Travelogue Brittany 2016

SAT 06.08.16

Good traffic conditions on the motorways in France. We arrive in Chartres after 7 hours and something. Its cathedral is famous for its stained glass windows. No entrance fees for visitors, a friendly gesture, obviously common in France.

Around 8 p.m. folks are flooding the restaurants. All tables outside are full. People have to queue for a free table. So do we. Takes us 20 minutes to get seated. The good thing: once you are seated, waitors don't rush. The table is yours for the rest of the night.

SUN 07.08.16

Once in Brittany we pay no more toll for motorway usage.

Quiberon is a sea resort at the end of a long and narrow peninsula. Very touristy with a vibrant beach. Restaurants and street cafés are packed with people. Touching the Atlantic sea is chilling. Water temperature does not pass the 20 degree celsius marker, maybe 18. The ascending tide makes us move the bath towels a couple of times.

MON 08.08.16

Carnac is famous for its menhirs. We park at the main entrance which is opposite a field of menhirs, all linded up in rows. We decide to take the tourist train rather than search all different spots by car. Bad idea. The train does a detour and shows city, beach area, suburbs, stops in various places and after an hour we have only seen very few menhir sites. Conclusion: never take tourist trains.

In Locmariaquer we visit the broken menhir. It used to be biggest in the world. Nearby is a dolmen which has been reconstructed and is accessible to visitors. Both items belong to a museum.

We park our car close to the port and pay for two hours. A ferry brings us to the Ile aux Moines in about 10 minutes. We hire bikes for an hour and explore the tiny island which is situated in the gulf of Morbihan. Not long enough for such an exciting place. Next time we'll stay a full day.

Driving back to Quiberon takes a lot of time. 15km traffic jam on the peninsula. It's just too touristy in August.

TUE 09.08.16

On the road to St-Cado we stop in Crucuno to take some pictures of the dolmen. Then we have a short break in Erdeven to see the megaliths. The blocks of stone seem to be bigger than the ones in Carnac. The site is accessible to visitors which is not the case in Carnac.

St-Cado is a picturesque small island. Closeby is the famous house with a door and two windows situated on a tiny island.

Next stop is Quimperlé where we have a galette for lunch.

Pont Aven, the place where Paul Gaugin lived for a while. We walk along the river and take the route to the small chapel with the crucifix. Latter is a theme of Gaugins most famous paintings.

Benodet is a sea resort like Quiberon but has less restaurants along the beach.

We have dinner at Café Foutu. The fish soup tastes excellent.

WED 10.08.16

The old town of Concarneau is situated in a bay and surrounded by city walls. We walk on top of the wall, then descend to the Rue Vauban with its freaky shops such as the fish spa.

After Concarneau we visit Quimper with its famous timbered houses and the cathedral.

Back in Benodet we cross the river Odet by ferry. There is a footpath along the coast to the end of the estuary. On the other side: a long white sandy beach.

THU 11.08.16

Not much to mention about Pont-l'Abbé. Some solid palaces. One of them bridges a narrow estuary.

Later in the morning we visit Penmarch's lighthouse. A mighty spiral staircase brings us to the top. Excellent view from there.

The oldest calvaire of the world is situated at the chapel Notre-Dame-de-Tronoën. Its statuary, displaying scenes of the Via Dolorosa, is a genuine masterpiece.

Before we set off for dinner we have a drink at one of the street bars at Benodet's river-port.

FRI 12.08.16

Point du Raz is a spectacular place. A stone statue of Mary surrounded by cliffs and the sea. We walk past the visitor's fence on a narrow and exposed path high above the breakwater to the very end of the cape.

Pont-Croix is one of many towns in Brittany which has an oversized Cathedral. Worth a visit.

There's not much to see in Douarnenez. We have a Coke at the port and drive on.

Hordes of tourists flood the small town of Locronan. Not only the church and the houses around the main plaza, the entire town has a medieval air.

Brest has been completely destroyed during World War II. People say, there is no use to visit this town. Why not? It is different to the rest of Brittany. It is modern. Young people populate the street cafés. We enjoy the view from the upper town with the fortification to our left, the bridge to the right and the vessels of the military port below us.

SAT 13.08.16

The lighthouse and the remains of an abbey called St-Mathieu. An excellent ensemble.

Some driving minutes north of St-Mathieu is the westernmost point of France called Cape Pointe de Corsen. A quiet location compared to Pointe du Raz.

