I decided as crazy as I can be to eliminate all the my travels in the Morbihan posts from my blog. After coming up and looking at them , I realise they are simple small dots of places already visited and full post and pictures in the blog. So rather than have a double sites have deleted all 94 (XCIV) of them !!! I like to thank all those who have given likes or comments over the years in my blog on these posts. However , all is not lost.
Rather than loose all these memorable moments since 2012, I will condense all of them into several posts for my memories of always , the story of me and my blog. Hope you enjoy these memories as I. The word Morbihan means Mor for sea and bihan for small in the breton language so therefore small sea (coming from the famous gulf of Morbihan) the local costumes is that in the South areas around Vannes, Breton is spoken by the elders ,taught in schools ,and all signs on the roads, etc are bilingual. On the extreme north by Loudéac par example ,Gallo, a gallo roman language is also spoken, and the road signs are shown in both gallo and French.
This is 2017 !!! We came up with ideas and purchases in another of our favorite stores for building materials Leroy Merlin in Theix-Noyalo near Vannes. There we had lunch in a burger joint that is been slowly replace by Burger King, the one in Vannes is already with the sign waiting the official opening as BK. However, in many and the one here in Théix is still a Quick chain with origins in Belgium. We came rushing to the Pépinière de Penhôet where my other half got her four plants to replace in our garden. This is a family business nursery with an extensive selection, good advise, and good prices all along the N165 in Ploeren on the village attach to it of Penhôet. Later, in the Atlantville business park in Vannes right next to the Cinéville or cinema parc lann. The Atlanville area restaurants where Skellig Irish pub is located, showing the Real Madrid FC playing the other historical club named Bayern Munich at Allianz arena in Munich. Well we ran over them won 1×2 but we could have score more goals!
It took me from my town on road D102 to the great religious town of Sainte Anne d’Auray and see that beautiful Basilique de Sante Anne again is always a pleasure ,just for starters. We rode down to the coast and beach town of Larmor Baden, on the road D101 ,then D316, this is best known for the boat ride to see the Cairn de Gavrinis a huge stone monument that they have not figure the date on it yet, and it sits right on an island of the same name off the town. we came back home. However, we thought of the always reliable Auray and the Saint Goustan harbor district full of restos and bars, and the river Auray and the castle ruins, and oh well we stop at old reliable L’Armoric, the best ambiance bar in Auray right by the river and next to the old stone bridge Of course, you can always ride the little train or petit train at St Goustan.
At the business park or Zone Artisanale Porte Océane, Auray, the Ti Hanok Cinéma, a great modern movie theater with 5 movie showing houses. Another great site we go especially the boys is the Centre Aquatique Alre’O, this is an indoor pool and swimming balneo center with all the trimming of comfort and modernity .Our town is moving on and has plenty of activities our favorite chocolatier store! La Fondue de Chocolat . We went searching for an exotique grocery store of Caribbean/Asia/Africa goods that we were told had many of the plaintains, maniocs and drinks from my beloved Caribbean, and we found it!! This is Hibiscus 19 Rue Denis Papin off the D767 across from the Clinique Océane. Then , we check out the market on the last hour at Vannes place du poids public/place des Lices area which is always loaded with goodies, while checking the Halles aux Poissons or fish market is great as well and you get the best direct for what the main reason to be in France, food/wine combination !!! We left our car at the underground parking in place de la République. We did check into our wine store ,Nicolas in the Place du Poids Public just in the middle of the market, and load up on our favorite liquid white and red , even from Spain! We finish by doing our major groceries at E Leclerc hypermarket and it has totally been remodeled to be a very modern spacious store, products from all over and our favorite spot to shop for groceries here, together with the other one in Auray or the Carrefour hypermarket in Vannes.
