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

April 30 is the day of Saint Guirec, he could be the patron saint of singles! ...
And so what ? You're looking for a nice holiday, an idea for week ends (April 30 is the eve of May 1st!), a great place for a short break in a beautiful area ... But the problem is : you're alone ... single ... and therefore, time off and vacations have become a nightmare ...
Except, except if you want to try something else... a day off, a little trip to the coast of pink granite, in France, in the village of Ploumanach, on the northern coast of Brittany...



Yes, this village is part of Perros Guirec, named after a Welsh monk, who arrived in Ploumanach in a stone bark in the 5th C to evangelise Small Britain. What made him special is that he had a magic nose ...

Returning to the purpose of this trip ... go away single on a nice holiday!

The village is on the pink granite coast (the granite is pink because it is a mixture of three minerals : feldspar (pink), mica (black) and quartz ...) and you'll come across strange rocks eroded by the climate. A footpath leads you around the 30 kilometers of this pink wonder.

If you are vigilant, you'll soon be facing an island where sailors used to dry their fish ... (In fact, the only remain of this fishery is the name of the castle built on the island) : the famous château de Costaeres (in Breton language it means place to dry fish). The manor is a celebrity here in Brittany as it stands on every brochure and postcard showing the coastline of Côtes d'Armor ...



The bay that faces this mythical construction of the Brittany coast, hosts a small monument accessible at low tide ... the oratory of Saint-Guirec (12th C).



Yes, for years, sailors wifes came here to pray for the safe return of their men during fishing seasons. Girls looking for an husband visited it too... And it is still used today by single tourists (or anyone who is seeking wife, husband ... or soul mate!).
The legend says that if ladies were able to stick a needle in the nose of Saint Guirec, (and especially if the needle remained there until the next tide) they would find a lover in the year ...
The wood statue of Saint Guirec was used so much that the spikes had completely damaged the nose of Saint Guirec. It was replaced with a granite copy... The original is in the chapel overlooking the bay.

Gentlemen, don't be desesperate, I did not forget you... Even if the heroes of the story are women, the 20th Century brought gender equality..., go and try !

If unfortunatly the needle did not stay in the nose of Saint Guirec during a tide, console yourself...

- Perros (as the locals say here) is a touristic place... its population is multiplied by 8 in summer ( 7500 by 8 = 59,000 persons) ... Among this crowd, all lovers of pink granite coast, there is surely someone who is looking for you !

- Smile again, (only if you're speaking well French) a master of humor, Thierry Le Luron (cheerleader), is from Ploumanac'h and is buried here in the cemetery of the village of Clarity. Go give him a quick hello, he will lift your spirits! -

Or finally, if you love race sailing la course en solitaire du Figaro, the town of Perros may be a step for you ... and among thousands of visitors...

- Finally don't forget that the pink granite coast was worth it, anyway.... (There are only 3 pink shores in the world, one here, one in Corsica and one in China ...).
But the other two have no saint for singles, no ... Saint Guirec



Read this article in French : Comment rencontrer l'âme soeur en Bretagne sur la côte de granite rose

I was wondering what kind of green walk I could do when I remembered this legend...

Teillay is a small village about ten miles from Bain de Bretagne. It is in the forest, bordering the administrative border of Brittany and Pays de la Loire in France, that a story took place during the French Revolution.
Leaving the village take the first road into the forest on your right hand. Go a few hundred yards, you will notice a small trail that leads to a grave. The legend is reported in several versions, the end is the same : the girl died ! ...



Sainte Pataude is buried here, according to the legend, (Pataud means clumsy and it was the nickname given to Republicans by the Chouans) ...
And you'll understand why when you know the story of Marie Martin, (Sainte Pataude) a young woman from Tresboeuf... a village in the surroundings... She is 18, 19 years and works in a shop. The Chouans (the Monarchists) are looking for her... because she denounced the Royalists or because they did not like the attachment of her master to the Republic. Anyway, she did resist ...
The story happened in 1795, 6 years after the French Revolution, days of hate and cruelty in France between the Monarchists and the Republicans ... The girl didn't talk... The soldiers took her... She suffered all sorts of atrocities (I'll spare you the details, Amnesty International did not exist at the time but they would have had something to do!) and ended up hanged by the hair ... She is buried at the foot of the oak where she was found.



