Again, I decided to delete all the posts on « Some news from Bretagne » (XXX 30 of them) because realise most if not all the information I have in full posts and pictures elsewhere so this is repetetive, I like to thanks all those who have like or comment on these posts over the years since 2011, Not all will be lost as will update and condense those posts into several posts for the memories of always, This is the last post on this series. Therefore, this is my take on some news from my lovely Bretagne !!! Hope you enjoy these new posts as I.
This is 2011 !!! Every region has its part and goodies to savored, I like them all,been to all, but now living on a new job adventure in the Morbihan department 56 of Brittany near Vannes and home in Brech near Auray. Just drove by corn er hoët which in Breton means the end of the forest or the orée du bois in French ::) I did the resto le Cozy,(closed) 2, rue Saint Cornély at Carnac . Then we came back for the Creperie la Fromentin ,10 Rue Château just going down hilly old world street into the St Goustan area, Not to leave out the local bar at Corn er Hoët ,bar restaurant in route de corn er hoët, Brech, (closed) even with had an American flag hanging out always in front;good cold beers on the good is great. There next to the Basilica of Sainte Anne, we had a wonderful Breton dinner .The place is Creperie Les Ajoncs, (closed) 4 rue de Vannes. As for me, getting ready to pick up the remnants of my family tomorrow at the train station of Auray coming from Paris Montparnasse. They will be here for the weekend to see schools on friday, then head back monday to begin my oldest work study courses. Today was my Dad”s 76 birthday and having a great time in his sister house in Miami Lakes, Fl USA. I will pick up my father at Orly by month’s end. That is heavy with work travel as the company convention will be held in a nice hotel in Chantilly with a seminar by the ave George V in Paris. Then ,one of my twin boys will travel to Calpe in Spain on july 14 with his girlfriend’s family to be there until August 9th; all in all a very good vacation;and first time that long away from us… . My father will be returning from Florida USA by july 30th at Orly ,and I will be there to pick him up ,stop by the house Versailles, and return back on Sunday.
This is 2012 !!! The biggest religious pelerigragne in Brittany and second only to Lourdes in France is coming near me at Sainte-Anne d’Auray. The patron saint of Breton, mother of Mary, grandmother of Jesus. The Grand Pardon, at July 25-26 2012 .
The Haras National d’Hennebont which I went last week has an equestrain spectacle call “Le Voyage de Zabédério” or the travels of Zabédério, that is stunning, a must to see, The Chateau de Suscinio is having heritage feasts an spectacles to do with history ,theater, cinema, chants of music and other nice activities in a former castle of the Dukes of Brittany. The wonderful Domaine de Kerguéhennec, at Bignan. Here all summer there are activities for all, and this is great for kids too.
Why not something about foodies, the sweets gastronomiques of our region, such as chocolates, caramels au beurre salé, dry fruits, tea in many colors and flavors, wines, champagnes, and mugs deco great at Aux Mille Délices, 23 Rue des Halles, Vannes We stop for a light snack and coffee Macchiato and Cappucchino at Brooklyn Café, (now close) on our way home in the Atlanville shops and restos complex off Rue Sainte Anne .And tonite is lazy social Friday night so we have opted for pizza yeahhh!!! Pizza Sprint that is. (now Domino’s). Then ,we went for lunch or rather late lunch and after walking around deciding where to go too ….lol! passing A la Breizh Cafe and Patty O’Dowds Irish pub, we headed for Le CatWay (then Gambetta, and now Brasserie St Vincent)at the pl Gambetta, I took advantage of some wine buying as there is a foire or sale going on, so obligatory stop at Nicolas, pl du poids public in Vannes. Oh did I said went shopping for furniture, yes BUT is one of the stores we went. And ,check out La Foir Fouille for misc housing stuff, very good prices and handy items there always. We end the day by having a glass at the Irish Pub just opening time lol!!! before heading out to do our groceries at a new place we haven’t try , Intermarché supermarket in Vannes.