We set out early for our shop in Vannes, Norauto ,been using them for years…never a problem with their advice or work . Going into the Centrakor store for any gadgets, none this time but always good to go and look, we use them a lot. We stop at our furniture place Conforama, and of course here was on sales as much as 80% so we got a commode , ranging table at 60%! While at it we took a look at the Mustangs in our dealer Ford Mustiére in Vannes; all our cars are Ford, and for years….Had a Mustang in USA. We end up at Carrefour to do some shopping, late minute stuff , actually we didn’t buy anything but my sons got their video games at Micromania store in the shopping center Centre Commercial Carrefour de Vannes. We stop by our old hunting ground of Brec’h and try to visit again La Chartreuse where the remains of the 795 Breton immigrants from England who came to fight against the French revolution and all executed in 1795 laid to rest here; very important Breton monument. The nearby retirement homes and monastic order of the Filles de la Sagesse ,and the front of Saint Michel is very nice, parking area. Nearby us in Brandivy, you have the artificial lake or étang de la fôret, a large lake with oars and pedal boats fishing allowed ,picnic tables and scale walls of 6-8 meters as well as playground for kiddies. We past by Grand Champ, one of the towns of my route to work and here the nice Church Saint Tugdual is very nice. We continue to Colpo , a nice town for cider producers that we buy from. This time a quick passing by the Church Notre Dame de l’Assomption and my sons trying to get in but it was closed. Arriving for the first time Moustoir AC , where we took a look at the Church Saint Barbe or Santa Barbara in city center and one I always past by but had never stop in the village of Kerhéro part of Moustoir AC, the Chapelle Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs or Our Lady of the Seven Pains. Completely rebuilt in 1896 and renovated in 1943; there is a statue of Saint George inside dating from the 19C. The Church of Santa Barbara goes back to the 15C but many times renovated last time in 1838. A retable altar from 1730 and the wooden grill chapel doors from the 18C. To do a personal note, she is also the patron Saint of my native town!!! And ,finally coming home to Pluvigner, we stop behind us on a country road along farms! where we had yet to pass by!! of course. And we saw the Chapelle Saint Guénaêl. This chapel was in ruined in 1888 and in another spot ,a farmer sold his farm so the Chapel can be moved and rebuilt where it is today in the 19C.
just going to our local favorite towns of Auray and Vannes . We started in our town of Pluvigner, and drove by the place St Michel , went to Auray with the Church of Saint Gildas and before the poissonnerie or fish market in town we do shop . We went into city center and the lovely Chapelle Saint Héléne or L’Hôpital. It was a hospital for the poor and sick and today a center of community events and the adjoining tourist office of the area. There just before getting to the expressway N165 ,you see the marshes of the river Loc’h/Auray always wet. We continue onwards to Vannes There ,you see how we arrive at Le Port harbor area and all the traffic and crowds , we went by the old Chapelle des Ursulines now part of the lycée St Paul. St George (high school now). Then, we got into the marché or market day in Vannes . Absolutely the best in the region; where we do our fresh shopping from cherries to fish and mussels to mangoes! All wonderful , simply the best. A walk along the place du poids public, and place des lices coming in under the gate or porte Saint Vincent into rue Saint Vincent is magical for all to come in by there.
As of now ,we continue in our lives as usual and today we went to get my car a new windshield glass at Norauto ,and then over to Leclerc hypermarket for some groceries, lunch at Flunch cafeterias and visit the wine fair at the hypermarket in a big tent house outside. E Leclerc at ZC Parc Lann activity business center. This is a huge all inclusive grocery store with the opportunity to buy a lot more than groceries; well practically everything. We could not walk much with my wife so we had lunch right inside the E Leclerc center while waiting for my car to be done nearby. The chain Flunch (or anglo lingo Family Lunch) is nice at reasonable quality and good prices. If with a large family, want to eat like any other French family this is your place.
Saturday morning we went to Auray, so close to us but it looked weird to be there as not been back in a while. We went in to the parking Keriolet, the closest to city center/downtown. We find one right away which is a lucky omen, and we walked past a nice convenience grocery store we go when in need call Spar supermarché. We went on to get our Belgians/Germans beers at V&B in the parc Océane near the N165 in Auray. Here we practice the bottle deposit thingy for recycling purposes and you get new ones, so about 20 beers were load up for the house !We had to run to Vannes for the mussels I parked by the canal in Le Port harbor area is free and just about 200 meters walking so not bad at all. After parking we went straight for the covered fish market or the Halle aux Poissons at place de la Poissonnerie. There is a huge open market here by Place du poids Public and Place des Lices (Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8h to 13h30). and right on the last one you have the covered market Les halles des lices Taking advantage of getting our mussels in Hûitres Richard ,Route de Badel, of Séné. Facing out from the Porte Saint Vincent that behind it takes you into the old town and the markets mentioned above It was then time to come back home and prepare those mussels or Moules de bouchot from the Pernef area just in our department 56 Morbihan, that we purchased just this morning in the fish market in Vannes.
