Here follows the next episode of our Brittany holiday. I thought I would include here an example of Breton folk music just so you can get an idea of the kind of music we heard when we arrived in Brittany. I also apologise for the grainy and blurred photos.
Sunday 22nd August
We decided that we would not do much today and just get used to being in our cottage in France. The weather was nice so we sat outside quite a lot.
We drove into Le Faouët during the early evening and went to a Breton crêperie for tea. We all enjoyed our meal and decided we would return there sometime soon.
Richard didn’t feel too well during the evening and went to bed early. (Over-tired probably!).
Monday 23rd August
A foggy start to the day.
The day began well but we soon had our first accident with Alice breaking one of the plates as she was wiping up after we had washed the breakfast things. (We are an accident-prone family!). Richard took Elinor out to play on the swings but the swing broke and Richard badly burnt his arm on the rope as he tried to break his and Elinor’s fall. After patching up his arm and having a cup of tea we decided we would go for a scenic drive during the afternoon to the Étang du Bel Air and the Scorff valley. We cooked some soup for our lunch.
Shortly before setting off for our drive, Elinor fell down the steps from the sitting area onto the hard tiles in the dining area. We didn’t realise at the time but she had landed on her ear and badly bruised it.
We drove through Le Faouët and, via L’Abbaye Notre-Dame de Langonnet, on to Priziac which is next to L’Étang du Bel Air. We walked a little way round the lake until Elinor got tired and Alice began complaining of hunger and cold. We returned to the little beach near the car-park where a café was just opening and bought coffee and crisps and Alice bought an ice-cream. The ideal food to eat when you are cold!
The link below will lead you to some pictures of the lake courtesy of google maps and the photographers who have donated their photos to that site.
We then drove to Kernascléden via le Croisty and St-Caradec-Trégomel. We looked at the church which has medieval paintings in it and then went to the toy museum. (I looked on-line to see if the toy museum is still going and unfortunately I don’t believe it is. There are some images of the museum but I think they are old pictures.) We bought some postcards and groceries from a shop before driving off to the Scorff valley with its beautiful scenery. We stopped at a likely place by the R. Scorff and Richard and Alice got out of the car. A kingfisher flew past and they saw lots of pond skaters (insects) in the calmer parts of the river. Next, we drove to Plouay where I used a public toilet (most unpleasant!) and then travelled on to Les Roches du Diable and looked at the wonderful rock formations on the R. Ellé.The rocks are supposed to have been thrown by the devil at Saint Winwaloe who had set up home by the river but the saint outwitted and defeated the devil. The rocks show the devil’s claw marks on them.
We drove back to our cottage and Richard cooked us pasta and sauce for our evening meal followed by crêpes. The rain started as we got home and continued to fall very heavily almost all night long.
Lisa G. said:
Is Richard one of those men who can make crepes? A jewel! Otherwise, were you able to enjoy this place, Clare? So many mishaps! But I enjoy hearing about it, such a pretty site.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Lisa. Yes, Richard is very good at making pancakes. I make the batter and he does the cooking. While we were in Brittany we didn’t make any ourselves but went out to local creperies to eat them, made by experts. They are absolutely delicious!
We did enjoy being at that place despite our clumsiness!
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germac4 said:
I have never been to Brittany so I very much enjoyed following your travels. It always takes a while to settle into a new holiday place, and quite often that is the time you have an accident, like dropping a plate!
Paul and I also enjoyed the Folk music from Brittany. Lovely!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Gerrie. We love Brittany and have visited three times, though not recently. It is very much like the south-west of England – Cornwall and Devon – which isn’t surprising as the two areas are only separated by a few miles of sea!
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navasolanature said:
I must have missed the earlier episodes. What a good way to share memories and places. Oh that rope burn preventing a fall. Brittany is beautiful and we used to camp there on family holidays. I recall an overlong cycle ride getting lost with our young ones. And a big hill before returning to base! Oh for a Brittany crepe. Thanks for your share.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Georgina. The post just before this one was my first episode.
We love Brittany and have been there three times, but not since 2008. Oh yes! Brittany crepes and galettes; so delicious!
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derrickjknight said:
I am sorry about the mishaps, especially the swing which surely should not have broken. I hope that the rain stopped. The music sounds like Celtic
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Laurie Graves said:
Love the music, and I agree with Derrick. It sounds Celtic. Quite a few mishaps but lots to see and admire. And crepes are such a delicious way to end the day.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Laurie. It is definitely Celtic music as the Bretons are Celts. The place names and the scenery reminded us of Cornwall and the Cornish language is very similar to Breton. Ohh, crepes! The Bretons are expert crepe makers and also make galettes which are savoury buckwheat varieties. Mmmmm!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Derrick. Oh, we had a number of mishaps during that holiday! A mixture of sleep deprivation, first gîte nerves, flimsy and delicate furniture and crockery etc. We’ve never been that bad since then! The swing broke because Richard was sitting on it with Elinor on his lap! She loved her swing at home which had a safety seat and was therefore nervous about sitting on the holiday swing. As you can see from the photos she soon got used to it!
