Since june, the gardens of Broceliande (les jardins de Brocéliande) are advertising for their new programme Réveille tes pieds (litteraly wake up your feet) and we went there with two young kids (btw 2 and 3 years old). We took off our shoes and we did it. It is a lot of fun…



From Rennes on the highway, you have to drive south (direction Lorient) about 15 minutes to go to the gardens. Go out when you see the sign Bréal sous Montfort, and follow the signs for jardins de Brocéliande. You’ ll soon arrive in front of an old farm with an orchard, toboggans and swings.




The garden is huge (24 hectares) and shows several exhibitions : exhibition about amateur gardens,





different animal breeds (hens, and poultry, pigs, breton cows (called pie noire), sheep, horses…, a route about Brocéliande, botanic garden, birds nesting… and plenty of others activities. You can spend the day there… . At noon you can also eat in the restaurant traditional food for 10 €.

It is open from Eastern to All Saint’s Day, tuesday to saturday from 1.30 pm. It costs 6,5 € for an adult, 3€ for kids (over 6), 3,5€ for students and 15€ for a family. You have so many things to do, (you’ve got for your money worth).

Let ‘s go back to our feet… Before arriving to the barefoot walk, you cross a small part of the garden, you meet poultry, pigs, horses and you discover some of the amateur gardens. When you arrive in front of waterplays , you’re there.





You have to leave your shoes in a shoelocker and here you are, barefoot, ready to start.

The beginnig is quite classical : sand, pebbles, stones.



But then you will walk on 45 different surfaces and it is really nice. You will see tobbogans, labyrinth, distorting mirror and a long jump place where you can compare the jumping performances of animals (rabbit, stag, squirrel…).
After more than an hour, you go back to where you began and to your locker. Wash your feet in the fountain and continue the visit of the garden. The dahlia labyrinth is really nice.

Leaving the garden, you have a small shop where you can buy vegetables and fruits from the garden and breton specialities (honey, jam, cider, beers…)

Read it in French : Visitez pieds nus les Jardins de Brocéliande à Bréal sous Montfort (Ille et Vilaine), Bretagne

If you 're trolling through the region of Brocéliande in small Britain, place of the Arthurian romance legend...you can stop and admire an ancient tree, thousand years old ...



My name is Eon Guillotin and I am thousand years old. I am an oak tree, over 20 m high and nearly 10 m in circumference.
I was born during one of the passages of Halley's comet ... in 1144, but I hardly remember, it's so far back and I was so young ...
Eon the hermit baptized me ... He took refuge in the Brocéliande forest. He has lived near my young branches like a highwayman... and he got caught and did end in a dungeon in Reims in 1148 ...

200 years later in 1352, I was already centennial, I saw this fratricidal battle between Bretons, the Battle of Mauron which pitted French and English soldiers... or another one that took place in 1364 and opposed our countrymen again …

Until 1370... another battle... a famous one when Lord Duguesclin besieged the castle of Comper and made fire and sword ... The castle has been dismantled in 1598 by King Henry IV when visiting Britain (Go visit it, it is not far ...).



During the French Revolution ... I saved the life of a man Guillotin. That's my second name! It was not safe to be a believer at the time. The priest Guillotin was chased by the Sans-culottes (knee-breeches... meaning the poorer members of the Third Estate). He hid in my trunk.
The anti-clerical soldiers arrived in front of me and didn't see Guillotin : a huge web had been woven on my trunk. Notre Dame de Paimpont had become a spider to save this priest and it saved him.

If you knew what I know... all the laments of love that I've heard, the first kisses I've seen, the owls I've saved, the thunder I have supported, all the kids that climbed me, the cows that I have protected from the sun (the heat wave of 2003, remember), the birds I've nested and the births I have helped and the fear I've had hear when carpenters are seing me as tables or floors ...
My old bark marked by time could tell you so much ...

Read this article in French : Arbre remarquable de 1000 ans : le chêne à Guillotin

This is my last post before the holidays ... I make a large break in August. Meanwhile, I have found some nice ideas of original moments or unusual stays... I have not tried them... I'm waiting for your comments if you did... Feel free to share your point of view with us...

For those who love to eat French food... I heard of a restaurant ... like no other! ... In the south of Brittany, in the Morbihan departement a few miles north of Lorient, Guidel, to be precise, close to the church ....
The restaurant's name is Al pizza, but you do not eat usual and basic pizzas... No, you taste real entomologist cocktails .... You just need to book one week in advance (02 97 02 91 86) ... Just the time the chef needs to find its unusual proteins : fried crickets for appetizers (they have a good nutty flavor and are nicely crispy) pizza (with flour beetle) and as dessert chocolate stick insects or crickets! You became a gourmet... Like many foodies in Africa, South America or Asia ... Take your turn and the boss will tell you how he met the "ants" ... You'll leave happy, full with healthy food and a with a great experience! Bon appetit!