Soon rumors suggest that patients who went on her grave, came back healed ... Curiously the refractory priests tried to stop beliefs by threatening to excommunicate the "pilgrims" who came ... for miraculous cures. (Don 't forget the Chouans killed her, the defendants of the right to believe in God). Anyhow, as it is written in the report of the time, everyone, aristocrats (against Revolution) and patriots (for), went there.

The tomb is still visited today. It is covered with flowers, clothes are hanging on trees, shoes littered the floor, letters testify to the Saint's commitment. Sainte Pataude is still prayed for children, to help them walk (small children's shoes are around the grave), but also for many other ailments or hope of healing. The number of ex-votos on the site shows how Sainte Pataude can still help many desperates.



The local newspaper explains that the villagers continue to maintain the grave, for fear that if they abandoned it, they'll get bad luck and misfortune.

Read this article in French : Croyance populaire : tombe à la fille

The idea is pharaonic ...
its size first: a breton valley with monumental statues (over 3 meters high) .... and its number: 1000 granite Saints ....
What a job! Most of them are still invisible, they are waiting for the sculptors to create them...



The project of the association, is to create an Easter island, a Breton one for the 3rd millennium … to glorify the memory of 1500 years of popular Breton culture ... and to protect the identity of the region.

The first Patron Saints to be carved are those who helped for the Christianization of Britain.
At St. Pol de Leon, during the summer of 2009, artists began to carve the granite and St. Pol was born. 6 other saints of Christianity have followed: Pattern, Malo, Brieuc, Corentin Tugdual and Samson. Each one done by a different artist ...

These works of art were looking for a place to stay : 9 cities have been competing to receive the project. And the city of Carnoët , central Britain, (a few kilometers from Carhaix), won the bet.

After a summer on the coast, the statues returned to their final home, the elected site Tossen Sant Gweltaz .... And the valley began to be inhabited.
The project continues ... There are still a few (!) dozens of carving statues to be done to "feed" the valley. Sponsorship (each statue-menhir is funded by a company) must allow sculptors, each year make their works in granite. From May to September, each month, 8 artists will carve a Catholic patron saint with its attributes (about forty a year). If you want to compete, go on ! The sculpture competition will go on for a while !

The association hopes to attract thousands of visitors and be a cultural crossroads site (Welsh, Irish, Cornish, Breton ...). A center of information and documentation about the Middle Ages (time when the Saints arrived in Britain), the reconstruction of a Celtic monastery and a stage to receive theatrical, musical ... will be created too.

The idea is certainly very good ... and very ambitious, for sure. An arts center to attract hikers from everywhere with a unique site in France, even in the world .... in the Center of Brittany .... (according to the Tourism Committee of Britain, visitors come overwhelmingly in the region to enjoy the coastline, coasts and sea ..). To divert the flow to the inside of Brittany, you need at least a mammoth project ... The musical festival in Carhaix, festival des vieilles charrues, is a good example of success, it is one of the biggest music scene in France...

I went to see ... this winter, these carved megaliths. It is not easy to find them... There was no sign for the precious valley. I was a bit lost in Carnoët when a nice lady told me where to go. It's in the land, park in front of a beautiful church with a beautiful Calvary and after a few meters, you'll arrive at the place which hosts the statues.



The three-meters high statues watch you from the top of the hill.

But for now, the Saints seem to be standing there ... ! and wait for friends! ... May be this outdoor celtic park in Brittany will be competing with Disneyland Paris!



Read this article in French : la vallée des saints : 1000 statues à Carnoët (Bretagne)

North coast of Brittany is beautiful… Specially the pink granite coast. And in land, some kilometers away from the coast, you’ll discover an unusual standing stone.



Everybody knows that Brittany is THE land of standing stones (men in Breton means stone and hir lifted). And even if it is still not clear what they were done for, and that lots disapeared, they are still everywhere. And some of them are unique.

If you stay on the pink granite coast near Pleumeur Bodou, you need to go to the menhir of Saint Uzec (Saint Duzec) on the village called Plemeur Bodou.



