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

Have you ever read Asterix and Obelix ? If you did, you surely know the menhirs Obelix is walking around with. Well, the dolmen of La Roche aux Fées was not done by Obelix but thanks to breton fairies…



The dolmen is at about 20 km east from Rennes, under old oaks in the country of the village Essé. Once you reach Essé just follow the signs to the megalith. It is open all year long and free.
The dolmen is one of the most impressive in France : 20 meters long , 4 meters wide and you can stand inside, it was build with about 40 stones, some of them weighing more than 40 tons… Yes,the people at that time were quite strong…



A dolmen is a breton word that means table of stones, it is a chamber made with upright stones and covered with large flat capstones for the roof.…. Quite simple no… This dolmen has a long corridor, a portico nicely cut



and at the end a room. Until the 50’s the megalithic monuments were seen as building done by the Celts (they arrived in Brittany in 600 BC) but we know now thanks to the Americans that discovered the Carbon-14 that it is much older, for this one around 3500 BC.
It did not look like that during the neolitic time, because it was probably recovered by a tumulus (mound of earth and little stones). Specialists still don’t know if it was a temple or a grave (dictionnaire du patrimoine breton d’Alain Croix).
Neolitic people were really strong when you know that the stones weight more than 40 tons and that they come from an area that is 4 kms away. (foret du Theil)
Neolitic time (in Brittany from -3500 to-1800 BC) correspond to the beginning of agriculture and breeding. Thanks to the domestication of plants, a new type of social organisation appears with a specialization of men and work. They begin to build those monuments. But to build them they need specialized workers : “ geologists ” that choosed the type of stones, “ architects ” that think and build the construction and "drivers" to transport the stones – we guess that they were using woodlogs to rool the stones - , and "astronomists" that decide in which direction the corridor will be.




The building is orientated Northwest-South South East but it is not fate. No, it is a solstice alignment. You should go there on a 21 december and you’ll see the sunrays penetrating the building just in its center. You said they were wearing beast skins…
But may be we’re wrong and the fairies did it. That explains its name (Roche aux Fées = fairies rock) , the legend says that the fairies carried the stones from Le Theil. They let some fall around (at Retiers la Pierre de Richebourg or at Janzé la Pierre des Fées). I ll tell you the legend another day…

To sum up, you have to visit the dolmen for three reasons :
- to quench your curiosity
- to do the same thing that neolitic men were doing on december 21st
- to be sure of your lover. Don’t trust meetic, and test your love at la Roche aux Fées (also called lovers’oracle). Take your love on a full moonnight. Count the stones. If you find the same number, go on and marry him or her. If you don’t… recount them…
Last thing : take care of the building. I want my grand,grand grandgrand children to see it...
Leaving the place you can taste nice local products, see you on the next post

Read it in French : Visite au pays de la Roche aux fées (Ille et Vilaine, Bretagne)

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

Book the last week end of November to go to the first Breton gastronomy fair in Brittany (salon breton du livre et du gourmet). We won’t talk about French cuisine but Breton cuisine…
Go to Saint Brieuc with an empty stomach !!! Because lots of breton chefs and wine waiters will be there, cooking or showing their cooking secrets !!! You will also taste fine local products, see professionnal tools, discover plenty of recipes and cooking tips. You will get the signature of famous breton chefs that will present their books.

And you’ll also enjoy the evening meals that are prepared by those local stars for the event in their restaurants (you have to book now !). Or you can taste chocolates that will be done on the fair. Or appreciate scallops specialities !!! (Saint Brieuc is on the Breton coast).

Love goes through the stomach, I think you say,then you’ll leave the fair with a love feeling!!!

It is the first time of the fair, it is free, don't miss it and enjoy it !!!

Read it in French : salon breton du livre et du gourmet à saint brieuc fin novembre

If you are visiting Saint Malo, you should stop at the shop producing and selling the breton speciality called “craquelin de Saint Malo”. Arriving from the highway, take Saint Malo centre and at the first round about, take a right, you’re on the factory (Z.A.C. de la moinerie, 35400 Saint-Malo, Tél : 02 99 81 92 89). You can no more visit it but you can still taste their different specialities.