There are some white sandy beaches along the northern coast. Caribean-like. But the water is freezing.

Plenty of visitors in Roscoff. The clock tower of Notre-Dame de Kroaz-Batz with its onion like jutties is quite special.

A real gem is the small town of Guimiliau. Its calvaire is the most elaborated we have seen.

A viaduct spans a valley. The city below is called Morlaix. Some timbered houses here and there.

SUN 14.08.16

Sunday morning. We drive eastwards along the coast. Lots of cyclists on the road.

The chapel of Kerfons is not easy to find. Somewhere in the countryside not far from Lannion. We have to pay an entrance fee to see the wooden jube.

Lannion is another town with timbered houses. A stairway leads to the church of Brélévenez. After nearly 150 steps we end up in front of a closed door.

Early afternon arriving in Perros-Guirec. The city center is about 100m higher than its beaches.

MON 15.08.16

We are lucky to find a parking lot in Trégastel. It's packed with visitors. The entire bay is aground when the tide is low. We walk on the mudflat to the island with the castle. Lots of rocks around. Excellent spots for climbers. Even rockier is the isle Renote. We walk all along the coast back to the car at Quai Ste Anne.

Again lucky to find a place to park in Ploumanach. The small town opposite to Trégastel has a marvelous beach called Plage de St-Guirec in a bay enclosed by rocks. We rent an SUP and make our first trials standing on a surf-board with a paddle in the hand.

There is a path all along the coast between Ploumanach and Perros Guirec. Most photographed is the so called Maison Littoral surrounded by ocher coloured rocks and the nearby lighthouse.

TUE 16.08.16

The house between the rocks is our first destination today. We drive to Plourescant and take some pictures of the askew little tower on the roof of a chapel. There is a map outside the tourist office but no indication where to find the famous house. The guidebook tells us to drive in direction 'Le Gouffre'. Finally easy to find. A parking lot and a path to the house. A fence keeps paparazzi away. We take some pictures and journey on.

Short stop at Tréguier. Cathedral and timbered houses as usual.

Plage de St-Michel is supposed to be one of the top beaches in Brittany. It is located near Equy. The white sandy beach reminds us of the Caribean if only the water wouldn't be that cold. The tide is low. People walk to the island with a sanctuary, possibly dedicated to St-Michel.

After half an hour drive we arrive at Cap Fréhel. The cliffs are even steeper than the ones at Pointe du Raz. The path which leads down to the sea is closed due to rock slide. Some visitors descend regardless of the warning.

We arrive in Dinan at around 5:30 p.m. Not much time left for sightseeing. We have seen so many towns with narrow alleys, timbered houses, Flamboyant style cathedrals. Dinan tops them all. One of the highlights is the small alley which leads down to the river Rance.

WED 17.08.16

9 a.m. we are in a traffic jam approaching Le Mont-St-Michel. The car park is filling up. Thousands of visitors are on the way to besiege the fortified piece of land, call it mountain or island. However, this mystical rock with its medieval walls and towers rises on the sandy flat like a town on an alien planet. A street-painter's airbrush work of art. Lucky us to be there when the tide is low. The entire bay is looking like a desert. The sea is not visible any more. We are walking on the mudflat and take pictures of this fascinating landmark. Masses of people are moving inside the city walls in direction abbey which is topping the hill. The view from the top over the flats is as fascinating as is the cloister itself.

Being tired of so many towns we have seen on our short trip through Brittany we just stop shortly in Pontorson and Dol-de-Bretagne.

St-Malo is our last station in Brittany (At this point I must mention that Mont-St-Michel belongs to Normandy). We are somewhat disappointed to be honest. Is it because the sky is covered with low hanging clouds. Is it because of the high-tide. Maybe we are just fed up with sight-seeing. However it takes time to find a parking space outside the city walls. Parking is forbidden inside. To be precise, only allowed for a couple of minutes. Walking on the broad city wall is a must. The view to the nearby islands is somewhat sobering. The tide is high and we cannot walk on the mudflat and take pictures of the fortified city. The old town is packed with visitors.

THU 18.08.16

On the way back home we stop at Troyes where we stay over night.

Troyes has a couple of churches with fascinating stained glass windows and guess what, timbered houses. Some alleys are so narrow that the roofs nearly touch each other.

FRI 19.08.16

Another 7 to 8 hrs on the road to get back home.

That's the end of the log.