A different idea ... You are a fanatic player ... No, casinos do not thrill you, but the game tracks size ... The hostel l'auberge des voyajoueurs is a step of the game called search of dragon, a live treasure hunt (Residents and tourist offices will help you through).
You must, using a GPS and a travelguide seek the dragon. 88 steps in the Heritage of Brocéliande ... This country inland, in Brittany, borders the forest of the Knights of the Round Table, where the legends of King Arthur have happened! ...
If you want more... the hostel is a game paradise... This mythical place is full of players and games: first the hostel has a library of games : you can have fun with large wooden playground, games room or enjoy the outdoor playground. .. You can relax with balls, bet with playing cards, throwing dice, word games to try and pawn, test your skills with shuffleboard, bowling...
No, you prefer board games or the Wii ... No worry, they have everything ... for everyone, young and old, 7-77 years, gamers of today and yesterday, outdoor or indoor .... games for two people or much more ....
Happy holidays and remember to visit us again a little visit to tell us how it was.

Read this article in French : Idées pour une étape originale en Bretagne

Inquiring minds will note that the main color of the stone houses of the region Brocéliande or in other places in Brittany, is red.
Red shale is a rock, very common here in the country Brocéliande near Paimpont, home of the knights of the Round table.



Once upon a time ...
A rock (the story does not date from yesterday, but from over 465 million years). Under the sea, this metamorphic rock (rock that is changed by heat) is of sedimentary origin (these sediments are often clay). Its color comes from its content of iron oxide (iron rust becomes red ....!).
When the sea receded some 250 million years ago, the rock became what we see today. The red shale is a friable rock. It comes in sheets and very difficult to carve. Therefore, it is used as building material.



The region is rich in red shale quarries, many buildings are built using this stone : houses and farms, walls, castles... Rennes, once it was a fortified city, was called Rennes, the red city (its fortification walls were in red shale). If you're dreaming of a red stone farmhouse, then you know now where to find your dream house.



The castle of Trécesson … is a beautiful building built in red shale. Located in the town of Campénéac, this fortress was erected between the late 14th C and it is listed since 1922. The castle is surrounded by water... The access by a bridge leads to a large gatehouse and two towers connected by a machicolation (the "balcony" at the top of the walls). It also has a hexagonal tower (the one facing you with 3 windows).
The site has been inhabited long before the construction of the castle. Many owners have lived in the property. It is still private.

The place is famous... by the legends that took place in the « château de Trecesson ».

We'll begin with the saddest ... la légende de la dame blanche (ou la mariée de Trécesson )... (Sensitive souls, go your way). The legend of the white lady (or the bride of Trécesson) ...
The story takes place in the middle of the 18th C. A lovely bride, in tears, will be buried alive under the eyes of a poacher (hidden in the tree where the girl will be killed). The witness, once the murderers gone, tells the story to his wife who decides to go to the lord Trécesson ... He will offer her a decent burial and looked in vain for the murderers.

The second is almost a fantasy novel: La légende de la chambre aux revenants
The legend of ghosts in the room is nicer: one room, in Trecesson is haunted ... A guest, of bravado, decide to sleep in the haunted place. That evening, an invisible door appears and servants install a game table for two men who will play cards .... The man, scared to death, fired on the players. The bullets have no result! He finally fell asleep. from exhaustion. The next day, when he woke up, a pile of gold coins (louis d'or) is the only proof left of that game.

The 3rd legend called le manoir du Pied d'Anon
A young Marquis de Trécesson loves to play in the salons of Versailles. He has lost everything. Fortunately, Firmin his valet, reminds him of a small manor, the mansion du Pied d'Anon (which was a small wooden hut perched on granite).
The intrepid plays again and regains everything he lost ... The story does not say if he then remained quietly in his castle Trécesson …

Read this article in French : Maisons et chateaux de schiste rouge en Bretagne

It is not a church like the others. Thanks to Father Gillard. Who was considered by the ecclesiastical authorities as an original... His ideas of tolerance were not appreciated. He was therefore send to the most remote parish of Morbihan... They thought hard life of the countryside will bring him back to more acceptable ideas.

The church was in a poor state, he decided to renovate it...(1942-1953) His own way and the result is what you see today: a church where the Arthurian legend, the Celtic world and Christianity are melted. Father Gillard considered that these three worlds had to meet ... The myth of the Grail helped him to get them closer.



