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

Normandy has its American Film Festival in Deauville at the end of summer .... Britain too!!! An international film festival ... the British Film Festival.


And where can it be ??? A place for the Franco-British friendship… Dinard.

Why Dinard ? Because in the mid 19 th century this small city used to be crowded with British people enjoying the sea. And the success was so impressive that nowadays Dinard has more than 400 villas listed.

In short, the British Film Festival could not find a better ally : and it goes on with the ferry that connects Saint Malo (just in front of Dinard) with United Kingdom.

Back to cinema. The festival takes place in early autumn for a few days. And the last ones were successfull…

Shallow Grave Friends (1994), The Full Monty (1997) Billy Elliot (2000), Bloody Sunday (2002) or The Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). What a great reward and a great opportunity to discover original works.

Not bad for a young festival ! Here is the program for the 20th edition.

The festival has many awards but the ultimate prize is the Golden Hitchcock .... Some sessions are free, screenings are held in the prison of Saint Malo.

In september, enjoy the very pleasant open-air screening .. .

The festival is really nice, far from the summer crowds, you discover the charms of Dinard and its cinemas... And improve your French .... by reading the subtitles...

Read it in French : Festival du film britannique à Dinard

What can you do in Dinard when it rains… discover African Art. Every year at the Palais des Arts in Dinard (on the seafront and close to the casino), you can discover a nice art exhibition : last year it was Picasso… This year, the exhibition called Gloire de la femme dans l'art africain (litterally glory to women in African Art) shows 200 pieces of African Art connected with women and their roles in African Art and Society.



It is open from june 28th to september 14th (a Sunday) 2008, every day from 2 pm to 7 pm. And it is free…




It is a really nice aesthetic exhibit. The objects are from the XIXth and XXth century, you ‘ll see masks, statues, stools, woodlocks, pearls’jewels…that explains the role of woman in african society. The different rooms present various women’sides such as maternity, fertility, couple, initiation figure,… thanks to a sign, each room explains some part of the african culture. For example, you will learn that scarifications around women’ navel symbolizes the links to the world or that twins have a very special status in Africa. As a fertility symbol, they are feared and revered at the same time. And the Yoruba people (Nigeria) have the highest rate of twins in the world (45,1 for 1000 births) compared to Europe (10,9). And we still don’t know why !



And if you want your kids to improve their french, a guide in french !!! will reveal the secrets of African Art on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. For the 4-8 years old at 4.30 pm, and for the 8-12 years old at 2.30pm. Hurry up, it lasts till mid september.

Read it in French : L'art africain en Bretagne à Dinard

This year, the Palais des Arts is celebrating its 20th anniversary ... and for this event it hosts part of the private collections of the François Pinault Foundation.

Do you know François Pinault ? He is THE famous Breton billionaire. Autodidact, art lover… and football fan ... He is the main sponsor of the foot ball team Stade Rennais.

So for its 20th birthday, Dinard has decided to expose the collections of this man… who usually shows them in Venice, yes, in Italy.

About 60 works by thirty artists * ...



Qui a peur des artistes ? Who is afraid of artists?

Not me, except when I look at the picture, it reminds me of Verdun (horrible battle of the 1st World War wtih thousands of deads), the soldier buried standing (alive?) ...
But everyone sees what he wants : I thought it was a commercial for Hunger in Africa ... someone said...

Annoying the poster? And the title?

What is art done for?

- To have fun ? (123 points)
- To ask questions ? (54321 points)
– To understand the world ? (393 points)
– To criticize it ? (3131 points)
– To be nice (333 points)
- To mess around ? (731 points)
- Do nothing ? (34536 points) -
- To laugh and have fun (0.333333333333)
- To be moral ? (321 points)
- To be green ? (369 points)
- What else ?
- To share (4.50 euros full price, the show last year was free)

If your score is 3 points or more, go ahead!

The exhibition shows contemporary art : portraits, contemporary art paintings, photography, photo-collages, drawings, video, sculpture, abstract works ... All art forms are represented ... Each room has a title ...for example-War Consumption Revolt.
Well, not easy to give my opinion. Jeff Wall bothers with the photo showing the ambush in Afghanistan. Further it is even more violent (the video ...). It is the same artist Adel Abdessemed who made the funny pictures on the opposite wall!
The most famous : la nona hora ((the ninth hour is the name for the prayer that is recited at the ninth hour of the day, usually around 3PM to commemorate the moment when Christ died on the Cross) by Maurizio Cattelan. The most famous or the one everybody talked about ? Write your comment for that work !

And next to it, nobody screamed at Damien Hirst, the greens don’t like contemporary art ? But I do not know anything about insects ...

In short, everyone has his reading and interpretation ... Make your own opinion ... because as François Pinault said and I translate : ... The art has led me to wonder more. To keep my eyes open on the world and its evolutions, to be more attentive to the change of the world ...

