10 October 2015

Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken - my solo road tripping to Alsace, Normandie and Bretagne

The shore is safer, but I love to buffet the sea.

Emily Dickinson

It's about 2 weeks alone by myself, 5000 km of solo road tripping, DAY AFTER DAY all my adventures, places I visited and thoughts in my head, about making my own paths and finding my magic places, my unexpected visit to Paris, my favorite french breakfasts everyday, meeting the happiest cows in the world, why I prefer big shells over jewellery with diamonds, cookies and sweets almost as good as portugease ones, the best open-air restaurant in the world, international friendship which has lasted 25 years, chasing the sun set on every coast and drawing hearts on the beach.

DAY 1

driving from Berlin to Strasbourg and France greeted me with a fabulous sunset

I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life -

and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.

Georgia O'Keeffe

DAY 2

romantic ALSACE - STRASBOURG and COLMAR

Learning to be alone and enjoying it,

is the most empowering gift you can give yourself.

Steven Aitchison

DAY 3

driving from Alsace to Normandy via Paris,

staying overnight in a small village LA CROIX SAINT LEUFROY

It was quite unforgettable to be stuck in Paris' traffic jams without any intention to visit Paris at all. But as soon as I passed the Eiffel Tower on my right I started to laugh very loud :) :) :)

In the late afternoon I finally got to the small french village in Upper Normandy - LA CROIX SAINT LEUFROY.

And this was my lovely room for the next 2 nights - all mine !!!

DAY 4

UPPER NORMANDY - GIVERNY and ROUEN

GIVERNY

paying a visit to Claude Monet in his house and garden :)

I have no other wish than to mingle more closely with nature.

Claude Monet

ROUEN

They are almost as good as portugease cookies :)

The most beautiful years of our lives are yet to come.

Guilliame Musso "Call from an Angel"

DAY 5

NORMANDIE - PONT DE NORMANDIE, ETRETAT, DEAUVILLE, HONFLEUR

<3 B O N J O U R <3

PONT DE NORMANDIE

While driving I was listening to French radio and among all French songs this one was coming back all the time - my favorite one :) How Deep is Your Love? Is it like the Ocean?

FALAISE D'ETRETAT

Happy Cows of Normandy - fully relaxed on the green grass in a beautiful nature, wagging their tails and staring at me why the hell is she stopping the car in the middle of a road and taking photos of us ??? And I was so happy to see them in their natural environment - not in animal's farms and definately not on a plate !!!

HONFLEUR

DAY 6

NORMANDIE - PONT DE NORMANDIE, BAYEUX, PORT EN BESSIN, COLLEVILLE SUR MER + OMAHA BEACH, CAEN

I have forgiven mistakes that were indeed almost unforgivable. I’ve tried to replace people who were irreplaceable and tried to forget those who were unforgettable.

I’ve acted on impulse, have been disappointed by people when I thought that this could never be possible. But I have also disappointed those who I love. I have laughed at inappropriate occasions. I’ve made friends that are now friends for life.

I’ve screamed and jumped for joy.
I’ve loved and I’ve been loved. But I have also been rejected, and I have been loved without loving the person back. I’ve lived for love alone and made vows of eternal love. I’ve had my heart broken many, many times! I’ve cried while listening to music and looking at old pictures. I’ve called someone just to hear their voice on the other side.

I have fallen in love with a smile. At times, I thought I would die because I missed someone so much. At other times, I felt very afraid that I might lose someone very special (which ended up happening anyway).
But I have lived! And I still continue living everyday. I’m not just passing through life…and you shouldn’t either. Live! The best thing in life is to go ahead with all your plans and your dreams, to embrace life and to live everyday with passion, to lose and still keep the faith and to win while being grateful. All of this because the world belongs to those who dare to go after what they want. And because life is really too short to be insignificant.

Charlie Chaplin

BAYEUX

PORT EN BESSIN

This is one of the magic places that we find in our journeys unexpectedly when we make our own paths. This little port village is really nothing special and there is no point going there ... Unless you are a shell collector !!! The beach is made of big shells and no sand. You can't believe what you are actually looking at. These were the biggest and the most beatutiful shells I have ever seen in my life. And of course I stole lots of them and now I have them in my house among all my treasures from all over the world. Most of women collect diamonds or gold jewellery. My biggest treasures are the gifts of natures - shells from distant seas or pieces of volcanic lava collected from the top of my volcanoes ...

OMAHA BEACH

Normandy American Cementery in COLLEVILLE SUR MER

And this is how I like to have my lunch :) - the best open-air restaurant is in the beach or in the wild dunes :)

bye bye Normandy !!!

DAY 7

BRETAGNE - RENNES, DINAN

Hello rainy cloudy windy Brittany !!!!

And this is my new house for the next 2 days :)

RENNES

This meeting was so special !!! Karen and I met for the first time when we were both 12 years old. For the last 25 years we kept on writing letters and were in touch via facebook. And finally we managed to meet personally !!! I visited her and her lovely family in Rennes - her home city. Our friendship lasted 25 years :) :) :)

DAY 8

BRETAGNE - LE PORT DE DINAN, SAINT MALO, LA MONT SAINT MICHEL

DINAN

SAINT MALO

Again, they are almost as good as portugease cookies :)

LA MONT SAINT MICHEL

DAY 9

BRETAGNE - CONCARNEAU, QUIMPER, LOCRONAN

My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.

Diane Abrus

CONCARNEAU

QUIMPER

heavy rains in LOCRONAN

My diet starts tomorrow :) :) :)

DAY 10

BRETAGNE - POINTE DU RAZ, QUIBERON, CARNAC, VANNES

I won't stop travelling until I've seen the sun set from every coast.

(and the sun rise !!!)

POINTE DU RAZ

Driving back to Quimper - somewhere between POINTE DU RAZ and POINTE DU VAN - I came across this magic place - these 2 lonely hotels on the wild and cold ocean shore. It reminded me of the wild north coast of Ireland which I love so much. I dream about coming back to this place for a lonely weekend :)

VANNES

CARNAC

on the way to QUIBERON

QUIBERON - POINTE DU CONGUEL

What we all want in life is to travel, fall in love and be happy.

She's the one with the messy, unkempt hair colored by the sun. Her skin is now far from fair like it once was. Not even sun kissed. It's burnt with multiple tan lines, wounds and bites here and there. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell. Don't date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane. Don't date a girl who travels for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She goes with the flow and follows her heart. She dances to the beat of her own drum. Her days are ruled by the sun and the moon. When the waves are calling, life stops and she will be oblivious to everything else for a moment. But she has learned that the most important thing in life isn't surfing. She will never need you. She knows how to pitch a tent and screw her own fins without your help. She is too independent and wont care whether you travel with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at her destination. She's busy living in the present. She talks to strangers. She will meet many interesting, like-minded people from around the world who share her passion and dreams. She will be bored with you. So never date a girl who travels unless you can keep up with her. And if you unintentionally fall in love with one, don't you dare keep her. Let her go.

Adi Zarsadias