References to the Knights of the Round Table are not very surprising... This small town of a hundred inhabitants is located very near the Forest of Brocéliande, the place associated with their epics.
The Celtic world has left many traces in Brittany ... (Druids gather every year in the forest) ... As for Christianity, it is everywhere here... when you're driving around.... notice the stone crosses on the roads.



The entrance of the church begins with a question : the door is inside (of course, inside of us).



The interior is also full of symbols. Helped by two German prisoners, a carpenter made the vault and bars, the other, a painter drew some illustrations of this chapel.

You'll see Morgane Le Fay (who lives nearby in the Valley of No Return in the Brcéliande forest) immortalized with the Knights of the Round Table...



or the Last Supper (the Last Supper of Christ Revisited) ...



The church, also known as the Chapel of the Holy Grail, is dedicated to St. Onenne, the patron saint of Tréhorenteuc. She is the 22d child of King Judicaël (one of the kingdoms of Armorica), born near here. She does not want a life of princess and became a servant in a farm. She is represented on the windows with geese. Very pious, it did not work miracles but its qualities (piety and goodness) gave her the rank of saint.

If you want to better understand the building and all its secrets, visit the tourist office in front of the church, which offers brochures and guided tours to apprehend this original universe.



Read this article in French : Tourisme dans la forêt de Broceliande : l'église de Trehorenteuc

Saint Malo is really nice but it is so crowded !!! 2 millions visitors a year… Let’s go on on our discovery of the less touristic Saint Malo, I’m still talking about Saint Servan.

If you already walked along the coastal path, you arrived in front of church’s remains : the cathedral of Aleth,



the former cathedral of Saint Malo. Actually Saint Servan is the first human settlement of the coast, it was inhabited before the Roman’s colonisation as it is explained on the sign.



The first future bishop Malo arrived from Great Britain during the VIth century and wanted to convert the region. The religious building was destroyed many times by the Norsemen, the Frank (VIIIth), the Norsemen again (Xth century). And the bishopric was transferred during the XIIth century to the actual Saint Malo (where the Grave of the Saint was) because it was a place easier to secure. The importance of the remains (43m long)



shows the catholic fervour of the medieval times…

Saint Malo soon became an important trade center and Saint Servan lost its leadership.
In front of you, a tower (tour Solidor),



is also a witness of the different occupation periods of Saint Servan. The foundations are Gallo-Roman. When Saint Servan, under the leadership of Saint Malo, revolted against the taxes of Saint Malo during the XIIIth century, the castle that was there was destroyed and that tower rebuilt on it.



The medieval donjon is made up with 3 towers joined by curtains (that are the walls that connect the fortifications), it was rebuilt in 1382 to control the estuary.



When wars were over, it was transformed in jail and it is now a Museum. The Musée des Cap-Horniers tells the story of the seamen that crossed the Cape Horne (cape that is on the far South of South America). Saint Servan during the XIXth century lived from cod fishing. The small harbour,



on the right of the tower, used to be the departure for the ferries to Dinard (in front of you).

The dam on your left was built during the 60’s and houses the tidal power plant.



Keep walking in the village, you’ll discover nice old houses, nice gardens…




Read it in French : Balade dans Saint Servan (Saint Malo, Bretagne)

The zoo, a predictable success with children! Follow me ...

Located on the expressway Rennes - Saint Malo (Brittany, France), the zoological park of La Bourbansais is, as you guess, full of wild and exotic animals, … monkeys, wallabies, flamingos ...



lions, tigers and other zebras…In short, the classics are here.

Zoos today often are not only park animals but are also a place to save endangered species. That’s one of the goal of the zoo La Bourbansais.

The park is beautiful, you can stroll around and look at this wild world.

Animal shows are to be seen : flight of raptors, pelicans meals or giraffes care…



Wildlife is on…

Hunting dogs like to run around : a choreography of the French tricolor (name of the dogs), used for hounds.



You can also take a guided tour (fee) of the castle



which is listed since 1959. and admire the French gardens of the park.

At the end of the trail, a playground with inflatables (slides ...)… a delight for children.

A little walk on a corn maze and that ‘s the end of a busy day.

No surprise but no disappointment either. Around € 15 for adults and 12 for children.
Open all year.



Shows and events are only held during the summer. You can picnic there.

Read it in French : Visite avec des enfants du zoo et du parc du chateau de La Bourbansais (Ille et Vilaine, Bretagne)

Wedding anniversary, 40’s birthday, your lover is 50 and you want it to be unforgettable... Birthdays are an occasion for giving an original present : a fly over Brittany just for yourself !!!. My friend did it in September, it is just great...




