Brest. We're trying to figure out where the entrance to the museum might be, but all we can see is a security check-point. We go over and ask the guard, but unfortunately the museum closes for the winter and won't re-open for another few weeks. I ask if it might be possible to visit the Château? No. Naval personnel only. 

It's turning out to be quite a nice day, and we walk out towards the lifting bridge, the Pont de Recouvrance. I'm keen to walk out onto the bridge but Eileen is tired of hauling our bags around. She and Laura wait with the bags while I take a walk out onto the bridge to enjoy the view. 

Le Château

We spotted a nice looking restaurant near the end of the bridge and decide to go back for a closer look. "Au Deux Tours du Château" turns out to be a very good choice, and would probably have a great view if it wasn't for the tram works going on right outside. 

Time to head for the train station. We'd like to find a bakery first to get some train food, and then get a bus to the station. We walk and walk and walk but don't see a bakery anywhere. Finally we spot one and stock up on food. Now we can't find a bus stop and it's getting late. We are really tired of hauling bags, but we're also afraid of missing the train so we walk to the station. Sore feet all around...

We catch our train, the TGV leaving Brest at 16:46 and arrive in Paris Montparnasse at 21:11. We did it. We survived the storms, the Titanic, the Costa Concordia, and the Ile des Morts. And now I have a competent crew!