What is a craquelin ?
Is it a brioche with sugar or a light craker eaten at breakfast time ? Well, craquelins are both ; they are european specialities. The first one is made in Belgium and the second is a breton product.



In Brittany, according to their website craquelins de Saint Malo, it is an old traditional product (almost 400 years). As in 1663 the Saint Malo hospital already mentions it.

Why do we find them in Saint Malo region ?
The first explanation is that Saint Malo has a long trade tradition and in particular with Flanders. And so ? The word craquelin is a Dutch word crakelinc, that means crispy biscuit.
The second one is that there use to be lots of forests on the Rance estuary. To bake the craquelins, you need lots of fagots…

Why is it so successful ?
A craker is dry and therefore easy to preserve and so easy to transport and sell. They were sold on the markets, and women used to carry them (2000 pieces) in big baskets on their backs and sell them on farms. At Dinard, the first seaside resort of the end of the XIXth century, British customers used to love them.

Why is it so special ?
It doesn’t come from its recipe, which is quite simple : flour, eggs, milk. It comes from the way it is baked. The dough is first quickly boiled, then cooled in cold water and then put in the oven. That makes it so special !!!

12 pieces bags are sold for 2,20 euros.



And if you buy 10, you get a discount as local customers do. Hotels are big buyers, and they make it known… Lots of tourists come to that shop to buy them before going home.

The traditional product has now other varieties : smaller ones for salty toasts, chocolate ones that taste like pyms but in much lighter… you can find them salt free.



If you never went to Saint Servan, go for a walk in that nice district of Saint Malo, it is worth it…

Read it in French : Les craquelins de Saint Malo, une spécialité bretonne de l'estuaire de la rance (France)

... You like wine .... natural and good ones ... and local food, typical local meals... Then follow me... to Vini Circus ...

In the French village Dingé or Hédé (it's like good wine, it depends on the year) since 2004, April begins with a party for wine lovers ... and good food amateurs.
There is a lot to do during the week end : from Friday evening 7 pm to Monday 1 am, all sorts of things are possible. During the day, you'll learn, while sipping a glass, the French cuisine's secrets thanks to cooking demonstrations with French famous chefs. Or, if you're there just as a wine fan, follow the wine talks that bring together specialists speaking about their favorite drink.

There are numerous exhibitors: fifty vineyards (no Bretons, thank God, they do not know how to make wine! …). There are also breweries, cider producers... and representatives of other local French specialities ... butter, oysters, charcuterie (prepared meats products), bread ... The exhibition is international ... Exhibitors from Italy and Belgium are also presents...
Artists and sculptors are also here with their creations.

3 nights of festivities will take place during the wine weekend ... concerts (programme is on their website) and especially winemakers menu ... For two evening meals and nights (Saturday and Sunday until 2 am)... Not to be missed ...

So, after a perfect dinner and the best wines you have ever tasted … you have to come back home... No worry... if you're staying in a nice hotel in Rennes, you are spoiled … On the way in, you take the train at the gare de Rennes, someone will pick you up at the station of Montreuil sur Ille ... and after the meal, at 2 am , there is a departure by bus which goes directly back to the Breton capital (I mean Rennes …).
A shuttle service also brings back home the other festival lovers ... 15 km around. Better though, the wine is at will ...

Read this article in French : Festival des vins et des bonnes choses : Vini Circus

1 –The biggest menhir in Brittany weights 30 metric tons ?
It weights much more. Menhir is a breton word : men means stone and hir means long. If you know the French Obélix, it is the stone he is carrying around. The biggest in Brittany lies in Locmariaquer (Morbihan) it used to be 21 meters (more than 65 ft) long but it is broken and lays down on the floor. It weights more than 300 metric tons.




2 – A dolmen is a circle of different stones ?
You’re wrong. A dolmen is a « stonetable » in breton language, that means upright stones that are carrying a roofstone. Dolmen are really often without roof and have misceallanous architectures : the passageway is short to long, it has one to many chambers that are round, rectangular… La Roche aux Fées (Essé, Ille et Vilaine) is a nice one. During the neolitic time, it was probably covered by earth and stones forming a barrow.



