Bretagne (T 1-11)
Brittany was a bit of an after-plan. Sophia added a trip to Greece with friends and it didn’t make sense for her to come back to the US for a few days just to return to Europe to start our trip. Of course, being the sacrificing parent that I am, I suggested we fill the void with additional days in Europe. For as much as I looked at other options, I kept coming back to more France. Less air travel, I justified. And maybe a little bit of ocean and history would round out the rest of the trip. Other than Mont Saint Michel (MSM), Normandy didn’t call to me, and luckily MSM was just on the border with Brittany, so Brittany it was.
Paris – Rennes – Pont Aven
The vibe: Nerves
My brain is wired for lists, and with that comes scenarios – best and worst-case – and worry. It’s these elements that help me produce the most complete set of lists. I can’t help it; I can’t avoid it. I now embrace it. The journey was a frenzy of what scenario would play out next. Help lugging the brick that became my carry-on onto the overhead (2 of 4 occasions); finding the intra-terminal shuttle at CDG (with help); finding the arrivals hall to wait for Sophia (a couple false but self-corrected detours); finding Sophia (yep!); finding our driver (with a little help); getting to the train station on time (yep! And had time for all the killing-time activities we had planned); getting on the right train (yep – with a printed ticket fail but an online ticket save); getting out at the right station (yep); finding gf food for Sophia (meh); finding the hotel (yep); finding car rental and getting the car the next day (again, a couple false detours but got there); getting out of tight parking places (with trepidation, but yep); getting out of Rennes (yep); driving in France (nowhere near as bad as I thought, narrow roads and weird speed limit rules notwithstanding); google maps (mostly good, but with a bit of a contrarian tendency with posted signs and not trustworthy in small, steep towns where it typically chose the gnarliest routes to save perhaps seconds of drive time). Still, many wins that ultimately helped calm my brain. Ready to go!
Pont Aven
The vibe: Quaint and sweet but a bit crowded
I learned about Pont Aven when looking for “beautiful beaches” in Brittany and found the blog for what was to become our little apartment. While not directly on the coast, Pont Aven has access to many beaches, the GR34 coastal trail, and is itself on the banks of the beautiful Aven river and next to a pretty forest, poetically named Le Bois D’Amour (the forest of love). Famous for Gaugin and his followers, for Breton delicacies like butter cookies and buckwheat galettes (savory crepes), the village was beautiful and walkable, albeit quite touristy. Evenings were a little quieter as the large tourist buses left, and we found the nearby beaches very local.
Faves: The GR34 trail, the Bois D’Amour, the markers of landscapes that Gaugin painted, the boat tour on the Aven River, Kir Breton (cider with cassis), and the galettes at Talisman restaurant. Head scratcher: absolutely zero Gaugin pieces at the museum, even though most of the exhibits were centered around him.
Dinan
The vibe: Impressively historic
Dinan is designated one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, with original medieval architecture of half-timbered houses, forts, ramparts, and insanely picturesque and photogenic streets. So touristy and filled with restaurants, boutiques, and souvenir shops that I had to remind myself to look up, beyond the “stuff,” to appreciate the history, permanence, and the pride of its residents who continue to adorn their walls with beautiful overflowing flowers and vines.
Faves: Maison Pavie, our hotel housed in a renovated 15th century building in the heart of Dinan, the classical Jazz festival outside our window, famously steep Rue Jerzual, the trail along the river to the commune of Lehon – deafeningly quiet compared to Dinan, and a visit to Saint Suliac, another Plus Beaux Village de France on our way to our next stop. Head scratcher: very little familiarity with celiac and gf protocols, even in nicer restaurants in these smaller villages. Oh well, we figured it out, but had some awkward moments with multiple waiters.
St. Malo (first try) and Dinard
The vibe: History vs. Ritz
We needed to kill some time between Dinan check-out and St. Cast check-in, so we thought maybe St. Malo. Nope – no parking free anywhere nearby and a madhouse of tourists, so we continued on to Dinard across the river. Dinard had some amazing architecture, grande dâme mansions from the belle epoque, and ritzy casinos. We were able to find a creperie for lunch and had a nice walk along a coastline trail after, which offered stunning views of historic St. Malo.