They (my friend and his lover) did it at Dinard Airport, but you can do it in many breton aerodromes. Pilots do it for nothing because they need to fly n hours to keep their licence to go on flying. They fly you around for your pleasure and for their licence. Dinard Airport has for exemple four pilots doing it.

At Dinard Airport, the pilot was waiting for them. They went into the plane




– you can be three plus the pilot – and they began their take off. Once in the air they had to choose to fly East or West, that is Cap Fréhel (east) or Mont Saint Michel (west).
My friends wanted to fly over the coast, they choosed west, they flew over the sea and Chausey island. The pilot explained to them the landscape while driving his plane as if it were a car .
They saw Cancale and its oysters beds.



Saint Malo



and they finished the trip with Rance estuary.



The weather was really nice, it was wonderful…

And what do you do if it rains !!! Don’t worry and be happy !!! It is known worldwide that Brittany like Great Britain has an humid climate. So, the pilots look at the weather forecast and call you when it is no good to fly…
You’re conquered ???? Well, the fly lasts half an hour and it costs 100 €.
Good trip.



Read it in French : la Bretagne vue d'avion : rendez vous à l'aéroport de Dinard

If you have some time after your visit of La Roche aux Fées you should try a bend to taste a really nice bread. On the way back to Essé, you’ll see a sign for le Theil (D99). Follow it till you see a sign for Fagots et Froment ( Le Rozay 35150 Essé - 02 99 47 04 26). That’s the name of the farm where you can buy bread.



The farm is a biological farm. Arriving on the parking place, you’ll see the bundle of sticks used to warm the oven.



Inside, you’ll see big baskets full of bread and you’ll hear the oven crackling.

The farm has an old tradition of making bread. Till some years ago, in Brittany every farm has had its own oven and was doing its own bread. In this farm, the children are just continuing tradition and making bread not only for the farm but to sell it on markets, in shops…

Bundle of sticks are outside the farm waiting to be burnt. Do you know the story of the sticks in Brittany ? It has a connection with the breton countryside and specially the hedges of trees. Well, to understand the strange look of the trees, you have to know a bit of the peasant history. The peasant when he rented the farm, could not use the trees. He was just allowed to cut the branches and that makes the strange look of the hedges. But after years, the trees then were no good for woodwork.



Bread is done with bio flour, produced on the farm. The farmers are trying to cultivate old types of wheat that were cultivated for centuries. They do that because scientists have noticed that the « old » wheat has an easily digestible gluten.
Most of the wheat is produced in the farm, it is milled in the farm, the bread dough is hand knead and then cooked in the oven, with wood from the surroundings… Culture to cooking, most of the bread is produced in one place : you want sustainable development. Here you are !!!



Well the only trouble is that they are one kilo stick… well it is not a real problem because it is a really nice bread and not expensive ( 4 € for one kilo, that makes the baguette at 80cts). You can choose a white flour bread or a wholemeal flour one.
It is open every day except sundays, from 10 am to 6 pm and saturdays from 10 to 12. You can find them in several markets from Nantes to Saint Malo. Have a look at their website to discover the closest selling point .

You can also buy bio meat produced by the son. Boxes from 6 to 12 kilos at 12 € for the beef and 14 for the veal. The 6 kilo boxes are small you can easily fit them in your freezer.

Leaving the place, if you’re driving direction le Theil, stop at the chapel Notre Dame de Beauvais (leaving the village, direction Sainte Colombe).



Notre Dame de Beauvais or Notre Dame de la Charité has a nice architecture and is full of commemorative plaques, nice stained-glass windows. It used to be a place of pilgrimage. On the porch an epitaph with 100 days of indulgence



shows that the chapel was a place for remission of punishment. Facing the porch, a calvary is carved with a Virgin (XVth century).




You can finish your day jumping back to neolitic time : direction Sainte Colombe. At "Le Haut Bois" hamlet, look for the menhir de Rumfort. The fairies let it fall when they were building la Roche aux Fées.

Read it in French : Visite au pays de la Roche aux Fées (suite) : déguster du pain paysan bio en Bretagne

Brittany was a very important strategic place during the Second World War. German militaries defended the breton region with the building of fortifications, the Atlantik wall along the atlantik coast (from Danemark to France). Bunkers but also antitank obstacles, concrete pillboxes to house machine guns... were done.

They also transformed the ports of Saint Nazaire, Brest, Lorient et Saint Malo into fortresses.