Again, we went to Vannes ,is not only the capital city of the department but the main town in everything. In fact, sometimes I think it is the only town lol!!! Well mine is only 7K folks and laidback peacefulness great for family life. We do not complaint. We went straight to the Marché or market day in the place du poids public. We arrive and parked by the underground parking République at place de la République just crossing rue Thiers , and we are in the market; the whole day stay cost only 1,60€ !!! Here , we went not far into the place de Poissonnerie and the Halle aux Poissons or fish market open on Saturdays and great fish and seafood from nearby coasts all fresh and good ,delicious. We went to our local provider from penvins mussels bouchot the very best from our region for 4kg or about 9 lbs. we need to find something to wash it down. Of course, our wine merchant is right there in the Place du poids public ,Nicolas. We load up with about 24 bottles of the liquid red and white to bring to our cellar. The service is always friendly and helpful as the staff already knows us all well. Stopping by the centre commercial Carrefour, we check into the micromania video games store to check on orders, then, the pharmacy there to put to date our health cards, and Carrefour hypermarket to buy some sauces that are needed lol!
And did I say, we almost live in Vannes lol! We decided to get earlier to get to the market at Vannes and get the vegetables and fruits ,cheeses etc. The market was doable today not too crowded so easy to move about and easy parking at République. We went by our regular fromager or cheese merchant the Menager in the market or marché de Vannes. We pick up our usual goat fresh cheese, brie de Meaux, and ewes milk cheese from the Basque area of France. We move on to the fruit stand Askil where we loaded on white grapes, figs, avocados, mangoes, clementines, oranges, raspberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes. Next stand we got our Roscoffs onions, another we got our Batavia lettuce from Baden ,and yet another one we got our squash before heading to get our mussels and codfish in the Halle aux poissons , on way out we got our baguette breads and chorizo bread sticks at Bellanger right on same area in addition to the inside the Carrefour shopping center. We stopped next door in the place du poids public into the butchery Le Dru Pierre, to get a roasted chicken from the local farm, always better, the real deal in France . The new stores open by our centre commercial Carrefour in Vannes too. Here ,it just opens the Damart chain my wife likes so much where she purchase some blouses, and continue next door to another new one the Du Bruit Dans La Cuisine , where we got our blueberries ginger cake , and orange chocolate bars !!! Then, we headed for La Halle aux Chaussures to get some day shoes for my boys which they pay !! and we stop to see the latest fashions at our favorite store Armand Thiery same shopping area. Continuing on to Babou (now closed) to get some plastic containers and carpets. We came home to unload and relax !
At the great Cinéville cinema we go to in Vannes, This is at the cinema by the ramparts or cinéville Garenne. We went again to eat our local delicacies especially in our capital city of Vannes place du poids public the place of the market on Saturdays and great ambiance with great oysters of the island of Arz (gulf) local Breton andouilles and the Breizh tiramisu! This is Di’Vin at 15 bis rue Noé. One dear to me just celebrated my twins sons birthday there is la Crêperie du Château in the Château de Rimaision (closed) at Pluvigner. The L’Atlantique this is fish and seafood delights all fresh from the local waters and 140 wine labels to choose from! It has a terrace just facing the harbor a great people watching spot and the food is top quality and prices to boot One I go every time my local colleagues decides to eat lunch out is the Anna & Paul, 23 place du Général de Gaulle not far from the Church of St Patern. This is nouvelle cuisine almost very refine and nicely serve. To stay with coffee and I am a great café lover I take you to Columbus Café & Co 11 rue du Mené, Vannes!
We head out to get our bakery or boulangerie order for Christmas, all kinds of goodies including a Bûche de Noël cake! this is at our natural bakery boulangerie Delumeau (closed) in our town. we continue to Vannes city center and got our wines,porto, madeira etc. This is at Nicolas in place du poids public. Still time; so we headed to our cider provider at the distillerie du Gorvello in Sulniac We stop by Auray to pick up some beers with the boys at V&B Océane, our regular hangout, On back to Vannes we stop at the fromagerie Kerouzine in place du poids public and got our three favorites cheeses from brie, blue cheese and goat. And we got some chocolates from Jeff de Bruges in our local shopping center Carrefour in Vannes.
This morning we got up later than usual in our routine here in the gorgeous Morbihan. We went straight to the Hibiscus Antillean store in Vannes to take in some Caribbean products of older days and cook up some real chow for the season , always in remembrance of our roots. We past again for apero at La Cervoiserie in Vannes. We had our lunch at a family favorite Le Scoop near all in Vannes. This is a pizzeria brasserie resto with always friendly fast courteous and good prices. On the way back, we stop at Conforama for some pillows and cases with a coupon we had but as always something extra was purchase, a center table to swap with our sons and older one….. We lost!!! We have been thinking of getting a dog,yes to the SPA de Vannes. This is the place where they keep dogs who have been stranded, abandon, abuse, etc. We stop at the store Animalis, animals supplies and puppies sale store chain we had known before. As I mentioned we are on hold to adopt a two years old dog, Golden Retriever from the local refuge or SPA de Vannes. If all goes well with them and the dog we should get it by early next year. We really gear up for that and can’t wait to have a dog again . Finally, and to prepare ourselves for family visit for the season to be merriest, we stop by our favorite local gifts and goodies store La Trinitaine. We go to the factory outlet production center in Saint Philibert just south of us on the road D28 passing Crac’h and before Saint Philibert town limits.