St. Cast le Guildo
The vibe: Seaside summer town
I wavered between staying in St. Malo or opting for a quieter, nearby seaside town. After the tourist haunts of Pont Aven and Dinan, I’m glad we went the quieter route. By then, school was in session, summer tourist season was coming to a close, and our Chambre D’Hôtes was quiet, with a stunning view and a quiet path that led to a mile-long beach.
Faves: Walking on the beach, charming and kind host, the view, a walk alongside the coast by Cap Frèhel, being central to but not right on the big area attractions.
The Pink Granite Coast
The vibe: Surreal coastline and emerald waters
Having been canceled for a last-minute boat tour due to weather (and/or not enough people I suspect), we decided to take a drive to the pink granite coast, specifically a town called Perros-Guirec, a 2-hour drive away. So worth it! By the time we got there, rain and clouds had moved on and we had a glorious blue sky and an emerald-hued sea. Yet another super-touristy area, although it seemed to have more local tourists than foreigners. We walked a couple miles each way along the coastline trail (another segment of GR34), enjoyed some sorbet at the end, and drove back.
Faves: The amazing colors and wild coastline views
St. Malo (second try)
The vibe: Transported to another time
Our only pre-scheduled activity, a private guided tour of St. Malo, Cancale, and Mont Saint Michel started in the ramparts (walls) of the St. Malo fortified city. Much of the city was bombed by allied forces thinking Germans were still occupying it during WWII (although they had already escaped to a nearby island). However, the French did an admirable job of reconstructing it in the old style. While you could tell which were new vs. old buildings, it was still an impressive result. But the highlight of this area to me was mother nature – the tides are like nothing I’ve ever seen. They can recede from the very edge of town to nearly 50 feet out, either revealing brand new landscapes and paths or completely submerging them, twice every day.
Faves: the ever-changing coastal landscape, the medieval architecture in the form of a larger city, one of the most famous butter stores in Brittany.
Cancale
The vibe: Foodie town by the sea
Farther down the bay, we came to the small coastal village of Cancale – famous for its oyster and mussel farms. While we are not oyster people, it was incredible to see all the pop-up tents on the edge of the water where people came to get same-day oysters shucked on the spot and eaten on nearby benches or on the slipway, shells tossed back on the beach. My biggest surprise was when our guide pointed to the other end of the bay and you could actually see Mont Saint Michel standing regally in the distance.
Faves: Lunch of amazing mussels à la crème in an oyster and mussel farm, walking along the port watching dozens of people eating their oysters, seeing the oyster shells lining the beach as if they were pebbles long-ago dredged from the sea floor.
Mont Saint Michel
The vibe: Surreal
There’s something about seeing a super-famous site “in real life” that just takes your breadth away. This was certainly no exception for me but even more so because of the interplay between the sea in all its tidal majesty and a fortified city constructed from a mere rock, rising high up to the sky, also in all its majesty. The tide was low and “the Mont” stood over acres and acres of sand and tiny streams. I could have looked on at that sight all day, revel in the changes of colors and coastal landscapes, and maybe someday if I come back, I’ll take the guided walk across the sands to experience what pilgrims did before modern bridges made the journey much faster and easier. We walked the entire island and up to the top cathedral and abbey, then back down to the small village section encircling the bottom of the rock.
Faves: The views from the mainland and walking path on to Mont Saint Michel, the views inside Mont Saint Michel, the views out onto the bay. Oh, and the boat that got inadvertently stuck in the sand from the receding tide and its captain walking around it to wait out the 7 or so -hour tidal change. Everything. Magnifique!
St. Malo (third try) – Rennes – Paris – Sancerre
The vibe: a bit of travel stress and fatigue
On our last day, we also had time to kill between hotels, so we decided to go back into St. Malo, take a look out the ramparts into the coastline at a different tidal time, do a little window shopping and have some coffee. It was nice to just linger. Then on to the craziness of two days of intense travel – drive back to Rennes during a busier time of day, return car, get into hotel, find dinner, wake up early to catch an early train to Paris, transport from train station to airport (over an hour due to traffic), get our long-term car, then 3 hour drive, with half of that through the outskirts of Paris and very heavy traffic. But we made it in one piece, carplay audio mishap and evil gps routes up two-lane country roads that should really just be one way notwithstanding. Au revoir Bretagne, salut Val de la Loire.
Thank you for reading and à la prochaine!