This summer, if you don’t have time to visit the Palazzo Grazzi museum or the new one at Punta della Dogana (Venice, Italy), where the rest of the collections are, or if you missed the exhibition in Moscow (a certain state of world), go to ... Dinard from 14 June to 13 September from 11 am to 19 pm and night (21h) on Friday.
Pictures are not allowed...

* Josef Albers, Dan Flavin, Agnes Martin, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Lee Ufans, Pierre Soulages, Charles Matton, Takashi Murakami, Paul McCarthy, Yan Pei-Ming Martial Raysse, Ed Ruscha, Adel Abdessemed, Andreas Gursky, Barbara Kruger , Cindy Sherman, Jeff Wall, Jiechang Yang, Chen Zhen. Subodh Gupta, Mike Kelley, Bharti Kher, Takashi Murakami, Julie Mehretu, Luc Tuymans, Maurizio Cattelan, Paul Fryer, Damien Hirst, Claude Lêvêque, Yan Pei-Ming, Andres Serrano. Subodh Gupta, Mike Kelley, Bharti Kher, Takashi Murakami, Julie Mehretu, Luc Tuymans, Maurizio Cattelan, Paul Fryer, Damien Hirst, Claude Lévêque, Yan Pei-Ming, Andres Serrano.

Have you ever been to Saint Malo, the fortified city ? I'm sure you did. But did you look on your left and attracted by the small fortified peninsula of Aleth, did you run there to enjoy a nice walk and a beautiful view on Dinard and the Rance estuary. Follow me, I’ll show you the place…



Saint Servan is the quarter of Saint Malo that begins the Rance estuary. It is less known, less visited but really nice.

Remind of its history : Aleth – that’s the old name of the place- was occupied long before the creation of Saint Malo. It became a bishopric during the VIth century when Malo, the future Saint, arrived from Great Britain to bring back some order in the religious life of the promontory and to convert it. Aleth suffered many attacks during that period and many times was burnt or destroyed. It was much later during the XIIth century that it was transfered to the actual Saint Malo.

If you come from Saint Malo for the walk, you’ll go along a long beach (plage des Sablons), that leads you to the sailing harbour (800 boats)



and soon you’ll see steps for the pathway around the peninsula.

On the path, a piece of walls, remains of the Roman period.



The Coriosolites, one of the tribes of Armorica, were already living there before the Roman occupation. Then Caesar conquered Armorica (56 AD). And they let some traces because they were building in stones…

Go on and you soon meet a fortress from the XVIII th century. Going up the stairs you are on the Memorial 39-45, going down you have a monument dedicated to Charcot (1867-1936). First name Jean Baptiste.



He is famous in France. Do you know why ? Guess and find the odd one out in the following quotes :

He is known because he is a medical doctor
He is famous because he is a polar scientist and the leader of the first polar expeditions
He divorced the granddaughter of Victor Hugo, a famous French writer
He was a rugby champion
The name of his ship was “Why not?”
He loved gulls
He died on a shipwreck as he was going back to Saint Malo




So, the winner is… Sorry, there is no odd ones.

He was a very famous polar explorer, he discovered new countries, drew new maps, studied tides, polar wildlife and flora. He has had 4 ships called Pourquoi pas ? (Why not) and the unique survivor of the wreck told that Charcot released the mascot of the ship, Rita the seagull before the wreck.

Let’s go back to the cliffpath, you’ll see 8 metal pillboxes,



that are 30 cm thick but quite destroyed by the war 39-45. They were joined by underground galleries.

You’re now walking along the Rance estuary, in front of you Dinard.



Behind you in the distance the cape Fréhel.

In the middle of the peninsula, a camping place. A dam, the tidal power plant cuts the Rance estuary on your left. Leaving the path, visit the village of Saint Servan, it is worth it.



Read it in French : Balade dans un quartier de Saint Malo : la cité d'Aleth à Saint Servan (Bretagne, France)

Green tomatoes left, what can I cook with them ? a nice chutney, a French recipe !!!



Ingredients for a small pot :
200 g of tomatoes (green and some redish)
1 tablespoon of honey
4 tablespoons of vinegar
Pepper
Ginger powder
2 tablespoons of Rum


Recipe :
Slice the tomatoes in small pieces, add rum and let macerate for an hour.

Put the sugar,honey, vinegar, pepper and ginger into a large pan. Bring to simmering point and simmer for almost an hour. It has to be thick and caramelized.
Eat it with strong tasty cheese such as roquefort or dry goat cheese. Or with poultry or foie gras. Pot them and sterilized them.




Read it in French : Recette maison de confit de tomates vertes et rouges

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)

If you want to visit an unusual part of Brittany and have a nice walk in the countryside, follow me to la Guerche on a Tuesday, the market day. You'll also discover the oak for the Virgin and the chinese pagoda.

La Guerche is a nice small town, inland Brittany on the border (les marches de Bretagne in French) between the old Duchy of Brittany and the Kingdom of France. May be you already visited Vitré and Fougères which are also cities that used to be the frontline of the Duchy and therefore fortified.