3- And what is a cromlech or a cairn ?
A cromlech is a circle of standing stones.
A cairn is a dolmen,( the stonetable I was talking about earlier), but covered by a barrow. It is hidden by an earthen mound and it looks like a small mountain. Barnenez and Gavrinis are two famous breton exemples. Here you can see the tumulus (barrow) of Dissignac close to Saint Nazaire, (Loire Atlantique).



All these buildings have been erected at several periods, some of the stones were carved with symbols. They probably have had different goals, but we don’t know for what. Some were graves, may be some others were temples but we can only guess, the stones could have religious functions, astronomical functions,... We also don’t know why our megalith builders destroyed them (menhir brisé de Locmariaquer). When Christianity begins to appear in Brittany, the stones are already used for pagan rituals, and the Church doesn’t like it. They try to christanize it and carved christian cross or others christian symbols on it.



4 – Were the Egyptian pyramides already built when our ancestors were carrying their menhirs.
Well, some of the breton buildings are much older. We know it surely since the 50’s when carbon 14 was found. And we finally discover that they are really old. The neolithic men built the megalitic buildings between – 5000 and – 2000 BC. Our Egyptian friends began their pyramids around - 3000 when our Bretons are megalith specialists. The megalith time lasted 3000 years. And the buildings done are quite different : short corridors, long corridors, square, circular chambers…



5 - Menhirs , dolmens and other megalithic buildings were built by
- a Celts
- b Druids

a – During the XVIIIth century when the “scientists” began to look at those strange constructions, they thought that the Celts built them. We know now thanks to Carbon 14 that they are much older as Celts arrived in Brittany around 500 BC.
b – Caesar wrote about the druids in their stonetemples but they just used it and did not built it.


6 – In Brittany we say that Pantagruel, and his friends let menhirs everywhere ?

May be you don’t know who is Pantagruel. he is a hero of a book from Rabelais, a French writer from the XVI th century. He is part of the French folklore. Pantagruel, a jovial fellow, is a giant with an enormous appetite, and he is good-humoured.
He is the one who left a tooth in Saint Suliac (menhir de Saint Suliac, Ille et Vilaine). He took a gravelout of his shoe and let it fall in Fort Lalatte,another one in Cap Frehel ...


7 – Others say that the fairies did it !!!
They actually did the dolmen called la Roche aux Fées, that explains its name fairyrock. Look at the work they’ve done with the stones !!!



We don’t have any written signs for this civilization and archeologists guess every time they discover something new. They think now that the settled agricultural communities, that erected the buildings, were quite organized. They probably had a leader and asked the other communities around to help them to built the monument. So the monument was a common work : it needed the help of geologists (stones were not choosen at random and were often extracted far from the place where they wanted to build the monument), engineers for the architecture, astronomists to position the building…they did not need mason as the building are done without mortar.
Some experiences have been done to try to carry the stones : in 1979 at Stonehenge, about hundred men succeded in towing a 32 metric tons stone, supported by logs and using vegetal ropes.
To extract the stones, they probably were introducing small pieces of wood in the crevices of the blocks, and swollen with water, it did fissure the block. What a job!!!


8 – The megalithic architecture was born in Brittany ?
No, it was not but the alignments of Carnac are a famous place because of his high number of stones ( about 3000 and specialists guess that they were much more, may be 10 000). You can see megaliths in many other places in the world, close to us in Corsica, in Sardinia, Malta, Majorca… but also in Asia or South America.


9 – There are just 5 to 10% menhirs left in Brittany ?
Yes, that’s right. During the XIXth century, the “learned society” wanted to study the past and were carrying out excavations. These excavations were destructives because they were just dismantling the sites and razed it after. And also for many centuries, people used the stones to build their houses, later to do the roads. They did not care of culture and inheritage at that time.


10 – Why don’t we find bones under breton stones ?

Well, because the dogs came first !!! Some of them were burial chambers and you find no bones because the soil in Brittany is acid and « eat » the bones. Flints, pottery, pearls,arrows…were found in the megalithic constructions.