We went today Wednesday to the market in Vannes where we usually go on Saturdays while working. It was no difference, full of folks buying the wonderful farm stuff of France or what folks should come here for. Then we went around to a new place call D’Ici De Là le comptoir des 5 sens ( a French paraphrasing meaning from here and from there the counter of the five senses) great traiteur or caterer place with wonderful selection we got our goodies for the apéro or aperitifs of miniature wonders. Then, one of my sons ran down to Pierre Morel to get some gorgeous macaroons mix bag ;got 16 for 18 euros! more on the pastry shop in rue Saint Vincent. It is no longer there but at La Gacilly, This is from our usual wonderful merchants of Morocco, Algeria, and Albania in the market at Vannes! Aksil Azeddine that originates the business from Saint Sebastién sur Loire/Nantes. Then, we go next door on the same street to Fromagers Bruno Menager, a wonderful selection of cheeses from all over France. He passed away but his wife Isabelle. Also, got a glimpse on the renovation of the conservatory of music in le Port harbor area. The conservatoire de musique as well as théatre et arts plastiques . Founded the building the Carmelites in the 17C; after the French revolution it was unused and then change into a museum, then school of music , a middle school and finally since 1981 the conservatory. AT Séné right at the start of the marshes of the gulf of Morbihan. Here in the Quais de Séné we found several of our favorite stores such as GiFi and the animal store Maxi Zoo. ALso, we found to our surprise the restaurant brasserie Au Bureau which we had eaten in Brest which closed and now open in the area just less than 3 months! Of course we had lunch there. The Quais de Séné is a recent shopping center ; the store Maxi Zoo is loaded with animal accessories, no animals; and good prices, mostly of German origins (the store started in Germany many years ago and now with about 80 stores in France). And now a branch in Vannes too!! the store in Séné had a greater selection and sale going on !!! 50% off on the second pair of shoes purchase! So we did got one for my lady and one for me, and our sons paid lol!!! The store is Chaussea
Reading the internet, talking with dog grooming places and veterinary center in my town, visiting the area refuge has been a task in the last few days; today it was the SPA de Lorient. The animal refuge of Lorient is actually in the town of Larmor Plage or beach and it is a former bunker area of WWII part of the Atlantic Wall !!! The place is very clean , nice dogs, and good hosts. We headed back to Vannes for our lunch ,and settle for our old reliable pizza chain Tablapizza in the Atlantique shopping area where everybody knows us already lol!! My local Ford Mustiére salesperson call me up and told me there were deals for end of year going on. We end up getting a Ford Focus brand new with 6 km on it!!! Actually done in Germany on Nov 16, shipped to the dealer here on Nov 29th and purchase by me on Dec 28th ::)
The duty of the day was not pleasant as needed to take my wife to the hospital in Vannes for her treatment. They made a huge addition to the existing hospital and practically all services have been move, some more left to go. The Hospital is name Prosper Chubert part of the Bretagne Atlantique group. We started out in the morning going to our local pharmacy (pharmacie de la Place) for the new medicines for the wife, this is a nice place and friendly folks. They are at place du marché in our town (since moved). We needed to get more bio medicine in Santé Nature store in rue d’Auray, Baud, part of the La Vie Claire bio chaine. Very friendly folks and always a chat (sadly store closed). Leaving Pluvigner we left the market day on Saturdays behind and went on to do our last grocery shopping of the year at the E Leclerc of Auray in the parc of ZA Kerbois just across from the parc ZA Océane and very near the expressway N165 as well as the gateway to the beaches of Carnac and Quiberon etc. Coming home we tried the wonderful real on the spot Brie de Meaux ,St Faron, we got after visiting the town birthplace of my wife , the cheese was superb as usual and we purchased a whole round wheel of it or 3,5 kg or 7.7 pounds. We included with our exotique Antilles grocery store Hibiscus in Vannes and delicious mangos and rose guava ; then moros (moors) dark rice and sweet plantains like been in the Caribbean again !
There you go folks, many years of wonderful time and happier moments to remember forever. Thanks to all for following my blog all these years since November 26 2010, and yes some of you go that far back. My pleasure to partake the wonderful world of travel with you all. Hope my posts brings ideas and memorable moments to you too. Thanks
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 