Brittany and specially the North coast is known for its high concentration in algae. They are famous abroad, above all in Japan, big algae consumers.




Roscoff, a small city on the littoral is pretty well endowed : 800 species out of 1500 compiled in Brittany in 2000. Probably others must have been discovered.

The location of Roscoff explains why it has such a wide variety of algaes : the Gulf Stream allows a water temperature that doesn’t change a lot. The Stream gives a good waterquality.

Now, look at the shore and at the algae lying on the sand. You’ll see 3 colors : green, red and brown.



Each color is on a specific place on the shore. The brown ones are under the sea, then you have the red ones and the green algae are the closest to the earth.

Here in Brittany we have had lots of problems with the green ones. Thanks or because of fertilizers and nitrates from our pigs breeding, they were too many. It used to be a real annoyance. It's getting better but before on some beaches you could not walk or swim because they were doing a really too thick cover on the littoral.

For a really long time, seaweeds were used as fertilizers by farmers.



If Japanese eat them for a long, long time, we are just starting to be interested in them.
We do use it as gelling agents : when you buy an applepie in a shop and you are amazed by the nice shaped apple segments, well don’t think too much : the compote has been mixed with algae to make those nice perfect pieces of fruits.

Algae are also used as dietary supplements. They are full of vitamins, minerals, calcium, proteins… Sprinkle them on your salad.

In thalassotherapy centers they are used to help your body to recover… Your wrinkles will dicrease, your orange peel disappear, your hair will be beautiful … Used in cosmetics, we make lots of products with algae extracts : from anti-aging creams to oil to fight cellulite, skin care products or algae shampoo… They are everywhere. And to use them, you need to mix them as algae can’t be dissolved in water !!!

Read it in French : Algues en Bretagne : de l'engrais de nos grands pères aux complémetns alimentaires et produits cosmétiques

Poul Fétan (56310 Quistinic, Tel: 02-97-39-51-74) is an hamlet in the middle of nowhere (and quite hard to find!!!) but it is really nice.



This village belongs to Quistinic and was renovated 20 years ago (from 1979 to 1994). It is an “entertainement” village, open from April to September and it shows how farmers used to live during the 19th century.



Houses are older (16th century) but are characteristic of the country architecture : thatch roofs, outside stairs… Here is the garage,



the pub (euh only if you like cider).



You 'll see animals (local breeds) or the vegetable garden (with old plants). It is the perfect place for an historic entertainement : you’ll discover a potter or a baker making bread or cakes, you can also try the milk or the butter produced in the village. Kids will enjoy seing actors dressed like « before ». A tavern cooks typical meals like kig ha fars for exemple.

When I went there, it was closed, nobody on the place. You can just walk in the village and surroundings and look at the countryside.



Out of season, it looks a bit like a too mythical place : I guess last century for over 100 years, the countryside was full of mud, of dirt, of smells (good and less good)… and this place is too clean to copy the old farmer life !!! Anyway past is past and today is different… in those beautiful houses, and thanks to the actors, it must be fun.
Kids under 6 don’t pay. For the tariffs as it changes in the season, look at their website.

If you’re visiting the region don’t forget to stop at Melrand the medieval village. Have a look at the Vénus de Quinipily near Baud.


Read it in French : Visite d'un village rural du XIXe siècle avec des enfants : Poul Fétan, Morbihan, Bretagne, France

It is a really easy recipe.

Ingredients for 8 blinis (10 cm) :

A yoghurt (used as a measurement)
1 egg
Flour (one yoghurt…)
Half a yoghurt water
Baking powder
A small frying pan (10 cm)

Preparation time : 10 minutes and leave the batter one hour before frying.

Mix in a bowl the ingredients one after the other. Leave the batter for one hour.
When the frying pan is warm enough, brush it with oil or butter. Pour a small ladle into the pan and wait till it makes holes. Then flip it over and cook it on the other side.



You can add chocolate chips, pieces of dried apricots, sultanas to the batter before cooking…

Read it in French : Recette de facile de blinis à la farine de châtaignes

The statue of Vénus de Quinipily is a mystery down here… Is it a Roman statue or a Egyptian goddess or a Gallic idol ???

I’ve been investigated and I’ll tell you its long story…

This 2 meters high granite statue is located in the walls of the now destroyed castle of Quinipily, a few kilometers away from Baud (Morbihan).