11 – What were those stones used for ?
We can only guess, they must have had a religious purpose. Standing stones may be calendars, markers of territory … Dolmens or cairns were burials sites…

Read it in French : Menhirs, dolmens, cromlechs et autres cairns en Bretagne : testez vos connaissances,

In Brittany, depending on where you are, crêpes and galettes are not made the same way. There are differents types of crêpes: made with wheat or with buckwheat, and eaten salty or sweet. The breton pancakes made of buckwheat are called galettes in French and eaten in crêperies. But there are local differences ; the farther west you go, the thinner they are and they are made with wheat and the same batter is used for salty and sweet ones. Farther east they are prepared with buckwheat (in french we say black wheat because the flour is brown, galettes de sarrasin or de blé noir) for the salty ones, the pancakes are thicker and the sweet ones are made with wheat (crêpes de froment).




In Rennes and surroundings (Ille et Vilaine, Haute Bretagne), one of the specialities is the « galette saucisse » or even better « galette sauc’ » which is a sausage wrapped with a buckwheat’s pancake. You can eat it plain, wrapped with a double galette, with mustard, with grated cheese… it’s a breton hot dog !!!




You won’t find it in crêperies but at markets fairs and festivals.

In Rennes, during the famous marché des Lices, market that takes place on saturdays, you’ll see the residents of Rennes queuing for half an hour at lunch time to eat it.




A good « galette sauc’ » is made with a lightly grilled sausage wrapped around a smooth and warm galette.




You can also eat on those caravans at markets a « galette complète » which is also traditional : it is a buckwheat’galette filled with egg, ham and cheese. As a dessert take the traditional « beurre sucre » butter and sugar which is the best one.




Read it in French : la galette saucisse une spécialité bretonne à Rennes au marché des Lices

On the French side of my blog, I wrote a post about what it meant to be Breton in Brittany... But it is not really interesting for non French people...
So, I'll do it on my English side more worldwide : What does it mean to you being French? Lots of clichés, for sure... Same things about French manners ! How French man or lady act in society ?
Wide question !
Are you intested in learning more about the real way of life of a French or of a Breton... If you travel by car, you must cross Brittany, our small Britain. And you want to understand more about this wonderful place for sure...
By the way, as you probably know, Bretagne in French is either Britain or Brittany. Britain is for us the Great one (Grande Bretagne, Great Britain) and Brittany (Bretagne) is the French one. And Breton can be used for British and for Breton.
So, while travelling around, investigate the French way of life and the one of Brittany's people ! and compare ! French clichés for beginners ! !!!

About French table manners
French people like to remain at table for hours
If you don't sauce your dish with bread, you're out !
One hamburger is eaten while 9 baguette sandwich are tasted
365 cheeses on the French territory, one a day... with green salad !

The French way of life in the Breton cuisine
- Bretons feast in a creperie
- They buy only cauliflower "Prince of Brittany" (and produced in Brittany , not in Britain!)
- They enjoy oysters on the port of Cancale (and during good months ...)
- They only eat Plougastel strawberries ... (Plougastel is a city in the west of Brittany)

French feel French when
They speak loud
They criticize their administration
They strike all the time
The national sport : to steal tax

Bretons feel Breton when they ...
- dance in the Fest Noz! (fest noz is a breton word meaning night party where you dance to Breton music).
- swear that their grandmother wore a cap in the last century!
- punctuate every sentence with a Kenavo (thank you in breton language)!
- wear a sticker "A l'aise Breizh" on the car (means be confortable, man)

How French Parisians look at Bretons
- They wear wooden clogs
- They have discovered the frigde in the 2000's
- They're narrow minded,backward.... in short stubborn like a Breton
- Brittany, it is "province", there's nothing to do there...

How Breton look at Parisians
- Look how slow he is driving... Must be a Parisian on holydays...
- Look at those Parisians with their yellow raincoat and boots... Ah, Ah, Ah !
- Don't know how to eat pancakes : just two ingredients, more you won't taste the galette, ignorant !
- I do love Parisians ! No, no way, they're too arrogant and do not know anything about anything ...

See how the love story goes ! French unions are perfect !
I could go on (LOL) .... !!!! but I leave the pen! For Your opinion! About French manners, acting, speaking, eating...
And don't act wrongly now !

It is a recipe that tastes good and smells my childhood. A nice mixture between my dad'pissaladiere with my Mum'puff pastry.



