Paris1972-Versailles2003

And here is terminus of my latest road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne! This was done on the way back home and it was another first time visit in my Brittany; the town of Lamballe. I have heard about it as one of my collegues now works there and he is from the area but never visited until now. Better late than never the old saying goes, and I was glad I did. Let me tell you a bit on the Church of Saint John or église Saint Jean of Lamballe !!

This was in our walk after parking our car that we saw a big belltower rising and under renovation, so we went to take a look and found this nice church. Worth the detour me think

The Church of Saint John (St Jean), with its 1594 bell and its gallery organ is something to see in the new town of Lamballe-Armor, The church is in the shape of a Latin cross comprising a nave of six bays with aisles widening at the right of the fourth and fifth bays to form two wings. Apart from the large arcades, built in the 15C, and the bell tower, the base of which dates back to the 15C and the upper part to the 17C and 20C, it dates from the 19C.

It was in 1420 that the reconstruction of Saint-John Church was undertaken as indicated by three inscriptions on its walls, In 1432, the work was nearing its end ,when it was rebuilt again, it was again struck down on September 15, 1577 and burned; it was then replaced by a stone pyramid; and shortly afterwards, in 1588, the southern collateral was rebuilt. In 1638, it was decided to demolish the pyramid, raise the tower and crown it with a small dome. The building remained thus until the 19C, but the walls falling into ruins, the reconstruction of the lower north side, with the addition of a chapel advancing on the forecourt in order to increase its surface area; then, on April 26, 1840, that of the low side from which two small side chapels dating from the 16C were removed, including that of the “Bon Dieu de Pitié” or Good Lord of Mercy. In June 1844, the sacristy was started; finally, in 1902, the old dome of the bell tower was replaced by the current one.

You see a nice Altarpiece of the high altar dated 1656, The altarpiece of the Holy Spirit and the deceased faithful, known as Saint-Amateur since the relics of this saint were deposited there on July 11, 1762, in a reliquary. The third altarpiece is dated 1675 Lectern eagle from the 17C, A Pulpit from the 18C, A marble bas-relief representing Saint Martin. And an organ case and gallery from the end of the 17C,renovated in 1854 and again in 1988, The church contains the relics of Saint Amateur, a Christian martyr (308), offered in 1762 by Pope Clement XIII. Outside, a very neat medieval garden presents the ancient cultures from the 5C to the 15C.

The new town of Lamballe-Armor on the Church St John: https://www.lamballe-armor.bzh/accueil-lamballe-armor/temps-libres/tourisme/en-ville-et-alentours/leglise-saint-jean

The local Cap d’Erquy-Valandre tourist office on Lamballe’s heritage: https://www.capderquy-valandre.com/en/lamballe-armor 

There you go folks, a dandy destination close to Rennes, and the beaches of Pléneuf Val André (see post) you will glad you visit the new Lamballe-Armor, still commonly call Lamballe. Again,hope you enjoy the post as I. 

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

And here is terminus of my latest road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne! This was done on the way back home and it was another first time visit in my Brittany; the town of Lamballe. I have heard about it as one of my collegues now works there and he is from the area but never visited until now. Better late than never the old saying goes, and I was glad I did. Let me tell you a bit on Haras National of Lamballe !!

The National Stud Farm of Lamballe was originally, a depot of royal stallions, created in the fall of 1783 in the only stable of a barracks in the town of Lamballe. Abolished in 1790, briefly recreated in 1825, this national stud found its final form from 1842, when it was responsible for making breeding stallions available to the owners of the 70,000 brood mares in its district. The National Stud played a major role in the development of the Norfolk-Breton, future Postier Breton breed, by importing Norfolk Trotter stallions from England. It is also behind the success of the demi-Ardennais stallion Naous, one of the founding stallions of the Trait Breton breed. With its buildings, it has a renowned honor saddlery, and a collection of 22 horse-drawn vehicles. It organizes many events, including the national Breton horse competition, as well as the largest equestrian festival in Brittany each September, the Mille Sabots.