The music is definitely Celtic!
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unionhomestead said:
Lots of mishaps which aren’t that much fun at the time but just makes the retelling a little more dramatic. Gorgeous place to stay!!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you! It was an idyllic place and we have such fond memories of it even after 25 years.
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Going Batty in Wales said:
Well that was an interesting start to your holiday! I hope you got all the accidents out of the way and then had a lovely peaceful time.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you! We had a few more accidents but that’s just the way we are! I found a supermarket receipt from that holiday which had superglue listed on it! It was a wonderful break despite the mishaps.
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Going Batty in Wales said:
I love the idea of needing superglue on holiday! Glad you enjoyed yourselves.
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Clive said:
An enjoyable and eventful day! I see what you mean about being an accident-prone family 🤣
The music was very nice. I had an Alain Stivell album in my youth and it reminded me of that.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Clive. Yes, it was like Alain Stivell’s music; I had forgotten about him! Thanks for the reminder. I’m afraid things do happen to us, though that holiday was the one with the most mishaps.
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Clive said:
You’ve all survived until now, so hopefully that means things have become less dangerous for you!
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maryannniemczura said:
The Brittany photos and folk music are inspiring. I especially enjoyed the music you included. Have a wonderful Sunday and week ahead. oxox
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you for your kind wishes and for commenting on my post, Mary Ann. I love folk music, and the Breton music is very like our own Celtic music.
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maryannniemczura said:
Clare, you are welcome. I love music with a good beat which the Breton and Celtic music have. Very apt for the setting photos you used. Enjoy your day! oxox
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bowlandclimber said:
The music sounds Scottish to me, perhaps reflecting a common Celtic past.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, John. Yes, there is definitely a Celtic flavour to the music. I love it!
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tootlepedal said:
I like the music and the lake. I am sorry to hear of the less enjoyable parts of your holiday but it must have made it quite memorable.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Tom. Yes, the holiday was memorable for many things! We do manage to ‘come a cropper’ quite frequently and my holiday packing always includes quantities of plasters and antiseptic!
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tootlepedal said:
Mine too. I have left bloodstains all over Europe.
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Retirement Reflections said:
Hi, Clare – I am so sorry to hear about the mishaps. But mishaps can make great stories. The music and lake are beautiful! ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Donna. The mishaps would probably have happened to us anywhere – we are prone to them, unfortunately! We were very tired at the time, which is probably the best excuse I can give 😀 I am pleased you liked the music and the pictures of the lake ❤
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Suzanne said:
What’s a holiday without mishaps? They do make for some wonderful holiday stories that in some cases are retold for years by family 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Suzanne! Yes, we remember most of our holidays by the accidents/bad weather/mistakes we’ve experienced! All great fun, though! 😀
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Suzanne said:
Absolutely, like that horror moment when you know you’re on the wrong train platform, and the correct station is a 10 minute driven by a crazy taxi driver. We made it and still laughing about it years later 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
😄
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timothy lowe said:
Hello I like your site/blog I hope you check mine out back
Thanks
Tim
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Clare Pooley said:
Hello Tim, and thank you for visiting my blog.
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margaret21 said:
We had lovely weather for our one and only Brittany holiday – too lovely perhaps: but we were just as accident prone as you! And yes, we too had a chance to listen to and appreciate traditional Breton music. I love it!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Margaret. What a comfort to know we weren’t the only ones to have an accident-prone holiday! I really enjoy listening to the traditional music and watching the dancing of the countries we visit.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I’m sorry I’m late to the post Clare. I seem to be getting very scatterbrained these days.
That was quite a trip! We never did more than go to our seashore or our mountais, each about two hours away. I like rolling countryside of France. It looks much like here.
My son wasn’t accident prone but my daughter sure was, so I can relate! I’m glad you all came through with only bruises and no trips to the doctor.
I thought the music was kind of haunting but I liked it. It seemed very old to me, like something you would have heard in medieval times. I’ve never heard anything like it.
It’s nice to have family memories. Recording them was so diffrent in those days though, as you know. We can now do with a cellphone what would have required a suitcase full of stuff back then. It was fun though!
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Clare Pooley said:
I have been busy with Easter celebrations so my reply has been late too! Thank you for your comment, Allen. Being part of the EEC made travelling to the main continent of Europe so easy at that time – it has become hard again since Brexit – but it was our first trip as a family so was quite stressful too. You are right about phones; we use them all the time for everything. I certainly would have taken more shots of the places we visited if I’d had a smartphone then!
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Andrea Stephenson said:
It sounds very enjoyable, despite the mishaps!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Andrea. It has been fun to read it through again after all these years. How young and inexperienced we all were!
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Jolandi Steven said:
Those rocks are amazing, Clare, and I love the story. You do sound like an accident prone family. 🙈
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Jolandi. We enjoyed walking at the Roches du Diable; it was so atmospheric and the place was so lush and green. I don’t think any of our subsequent holidays have been quite as ‘eventful’ as that one!
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