That’s for the main context. Let’s go now to Saint Malo and one of its district Saint Servan. (Saint Servan is part of the municipality of Saint Malo since 1967). The fortifications of Saint Malo were designed by Vauban (1663-1707), Marshal of France and famous military engineer. He also wanted Saint Servan to be strengthened and specially the cité d’Aleth, the outposts to the Rance estuary.



But it was done much later when the peninsula suffered from a British assault. In 1758, the major Marlborough invaded the Aleth peninsula and was thinking of doing the same in Saint Malo when he was shelled. He left the peninsula but did burn all the ships around before leaving the place. It did not take long, in 1759, one year later, Mazin, a French engineer began to build an artillery fort



to protect the estuary.



Almost 200 years later, the fort was strengthened by the Germans : you can visit the Mémorial 39-45,



situated in the middle of the peninsula, in a large coutyard. The Museum is located in one of the bunkers of the fortifications, you’ll see a documentary and an exhibition about the WWII.

On the platform, about 30 bunkers






were erected joined by underground passages with pillboxes.





The whole region was fortified : Cézembre, the island in front of you, the pointe de la Varde (Varde’s cape at the end of the long beach of Saint Malo), a radar at Cap Fréhel… The fort of Saint Servan was the German headquarter with the commandor Von Aulock.

The Allies invaded Normandy in June and arrived at Saint Malo August 2d. But they were not many to conquer the place, most of them were fighting in Normandy. The Allies decided to shell Saint Malo and after 15 days of intense bombings,



the German surrendered (august 17th). More than 70% of Saint Malo was destroyed and it lasted 12 years to rebuild the city like it was (1948-1960).

The island of Cézembre held out untill September 2d (site de l’inventaire général du patrimoine culturel). 80 bunkers were built there to control the port of Saint Malo and it is the more bombed place on the French territory.



Napalm bombs were dropped on it. Unexploded shells are still on the island and have to be defused. It is still a no trespassing zone on most of the place.

From the courtyard, you have a really nice view : on your right of Saint Malo, in front of you Dinard




and on your left, the Rance estuary.

Read it in French : Visite du fort de la Cité d'Aleth à Saint Servan, quartier de saint Malo (Bretagne)

Welcome to a short walk of discovery: prehistory, chapel, windmill, caves ... The ascent of Mont Dol is a great adventure.
First of all : This site provides a practical course of history of relief: tens of thousands of years ago, when it was really cold, the sea was closer ... And the Mont Dol was an island.



From the summit, one can guess the terrain of the ice ages and the limit where the ocean stopped! Today the sea has receded, it was even more distant during the prehistoric times ... In short, sea is going back and forth!

Mont Dol welcomed men, prehistoric men, in caves, north of the hill. Neanderthals, lovers of big elephants, have left the remains of their feasts. At that time, people were watching the mammoths'arrival from the summit and were driving them into the swamps ... where the animals got stuck ... The hunters just had to finish their work : cut in small pieces the beast ... to preserve and enjoy it during the following months ...

You can learn more by visiting the church at the foot of Mount Dol : an exhibit explains the history of the place ... you can also admire beautiful restaured murals... polychrome ... It's unusual in churches in Brittany, the walls were whitewashed ... to disinfect after epidemics !

Today, at the top of the site, there is a tiny religious building, a monumental statue set on a tower, ancient trees, a mill ...



The site has seen many religious occupations. There is this little chapel with a stained glass window dedicated to the war 14-18. And the tower of Notre Dame de l'Espérance (1857) which dominates the landscape.



Weather permitting, you have the best panoramic view of the coast, the Mont Saint Michel, Cancale and the bay. And in very clear weather, you can even notice the Channel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey. It is not that far away...

There is also the legend ... the devil has worked here!

Once completing his Wonder of Mont-Saint-Michel, he challenged St. Michael asking him to make another perfect masterpiece ...
The Saint chose the second hill of the bay of Mont Saint Michel and in just one night, he realized a huge and beautiful crystal palace.
The devil furious wanted to destroy it, but the Archangel Michael offered to exchange monuments. The Devil agreed. Once in front of the palace of Mont Dol, he realized the mistake... The palace was not crystal but ice... And it was a nice warm day!
Really upset, the devil tried to kill the Saint. Mickael managed to send him in a crack he had opened with his sword. And he jumped back to the Mont Saint-Michel ... And he left his impression in a granit rock on the Mont Dol. Look for traces of claws among the rocks!

The mill dates from 1843 and ran until the 50s. It is open in the summer and can be visited on weekends (from Easter to September).



There is a crêperie at the top of the site open during the warm seasons. To continue the walk you can go down the other side and go around the mountain before to reach the parking lot. Choose the right side to see the caves!



Read it in French : Rando en Bretagne : les dénivelés du Mont Dol