We went straight to our favorite store Armand Thiery in Vannes, this is a store that has excellent casual and business attire for mens and next to it is Toscane, their women division with the same concept . We went over to our electronics favorite and one of the standard bearer in France, that is FNAC; here you can buy anything you fancy in music, movies,videos, videogames,books,telephone,TV,computer,the works, the service is always friendly as today to go over to Le Grande Récré, (closed) this is a toys, games, children plays store, as the search for Lego games was on!!! Not to be outdone, we continue about 50 meters over to the other toys,games, children plays store Joue Club, here is two floors of toys too, . As we were close to the big hypermarché Carrefour, just about 300 meters ,we decide to finish with some groceries. For the other 55 stores there you can see the lineup here at Galerie commercial Carrefour, a shopping mall. This time we try a new one that we saw very quaintly lit, this is the La Crémaillére, 6 rue Lesage, (closed) Vannes. Its a pizzeria, créperie resto right behind the hotel de ville.
This is 2013 !!! One of my favorites in old section of Vannes (town I worked) is Chez la Mére 6 sous, 11 rue de Closmadeuc (at the end of street sort of alley). here you are like in a parisien bistro. Closer to new home and the happening place at nights is L’Armoric at the Saint Goustan district of Auray. This is concerts with live music, evenings karaoki, etc, great bar drinks, sports TV, and great restaurant next door all same complex by the river Loch. And right in my new town of Pluvigner, one of our best spots is a castle!!! Inside the Château de Rimaison, you have the créperie du château, (closed) at road D768 just before getting into city center.
This is 2014 !!! Finally, at Baden, 2 Place Weilheim, you will find a unique museum, the Musée des Passions et des Ailes, or museum of passions and wings relates the story of local boy Joseph le Brix, in 1928,he does the first flight of the South Atlantic , died 3 years later trying to do the same Paris to Tokyo trip. The best preserve WWII submarine training center is at Lorient. At the Musée sous-marine du pays de Lorient. So we came to our other restaurant the Bistro Saint Edouard, where we have the plat dessert combi.
I set out this morning into the country near me, at Bieuzy Lanvaux, there are a wonderful Church of Saint Bieuzy We, also, visited briefly the Logis de Florange, one of the main banquet, wedding places here in the country, We went by the front of the Abbaye de Lanvaux, this is private, but full of history. When the local rebels ,the Chouans, gathered here with General Cadoudal (of Auray) , waiting for the immigrant breton to arrive from England by Quiberon, this is where they camp out. Unfortunately the landing was discovered , and the link up never happened, instead many immigrants 795 were sentence to the firing squad ,and today their remains are in the Chartreuse of Brec’h. The first one encounter was the Château de Kéronic, a private residence sitting in a long one way road that at the end into the woods you come across the castle right at you!! We moved on to the other side of Pluvigner to visit another private property, the Château de Kerlois; This is even more difficult to find as there is no panel on the road D102 and we found it by pinpointing the lieu-dits on the map and figuring the grassy wooden entry off the road looks like a grand house was there. We came back to Saint Goustan, the lovely port of Auray for a meal at one of our favorite spot and now friends ,the Créperie Saint-Sauveur. Finally, we gather some material for our house at Jardiland, the home, garden, handyman deco store in Vannes
This is 2015 !!! I was as usual by Vannes visiting some old building like the palace of Limur, the city hall or hôtel de ville as well as administrative offices, the stores, and shops along rue Emile Bourgault and leading to the place Henri IV with a view of the wonderful Cathedral Saint Pierre, all wonderful clear day in beautiful old Vannes. Do not forget the Casinos we have good ones in near me such as one in Casino de Vannes! at Parc du Golfe , with machines, table games electronic roulette, and bar/brasserie resto, and Casino de Crouesty with a great marina in Arzon, The Naîa museum at Rochefort en Terre in the castle park, with artistic imagination such as the leyend of a witch with movie, monumental,numeric, sculpture and paintings. The Presqu’île de Quiberon with its Côte Sauvage is my favorite place in all, beaches, bars, stores and just plain beach bum lifestyle ! You can see a nice castle Suscinio by Sarzeau in the Presqu’île de Rhuys or the less known but impressive castle of Trécesson in Campaneac . Inside the magical forest of Brocéliande of the king Arthur leyend. Then, head for the islands of the wonderful world of the Gulf of Morbihan ; Île aux Moines and Île d’Arz are just great, many cruises companies take you there. The biggest is Belle-Île and the idylic Hoëdic and Houat and farther away by Lorient ,you have Groix. Go out in Vannes at the Café barge Piano barge on the bay by the cruise terminal. Classic and romantic on the water, We have indoor heated pools with tuboggan etc such as Vanocéa in Vannes, Alé’O in Auray, and Neptilude in Quiberon.