To find it, drive to Baud and follow the signs…



Stop in front of the portal and walk in. you’ll have to pay 3 euros to visit the park to see the Venus, the remains of a fountain and a nice heather garden.



A leaflet in English will tell you the story of this statue… but I’ve got some more details to tell you…



Extracts from my old tourist guide from 1883 :
At that time, they were remains of the castle and the statue was standing in the park ((where it still is)… The guide explains that it used to be in another hamlet where it was the object of a pagan worship.
Offerings were given by farmers, it was touched to be healed, young people who wanted to get married used to have wrong behaviours in front of it… Lustful habits … specially because it was naked…
Reading that, it is easier to understand that the clergymen used to considered it dangerous and that they wanted to destroy it. They tried several times with no success. Then they decided to throw it in the Blavet river (1661 and 1690) but again the farmers discovered it and started again to worship it.
The statue moved in Quinipily after a trial in 1701 between two local landlords (Lannion and Rohan) who wanted the Venus.



But we still don’t know if it is Egyptian, Roman or Gallic…

The official website of the breton inheritage gives some more informations :

The statue is not the original one. The “first”one has been destroyed and this one has been done by the landlord of Lannion. The carved date 1696 is probably wrong as the trial took place in 1701 and the statue was moved to Quinipily after it…

If you go up you’ll see the remains of the old chapel of Saint Michel.



And it is not a coincidence that it floors a dragon as the dragon represents the popular beliefs… that have to disappear.



Drive around as the place is really nice and visit also Poul Fétan or Melrand (le village de l'an Mil).

Read it in French : Patrimoine paien breton la Vénus de Quinipily près de Baud (Morbihan, Bretagne)

Or how to introduce medieval life to your children and teenagers.

- Do you know what Middle Ages are ?
- Of course ! It is a period that lasted about 10 centuries : from 476 (Fall of the Western Roman Empire) to 1453 (Fall of Constantinople capital of the Byzantine Empire).
- And archaeology ?
- It’s a place (prehistoric or historic) that has been investigated… And where do you go with that ???
- In Brittany (France), in Melrand, you can visit an archaeoligical site that used to be a medieval village…



Melrand is divided into two parts : one where the historical remains are



And the other where the village has been reconstructed.

Signs as well as english guides (only summer time) help you through the site.



Lann Gouh (that is its breton name) has had a short “life”. During the Middle Ages the population of Europe increases and people are looking for new land to settle. Lots of villages, like this one, have been created in lands that were not really attractive (they were either land with poor soil or full of stones, forests or marshy land…). The only advantage of those lands was that the landlord was not too greedy then…

This place was deserted after the Black Death (1347) (one inhabitant out of three died) and the few survivors tried to gather and looked for more pleasant places… easier to exploit that are the “first“ villages in the valley…. Back to the start…

Only two houses have been excavated among the 17 (I think it is 17) found. Other researchs have been done in other villages in Brittany and thanks to those excavations, we can guess and understand better what the Medieval life in the countryside was.

The village was on a hill, surrounded by a fence : around the square were low-roofed dwellings. You can enter in the houses… and imagine…



Inside men and animals were living together (animals were the heating then), doors were low so that the warmth will not get out, and the ground was on a slope (the animal’s excrements will not run down in the living !!!). The fire was in the middle of the house… and smoke had no way out…

As the soil are acid in Brittany, you don’t find lots of useful objects… But we know that our ancestors used to eat in wood plates.

You’ll see the reconstruction of a baker’s oven and of a mantrap (wolfs were living in Brittany then).



You’ll also meet nice local breeds :
cows, sheep or goats…




Melrand is not an incredible place, it is just a medieval site that shows the modest life of countrymen. In february, it is a bit strange as nature is still asleep and as we were alone on the place. The botanic garden (100 plants of the Middle Ages) is not and is waiting for the spring to recover. It is a nice visit for a family holyday…

It is open from February to November. Winter time from 1.30 pm and from april at 10 am. 4 Euros for those who are more than 6 and 5 euros for adults.

You can drive around on the Blavet valley (you feel you’re on the mountains, it goes up and down, it ‘s incredible) and the road is really nice. You can also visit the Venus de Quinipily or Poul Fétan.



Read in in French : Site archéologique en Bretagne : le village de l'an Mil à Melrand (Morbihan)