June 25th, Thursday
Here we go again! Off to Newark airport to Fly to Paris with Ray on a "La Companie" flight.
It's a new airline with all business class seats at very reasonable prices. The flight was 2 hours late getting off, but otherwise fine.
Our destination on Friday evening was a country hotel called "Le Chateau d' Audrieu", not far from the town of Caen in Normandy. We drove from the Charles De Gaulle Airport through beautiful countryside on a sunny Summer day and arrived at about 6pm.
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| Le Chateau d' Audrieu in Classic Rennaisance style..... very classic. |
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| Chateau d'Audrieu Gardens |
Saturday morning, June 27th, we set off for Brittany to explore the North Coast department of "Cotes d'Armor". First we stopped in Bayeux, the home of the famous 11th century Tapestry which still tours some of the world's finest museums.
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| The Cathedral at Bayeux |
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| Stunning architecture |
Our last stop in Normandy was the St Malo peninsula, with a lunch stop in the lovely seaside town of Cancale. Lunch was at a great little French place ( as in all French speaking customers) we discovered called "Au Bout du Quai", and it really was at the base of a bridge overlooking the sea and the town.
Ray had one of those big platters of fresh seafood and I had scallops. SO fresh! The problem was, we had some wine with lunch and combined with the jet lag, I needed about a 2 hour nap. So we had to drive past St Malo, a town we really wanted to visit. It has a lot of interesting history. It was 80%
destroyed in WW 2, and painstakingly rebuilt.... another time for that visit.
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My scallops at Au Bout du Quai in Cancale
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| Amazing old Breton House. We stopped along the road to shoot this gem! |
Further along the coast , we took a detour to see the splendid vistas at the Cap Frehel. WOW! Now we understand why the call it the "Emerald Coast".
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| On the road to Cap Frehel, along the Emerald Coast |
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| At Cap Frehel, very savage and dramatic coastline here. |
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| The grand entrance room at the Manor de la Hazaie |
Our hotel Saturday and Sunday nights was the "Manor de la Hazaie" in a little town called Planguenoual. ( plan-gwen- wall ).... it's NW of Lamballe. This is a VERY old manor house, originally a 16th Century home, that functions like a B&B. The owners take care of everything, serve a fresh breakfast, and share with you the local info and the history of the property. Very pleasant. Christine, one of our hosts, sent us to a yummy restaurant for dinner in the nearby town of Pleneuf-Val-Andre.... right on the water. Le Rohein.......
Delicious and fun!
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| Seaside dinner at Le Rohein |
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| My dish...... delish! |
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| Ray feasting on fresh oysters at Le Rohein |
Sunday, June 28th.... a big day of exploring! We set off around 9am to visit the costal towns of Binic,
Paimpol and the Abbaye de Beauport, and midaeval Treguier.... the on to Ploumanac'h with its outrageous costal rock formations.
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| The old Abbaye de Beauport. We had lunch near here at a small but yummy Breton Crepe place. |
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| Crepe Breton for Cyn |
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| Ray's Crepe.... delicious! |
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| Brittany's small towns are really charming. Many buildings in the Cotes d'Amore are made of this stone. It's everywhere! |
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| Treguier is a classic middle ages Breton town. We stopped here to visit the cathedral and indulge in a pastry and coffee in the afternoon..... |
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The Cathedral at Treguier
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| The rock formations at Ploumanac'h |
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| Ray preparing to hike the costal trail in Ploumanac'h |
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| The point in Ploumanac'h |
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| It's Hydrangea season here. |
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in Pontrieux, a charming town with a gentle river flowing through the middle, for a walk around and a break from all the driving. So in 2 days we covered the entire costal region of that department. A lot of driving but worth it for the memories and the photos!
Sunday evening we went back to the same restaurant, Le Rohein, for another dinner. We both had steak as a relief from all the fish and seafood.
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| Pontrieux: a lazy, peaceful town: at least for today. |
Monday morning June 29th, after breakfast, we took off for the South of Brittany. Our destination was the town of Missillac and the "DOMAINE DE LA BRETESCHE". We will be spending time with my side of the family. Chris and Tom rented a lovely old manor house in the tiny village of Plumelec, about an hours drive from our hotel. It is north of the town of Vannes. Arriving here at just before noon was
a step back in time to a 15th century castle surrounded by a lovely lake and a moat. The hotel is situated in the old stables and staff quarters, which have all been restored beautifully... Very heavenly!!! Spa first, then lunch on the patio near the golf course. Perfect weather, in the low 80s.