This is 2016 !!! The wonderful Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper (fine arts museum) you have a great exposition until October 2nd of “Autoportraits du Musée d’Orsay” . Many self portraits of the famous (Courbet, Carpeaux,Redon, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Van Gogh from 1848 to 1914 on loan from the Orsay museum in Paris. At the Cité de la Voile-Eric Tabarly in Lorient there is a new space open name “Ton Corps Super Heros” until August 14 on a space of 450 m2; you see this interactive exposition to test your body around three themes , Measurements, Movements, and Mind . At the château Gaillard in Vannes, the musée d’Histoire et d’Archéologie, you have until November 2nd the Exposition “Vannes au moyen age” or Vannes in the Middle Ages; how it was back then with objects from the period. In the Galerie du Cloître (gallery of the cloister) in Saint Anne d’Auray back of the Basilica of Sainte Anne d’Auray you have until November 2nd, “Empreintes du Sacré” or sacred footprints; with over 50 photos of writer-traveler Ferrante Ferranti showing here the passage of the Holy Cross on the body and soul. At the wonderful Domaine de Kerguéhennec in Bignan you have until November 6th the expo “Paysages Contemporains”. Celebrating the 30 years of sculptures in the park. In the area by Le Faouët in the Musée du Faouët at Le Faouêt you have the exposition “La Fête vue par les Peintres en Bretagne” until October 9th. In the 19C and 20C , Brittany had a resurgence of painters showing the region in its many faces including dances, religious pardons, music, breton wrestling, marriages, circus, and country fairs.
This is 2017 !!! A good and tasted is The Galway Inn, 18 rue de Belgique in Lorient, folk, jazz, country blues and traditional music. Nice small Casino at Larmor Plage open every day from 10h at 24 bd de Port Maria. roulettes machines, table games, bar restaurant and good ambiance on the beach.
This is 2018 !!! I started my day after our family continental breakfast with painting! yes we painted a room in our basement (our basement has 130 sq meters or 1400 sq feet) on materials already purchase with my dear late wife Martine. We were thinking of doing two rooms in the basement for guests and we have it all done, just the room partitions is left to do! The boys did a good job and were treated with their favorite young people food, Star kebad and a sparkler mousseux from the Loire Vignobles Marchais that was not too bad. From here we went to the fortified town of Concarneau that we have visited many times and several blog posts on it. This time we were there for something special. FIFA Under 20 Women World Cup is been held in several cities in Brittany and today the quarter finals was SPAIN vs Nigeria!!! The game was played at Stade Guy Piriou with heavy security. We are so closed we could not miss cheering the girls so Spain won 2×1 and has a historical semifinal appearance which turn out will be against France yikes !!!!
This is 2019 !!! The Festival Interceltique Lorient, a wonderful event indeed. Rendez-vous for the 49th edition from 2 to 11 August 2019 will be the year of Galicia (Spain). The world’s largest meeting of Celtic cultures: a festival of research, creation and encounters, open to the world. Since its creation 49 years ago, the Lorient Interceltic Festival has been promoting intercelticism: a common identity based on the diversity of cultures. Today, it has become one of the largest festivals in the world and every year a country concerned with Celtic culture is invited as a guest of honor. The Grand Pardon de Sainte-Anne d’Auray. The largest religious pilgrimage in Brittany, and one of the top 3 in all of France. The story of Sainte-Anne d’Auray began in the 17C, with the apparitions of Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, and grandmother of Jesus, to Yves Nicolazic, the village’s pious ploughman . The Detour d’Art, something unique for all lover of history and architecture like me,do this. Like an open-air museum, the Auray area has 1001 chapels, each one more beautiful than the next! For its 13th edition, Détour d’Art invites visitors to discover this exceptional religious heritage, at the crossroads of Breton art, history and legends! From July to mid-September, the chapels of the Auray area open their doors and exhibit their architectural masterpieces to the general public. Statues, sculptures, paintings: each religious monument contains treasures that bear witness to the religious fervour of Brittany and the know-how of its craftsmen. The La Semaine du Golfe du Morbihan ran this year from 5/27/2019 to 6/2/2019; an international maritime event, a cultural and popular celebration in the magical setting of the Morbihan . Large gathering of traditional boats in the Gulf of Morbihan, every 2 years, on Ascension Day. “Gulf Week” is the major maritime event for crews of classic and traditional yachting. More than a thousand traditional and classic boats divided into coherent and identifiable fleets, which sail every day and vary their calls between ports and anchorages. Des peintres entre terre et mer – Du Faouët à Concarneau or of painters between sea and land from Faouët to Concarneau. Up To 10/6/2019. The diversity of Brittany, a land of inspiration for many artists in the 19-20C, is still unknown to this day by many of us. Through this exhibition, you will discover the interest shown by some painters both inland and along the coast.