The Lamballe National Stud is located right in the city center. Compared to other French national stud farms, it has buildings concentrated in a relatively small space, around 5 hectares. The stud farm has 12 stables, all built between 1825 and 1907. These red brick buildings, in Napoleonic style, present a similar functional architecture The oldest building of Haras de Lamballe is stable no 1, the walls of which date back to the end of the 18C, All the other buildings, stables, offices, tack room, are dated from the end of the 19C, Two rows symmetrical stables joined to the main entrance were built perpendicularly, on the old place called “La ferme du Pavillon”, A stable with stalls built before 1907 was restored in 2005 to become a place of artistic exhibition and educational activities, the “Ecurie des Arts” ,This stud farm also has a shed for horse-drawn carriages, a forge, a shed and a water tower, Nice !

The official Haras National of Lamballe : https://www.haras-lamballe.com/accueil-haras

The new town of Lamballe-Armor on its Haras National : https://www.lamballe-armor.bzh/accueil-lamballe-armor/temps-libres/tourisme/en-ville-et-alentours/le-haras-national

There you go folks, a dandy destination close to Rennes, and the beaches of Pléneuf Val André (see post) you will glad you visit the new Lamballe-Armor, still commonly call Lamballe. Again,hope you enjoy the post as I. 

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

And here is terminus of my latest road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne! This was done on the way back home and it was another first time visit in my Brittany; the town of Lamballe. I have heard about it as one of my collegues now works there and he is from the area but never visited until now. Better late than never the old saying goes, and I was glad I did. Let me tell you a bit on the curiosities of Lamballe !!

The town of Lamballe is an old new town located in the department 22 of Côtes-d’Armor in my lovely region of Bretagne. On January 1, 2016, the new town of Lamballe was created by merging those of Meslin and Lamballe. On January 1, 2019, the new town was extended to Planguenoual and Morieux, and took the name of Lamballe-Armor. Since 2017, Lamballe has been connected to Paris by TGV fast train. The history of old Lamballe dates back to the Neolithic period. Gallo-Roman remains from the 1C to 3C are added to those of the Tourelle, discovered seven years ago, which had made it possible to update on two zones of the vestiges of the iron age (800 to 400 BC) and Bronze Age (1100-800 BC). My sons below !!

Some of the things to see here are

The Mathurin-Méheut Museum is located on the Place du Champ de Foire and is dedicated to the painter, decorator, illustrator, ceramist and sculptor Mathurin Méheut , a native of the city. It was created in 1972, on the initiative of the association Les Amis de Mathurin-Méheut, from the studio fund donated by the artist’s daughter, Marguerite Méheut. It has been installed since June 2022 in a building of the former stud farms of Lamballe.  The official Musée Mathurin Méheut :http://www.musee-meheut.fr/fr/mathurin-meheut/sa-vie-son-oeuvre-meheut-formation-notoriete.html

Musée d’Art Populaire du Pays de Lamballe, or Popular Art Museum of the Pays de Lamballe, located at Hosté du Pilory, 1 Place du Martray, Led by local history enthusiasts “Les Amis de Lamballe et du Penthièvre”, this museum traces the history of the Capital of Penthièvre. It is made up of 3 rooms. The collections presented give an overview of lifestyles: earthenware, tableware, costumes and headdresses, old photos, architectural elements, local pottery, including finials and the famous Frédéric. A model of the city in 1420 reconstructs Lamballe before the destruction of its castle and ramparts. Only the Collegiate Church remains today, which was the chapel of the castle. A thematic exhibition completes the visit. The Association of Friends of Lamballe and Penthiévre on the popular arts museum :http://www.alp22400.net/musee.htm