A pissaladière with Breton onions... The pissaladière is a type of pizza, a white one without tomato sauce, done with onions on a bread dough. Usually anchovies are also part of this pie.
The way I do it is a bit different : I use Breton onions, the one from Roscoff, called oignons rosés or may be the Johnny'onions.
They are quite good for this onion pie... because they're sweet. Like South European onions. You need to cook them a really long time... I don't use bread dough but puff pastry instead. It's not "the real one" but it is good !

Time: two hours for the onions and cook about 45 minutes for the onions'pie.

Ingredients
2 to 3 kilograms of onions (it has to become pureed)
A little olive oil
Black olives

One to two hours of gentle cooking.
The tart should be well covered with a thick layer of onions ... more than one centimeter ... au moins. At least. Onions reduce very slowly until it becomes very soft, almost like a puree and the colour becomes khaki brown.

Ingredients for the puff pastry (pate feuilletée) to a 30cm pie
wooden spoon
160g flour
half or 80 g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
a small glass of very cold water

Cut butter into pieces (2cm to 1) in the flour. Pour the oil. Mix. Add water little by little and mix (no fingers but with a wooden spoon) until dough is held (not necessarily very well but it does not matter).
Avoid putting too much water, your dough will be hard. And do not touch the dough with fingers. These are the two secrets to succeed for a pate feuilletée !
Pour your dough on the table and with a rolling pin, spread roughly.
Fold it again and spread...with rolling pin. Repeat this operation 5 to 6 times. Fold one last time and store at least 15 minutes in refrigerator. The more you've folded your dough, the better the puff!
When the time expired, spread the dough and pour over your onions and black olives. For 45 minutes ... Your puff pastry is done.
Enjoy with a green salad.

Read it in French : Tarte aux oignons rosés de Roscoff sans anchois

I have some friends who tested the thalassotherapy establishment at Billiers in Morbihan. It is in the Domaine de la Rochevilaine (20 km south of Vannes). And they say it’s so nice…



Brittany has a long tradition of thalassotherapies : the first one was created in Roscoff at the end of the XIXth century. Roscoff was and is known for his incredibly huge variety of algae and thalassotherapies use algae for their cures, their massages, their cosmetics. Since then Brittany has a lot of thalassotherapies on its coasts and each one has its speciality : dietetics, relaxation, dermatology, and its famous cosmetics …

Rochevilaine (Spa Vannes - Domaine de Rochevilaine,Pointe de Pen Lan, 56190 – Billiers tel: 02 97 41 61 61) is in a small peninsula – just for the thalasso- and offers a wide range of cures with a tasty gastronomic program.

The Domaine de Rochevilaine is a Relais & Château (the label Relais &Chateau means it has to be a really nice, charming, silent place with character and really nice food). To enter the Domaine, you have to go through a XIIIth century porch and you are in a beautiful garden and you soon discover the manor house.



The center is also known for its medieval sculptures and the exhibitions of modern artists.

You want to make a thalasso , well, you re in the ideal spot. You have all the facilities of a spa center : spa, sauna, hammam, fitness room. The whole establishment is surrounded by the sea. There are two sea water swimming pools , one of them is an out door one on the cliffs and you have the feeling you’re bathing in the sea (that’s what I’ve been told).

And the food ? You know how are the Frogs with their bellies… Well the restaurant is also really nice : large bay windows makes you feel like eating on the water. The courses are done with sea products (lobsters, oyster, bass…) and other local goods. And it is SO good (I quote my friends).



Once you’ve eaten well, relaxed a bit, you can walk along the coastal paths and discover the curiosities of the village Billiers. On your walk on the coast you’ll find the dolmen du crapaud, the port and the lighthouse of Pen Lan,



Saint Maixent church which is a seamark (seamarks are white painted markers such as walls, stones… that are done to be seen from the open sea). The abbey of Billiers (abbaye de Prières) with its sole’s stone (pierre à soles) that was used as a build for the soles fished by the fishermen…

If you want to mix health and pleasure, that’s the right place to go to…



Read it in French : Thalasso et gastronomie en bretagne : domaine de la Roche Vilaine à Billiers (Morbihan)