The Brest International Martitime Festival. Every four years, some boats from all seas and oceans meet in Brest, for one of the major sailing events. At Vannes the Fête Historiques (now canceled) July 13-14 2020 . Every July, for three days, But it’s also a great time to visit Vannes. With around 272 listed buildings, this town hides a wealth of history behind its ancient castle walls!!
This is 2021 !!! the city of Auray has evolved over the centuries. Four emblematic places: the castle, the city/town hall, the Saint-Gildas Church and the small theater. Places of power, prayer and culture. The Grand Loop!! or Tour de France. It brings smiles to the side of the road, dreams of being by all runners, stars in the eyes of fans , and not only that. It is all of Brittany, mythical and festive land of cycling, which for 4 days gets under its wheel and its light! Will try to see the passing by Lorient or Pontivy. Unmissable monument of Pontivy, the Château de Rohan was built at the end of the 15C for the viscounts of Rohan. Immerse yourself in the heart of the Middle Ages thanks to numerous free activities open to all! On the program: Medieval camp – Armed combat – archery demonstrations – demonstrations of medieval craftsmanship – medieval games – tales and legends – medieval music. And my connection to the Americas! Museum of the East India Company. From Lorient to Canton, relive the incredible maritime epic of the Companies of the Indies! Museum of the Compagnie des Indes, art and history museum of the City of Lorient, the Citadel – Port Louis. The Festival Interceltique Lorient from August 6 to 15, 2021. Every summer, come to tread the Celtic lands of Lorient for its Interceltic Festival. From Galicia to Scotland, the cream of Celtic music can be found in Brittany and can be enjoyed with joy and good humor.
This is from 2022 !!! The Keroguic gardens (Baud 56) are open until July 10, 2022. This year an exhibition of 15 paintings enhances the visit. The visit continues with the aquatic garden, which is reminiscent of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies. The visit continues and leads to the superb rose garden. Composed of more than 500 roses of 120 different varieties, including climbers on several pleasantly arranged pergolas. The second space is dedicated to perennials and shrubs and the 3rd, to bamboos, to the very elegant purple elderberries from the Keroguic Gardens. Enter the hemispherical room of the Planetarium, and immerse yourself in these billions of unknown worlds, of inconceivable distances and durations! 3D shows projected onto a 360° dome immerse you in the vastness of space. Throughout the year, the Planétarium de Bretagne invites you to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions and the first steps on the Moon: film screenings, conferences, festive evenings or retrospectives, there is something for everyone.The Planetarium! the town of Pleumeur-Bodou, and more particularly a site near the Radôme, has been chosen to host the Planetarium. In June 1988, the Pleumeur-Bodou Planetarium was inaugurated. With its 20 meters in diameter, it was then the largest planetarium in France. At Kingoland, the largest amusement park in Morbihan (56), roller coaster, pirate ship, logs on the water, haunted house, dynamic cinema, bumper cars, drop tower… located between Vannes and Pontivy,
There you go folks, a dandy memorable recollection of our ways in Bretagne / Brittany / Breizh of my belle France. All families memories which I share with the world; hope you can appreciate it. Thanks again for reading me over these years, it means a lot to me, my blog is my entertainment. Glad to share my travels too, Again, hope you enjoy this post on some news from my lovely Bretagne !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 