The covered walkway of the Chêne-Hut, also called the Grotte aux Fées .It measures 11 meters in length by 1.50 meters in width and 1 meter in height on average. Two cover tables are still in place, two others are overturned nearby. The monument was still intact in 1873. Since then it has partially collapsed and several slabs have been removed to repair the road from Lamballe to Plancoët , The fairy Margot is associated with the monument hence its local name of Grotte-aux-Fées . The Guihallon menhir, locally called Grosse Pierre or big stone is Parallelepipedic in shape, it measures 5.20 meters in height for 3.60 meters maximum in width and 10 meters in perimeter. The Saint-Lazare windmill , the building is over two hundred years old,

The Saint-Martin Church , Its construction began in the 11C and continued until the 18C. The Saint-Martin priory was founded in 1084 ,By this practice, common at the beginning of the Middle Ages, the lords hoped that the foundation of a priory would be at the origin of the development of a town. What happened, Saint-Martin was erected into a parish in the 13C and the priory then became a priory-cure, it remained so until the French revolution.

The new town of Lamballe-Armor on its heritage : https://www.lamballe-armor.bzh/accueil-lamballe-armor/temps-libres/tourisme/en-ville-et-alentours

The local Cap d’Erquy-Valandre tourist office on Lamballe-Armor : https://www.capderquy-valandre.com/en/lamballe-armor

There you go folks, a dandy destination close to Rennes, and the beaches of Pléneuf Val André (see post) you will glad you visit the new Lamballe-Armor, still commonly call Lamballe. Again,hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

There you go folks, on my road warrior ways again of my lovely Bretagne! I was going into new towns, new finds, and all beautiful! This town sure merits a return as soon as possible; lively ambiance, great beach, and nice monuments to see; what my belle France is all about! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The town of Pléneuf-Val-André is located in the Côtes-d’Armor department 22 in my lovely Bretagne region. It is known as a family seaside resort, located on the east coast of the bay of Saint-Brieuc, known as the “Côte de Penthièvre”. 25 km east of Saint-Brieuc and 13 km north of Lamballe. This is our first time here and it was magical, we will be back !! I Iike to tell you about the two beaches we saw and one we love and will be back.

The plage Val André beach is the main and best beach of Pléneuf Val André in my opinion, and the most central. A sandy beach of 2.5 km, along its promenade de la Digue for pedestrians, itself dominated by villas of seaside style of the early century. This is awesome beauty, Well sheltered from the prevailing winds, the beach is safe for children, and supervised in the summer season. Nearby: parking, toilets, showers. Accessibility for persons with reduced mobility near the lifeguard station, and the beach is accessible by ramps. This is one the five beaches of the resort which is well equipped Animals not allow from June 15 to September 15. On the town’s side ,one block from the beach, all along Rue Amiral Charnier from rue de Rohein to rue Charles de Gannes is all shops and restos about 2 km long !!! Awesome beauty.

The plages des Vallées beach is an untamed beach, overlooked by an 18 hole golf course which complements the natural environment. Surrounded by wooded hills and dominated by well cut lawns,this is different and for older more peaceful surrounding or children. The entrance to the beach is in a rocky environment. Equipment for people with reduced mobility is available at the lifeguard station (in high season). A free bus runs to the beach in high season. There is a nudist beach running afterward plage des Nantois so if sensitive you know it now. To get to this beach from the center of Pléneuf, head for the golf club. At the beginning of Kennedy Boulevard turn left (beach sign posted). The car park is located next to it really, Of course we came by car, Animals not allow from June 15 to September 15. This is a most secluded beach with a restaurant and toilet facilities free parking great for picnics !!

The town of Pléneuf Val André on its beaches : https://www.pleneuf-val-andre.fr/tourisme/visitez-pleneuf-val-andre/les-plages/

My fav Plages TV on the beaches of Pléneuf Val André : https://en.plages.tv/seaside-resorts/pleneuf-val-andre-22370

There you go folks, wonderful beaches, great seaside resort, great ambiance, and just to come back for them, especially the plage Val André; as the saying goes , we will be back!! You should check them out, great wonderful town and beaches of Pléneuf Val André. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!