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| The 15th Century Chateau at Le Bretesche. The hotel is located in the old servants quarters and stables which are just adjacent. |
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| Another shot of the Chateau de la Bretesche |
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| Interior Courtyard at Domaine de la Bretesche |
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| checking in.....Life is Good! |
Later in the afternoon, we drove to PLUMELEC and the Manoir Kerangat, where the 9 members of our family are staying. Tom and his team prepared a wonderful dinner and served in the dining room.
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| The Manoir Kerangat in Plumelec. Our family stayed there for a week around the time we were at Bretesche. The house is on 50 acres of woodlands and cow farms. |
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| Family members playing "boules" in front of the house. |
Tuesday, June 30th
I stayed at the hotel in the morning and had a swim. Ray and the family went to Guerande, the town where the famous sea salt is made.
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| A worker rakes the salt in Guerande and will eventually make huge piles for bagging and shipping. |
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| Delicious Fruit Tart for Ray's Birthday |
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Hors d'oeuvres at our Tuesday night Family dinner..... Tabouli salad, Melon, Gaspacho, and Beetroot with creme fraiche
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| The group at Cocktail hour |
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| In the Dining Room at Kerangat at Dinner |
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| A last look at Manor Kerangat..... a wonderful historic home. |
Wednesday, July 31st.... Another Very big day.
Ray took a drive to visit the City of Nantes and see the Chateau and the Cathedral in the morning.
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A view of the city of Nantes
After lunch, Ray and I drove to the very old seaport city of VANNES. The architecture here is quite wonderful. The old city is all pedestrian, no cars, so we could really wander around and enjoy it. |
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16th Century half timbered houses in Vannes
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| The old City .... Vannes |
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A Peak at the Vannes Cathedral
After Vannes, we drove to meet our family at an old Chateau called Suscinio. Built in the 13th Century and home to some of the Ducs of Brittany in the 15th Century. It fell into ruins and was restored recently. It's located just next to the town of Sarzeau where our friend Nathalie has a Summer house. The group had already toured the Chateau when we arrived , so we just took some exterior shots and drove on to Nathalie's. |
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| Chateau de Suscinio. It has been restored and is a fine example of 15th and 16th Century Chateau Fort. |
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| Nathalie and Claud's Summer House. They designed and built it several years ago. |
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| The boules court got a workout that afternoon! The usual suspects..... |
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Another cocktail hour!
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| Mussels and lobster dinner at a restaurant by the shore near Natalie's house |
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| Miss Monica a Table! That was SUCH a fun dinner! |
Wednesday, July 1st......
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| Ray and I departed the Hotel Bretesche and headed West .... Our first stop was Quimper. This is The Courtyard creperie just before a very busy lunch hour |
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| Quimper: the facade of the painted plate shop |
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| This is "Pointe du Millier", on the way to Pointe du Raz |
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| Hotel de la Plage near Douarnenez |
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| The amazing beach at Hotel de la Plage |
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| A canal town we drove through on the way to Hotel de la Plage |
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| A stunning spot along the coast |
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| A beautiful old Breton Church |
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| A distinctive "Calvaire" |
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| We went driving to visit a few old Breton Churches which were know for their "clos" architecture. That is an enlosure around the church which houses a cemetery and religious artifacts. |
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Another example of a "Cavalier". It is basically a work in sculpted stone to depict the story of Jesus' calvary
and his crucifixion. |
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| Another view of that same church. These are great specimens located in small villages. |
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| Our Photographer in a church doorway |
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| A "clos" with cemetery |
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| This was the last church we visited that day and it was a Great one. There was a wedding there when we arrived. We waited for all the people to leave so we could go inside and look around. |
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| The gorgeous seaside town of Roscoe on the North Coast of La Bretagne. We spent our last couple of days here at the Hotel "Le Brittany". This was our view from the hotel room. |
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| Roscoff Street Scene |
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| Roscoff is a very Picturesque little town! |
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| Fishing Boats in Roscoff Harbor |
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| Looking across the water from Roscoff to the Ile de Batz. There is a ferry to get there. |
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| Dinner at Hotel Le Brittany .... It was a memorable evening. Le restaurant "Yachtman" Heres the 1st course. |
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| Main course |
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| French White Asparagus dish |
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| There is a good story about this wine... ask Ray |
After we left Roscoff, We drove to the town of Brest to catch at train to PARIS....... It was a long ride and we were delighted to get to our hotel, Le BRISTOL, in Paris. It was a beautiful place with a famous 3 star restaurant. We chose to eat in the Brasserie, which was still fantastic!
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| A gorgeous terrine |
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| These flowers were handprinted on the restaurant walls at Le Bristol |
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| My main course |
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| Rays Main Course |
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2 very happy diners at Le Bristol
Om Monday morning, July 6th, we reluctantly went to the Airport to fly home. It was a GREAT trip and we absolutely love visiting France. Anytime, anywhere!
Au Revoir! |