La Guerche during the Duchy period ( 826-1491) changed nationality , sometimes it was Breton, sometimes it was French. It was also a strategical place during the Hundred Years War against the English !!! and therefore many battles took place in the surroundings. And if you know a bit of French History, you surely know Du Guesclin, the companion of Joan of Arc, who bought the manorial estate of La Guerche in 1379. At that time it had a fortified castle.

Later, during the 16th century, it was an important market thanks to the canvas trade. The canvas trade made the Golden Age of Britanny. Farmers grew hemp and flax in the countryside and produced the cloths that were sold all around the world. Brittany then was a rich province, we call it the breton Golden Age. Merchants came from many places in Brittany and specially from Saint Malo to buy the canvas and to sell it to Spain and South America or England. The porched and half-timbered houses you see in La Guerche are the evidence of that Golden Period. The porched houses are now our shopping arcades, merchants used to display their cloths under those porches.



The first mention of the market of La Guerche dates from 1121, and the legend says it never stopped. It is easily understandable because of its particular place in the region. It was a crossroad between the Duchy and the French Kingdom during the Middle Age, it continued when Britanny became French and now it is a crossroad between 4 departments and still 2 regions. It still attracts people from the surrounding areas, the parking places are full on Tuesday morning !!! it used to be more traditionnal, you could see poultry or pork, but nowadays you just find nice local and traditional products like honey, bread, buckflour, « breton galettes », « galette saucisse », meat, cheese and wine.



While enjoying the market, notice the old houses and enter the Basilica (basilique Notre Dame). It became a Basilica, in 1951 – the title Basilica is only given by the Pope because of several reasons : it can be because it is old, because the bishop asked for it or because of an important pilgrimage -. Have a look at the 16th stained –glass windows, at the carved wood stalls and at the tufa recumbent statue of Guillaume, Lord of La Guerche during the Middle Age.

Once you ‘re finished, begin your walk (8 to 15 kms depending on what you want to see) on the countryside. Leaving the Basilica follow the rue d’Anjou (which is one of the street around the Basilica) till the boulevard d’Anjou. On your left a sign Fontaine Couverte V3 , 8 kms, take that direction, you ‘ll go through an housing estate for one kilometer, when you are in front of the cross, just take a right, and you’ll go through different hamlets : Hairie, Perinelle…



go on for 2,5 kms, you’ll meet another cross



go on till the crossroad Route des Rondes.



Take a right for one km to the next cross (Gaumonerie) and you’ll see the first sign for chêne à la Vierge (oak of the Virgin) on your left. You leave the road for a path, just walk a bit till the forest at the end of the path and you’ll see it.



This oak is the witness of events that took place after the French Revolution (1789) in 1792. A youg girl was shot in front of the oak because she refused to reveal the place where a priest was hiden. At that time France was divided into two sides : the one for the ideas of the French Revolution the republicans and the others against it. Priests were usually against French Revolution because the leader of the French Revolution were against religion and had confiscated or destroyed religious buildings and properties. You still can see for example on many churches statues of Saints or religious figures beheaded or destroyed. This oak is now an holy place : the various statues of the Virgin testify the religious devotion. Ceremonies still take place on August 15th.

If you are in shape, you have to go on for the next unusual site : a chinese pagoda. But if you want to go back, take the road you left , walk a bit on your left till you find the sign for La Guerche and you will soon find the way you came in.



If you want to see the pagoda keep walking straight (la Selle) for about 2,5 kms, you’ll see again a cross, you’re almost there. Leave the cross on your left, and after the bend, you’ll see the fork with the sign chapelle du Pâtis or Chapelle Sainte Anne.



This wood chapel is an octogonal pagoda unique in France. It was created in 1875 by the Priest François Lizé from La Selle Guerchaise. He was a missionary in China and took home the pagoda at the end of the 19th century. It is dedicated to the Virgin and Sainte Anne. Sainte Anne is one of the patron saint of the Bretons, the other one is Saint Yves. She is the mother of the Virgin. Inside the chapel you’ll see the epitaph of the Priest, nice restored colourful fresco (1875-1876) and three saint statues.



A peculiar one from Sainte Anne in wood from the 16th century has slanting eyes, one from Joseph and one from Joachim Sainte Anne ‘ husband.

Leaving the chapel, walk in the direction of La Selle and after some meters you’ll find another cross (it is written 40 jours d’indulgence on it) and you see a sign for La Guerche, you’re ok. This cross was probably on a pilgrimage that gave you days of indulgence. Indulgence were remission of punishment for sins for which you had to make penitence. Through confession, charity works, pilgrimage or money gifts, the sinner could recover remission from eternal punishment. This cross was part of the remission way. Once you’re on the way to La Guerche, you have to walk for 4 kms and arrive in the city, don’t take the street called « point du jour » but the other one with no sign and you’ll find the boulevard d’Anjou.

Read it in French : le marché de la Guerche come point de départ pour une excursion au chêne de la Vierge et à la chapelle Sainte Anne

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)

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

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)