This menhir is impressive, massive. First, its size, about 8 meters, on the top of a hill, you can see it from far away.We do not know its meaning when it was first erected during the Neolithic Time (5000 to 4000 BC), but it seems clear that our ancestors wanted it to be noticed. And some centuries later, it has been christianized with a granite cross, 27 sculptures and a painting that has been erased by the time.

You’ll admire it from the chapel of Saint Uzec on the opposite hill.



The granite church was built in the late fifteenth century, long before the transformation of the standing stone. Its bell tower is original - a tower-wall - all rectangular in which you can fit 3 bells. It is dedicated to Saint Uzec (also Judoc or Josse), a Breton prince of the sixth century who did not want to inherit his land and his title and instead became an hermit. 2nd Sunday of July takes place a pilgrimage.

Opposite stands the menhir. Its huge size could impress the Christian spirits. Surrounded by an enclosure, surmounted by a cross and decorated with symbolic sculptures, it is one of the most beautiful Christianised menhirs of Brittany. It became national heritage in 1889.
The tradition says that the menhir was transformed in 1674. And it is as if it alone brought together all the symbols of Christianity, all topped with a carved cross with a Christ on the cross. The 27 sculptures are arma christi (objects or instruments of the Passion). That are images that evoked the suffering and agony of Christ, before and during the crucifixion (Passion of Christ).
They were common in the eighteenth century and understood by the population. Today, those symbols –in France- are no more known.



The sun and moon symbolize the resurrection and death. A spear and a stick or a spear and a reed with a sponge (which satisfies the thirst of Christ on the cross) mention the arrest of Jesus. The vase and the hand are the pictures for Pontius Pilate who sentenced him to death.
A woman praying, Veronica’s veil which was used to wipe his face, the scale refers to the descent of the cross. The seamless tunic (clothing that the Virgin has created for his son who grew up with him), the three nails…

A large panel explains the standing stone in English. The vertical grooves are signs of erosion ... Yes, it's raining in Brittany, huh!
On old postcards of the last century, there are a painting of Christ on the cross, which has unfortunately disappeared. The sculptures were also painted. You can walk in this area, there are lots of paths …



Read it in French : Le menhir christianisé de Saint Uzec en Bretagne

In Brittany, Saints used to be quite important in the daily life. Because they were “natives”… I mean they were either born in the region or they did something remarkable and therefore they were venerated.



On the other hand, their fame did not transcend breton boundaries… and usually the Church did not recognize them.

Saint Lénard or Léonard is one among those breton Saints. His grave is located on the village of Andouillé Neuville, (right on the old road going from Rennes to Mont Saint Michel RN 175) and he is still quite famous.

The grave is at the end of a long tree-lined lane. It is also full of ex voto ( an ex voto is an object given to a Saint for a special wish).



A sign reminds us the legend of Saint Lénard and explains that in 1580 there used to be a small chapel dedicated to him in a wood called Bois de Borne. But nowadays the Bois de Borne is really tiny and the chapel gone. The grave is still there but it seems that it has been erected much later during the 19C.



The website of Aubigné ( the district of Andouillé Neuville) presents the 19C legend.

Once upon a time … a bad guy called Léonard used to live in the surroundings of Aubigné. He loved to disturb his neighbours and specially the carters. He used to stand big stones in the middle of the roads. Or he would dig large holes to wedge the carts.
He was hated by the population as everybody knew he was responsible for the troubles of the roads.
One day he was wandering in the forest (bois de Borne where his grave is) and as he was thirsty he tasted an apple that wasn’t ripe enough. He decided to put back it on an old oak and wait till it is good enough to be eaten. Sometimes later he came back to savour the apple and it was really nice. He thought :
Everything could change in better even myself…
And he decided to become a good boy from now on…

Just at that moment he saw a carter that was stuck in the middle of the road. He jumped to help him. But the carter thought that he wanted once again to annoy him. He hit him on the head and killed him. And then buried him.

Sometime later rumors began to say that on the grave, miracles were done. And that’s the way Lenard became an holy man without the help of the Church. A Pilgrimage on his grave began to cure sick people.

The actual grave was built in 1867 as it is written on the cross. A pilgrimage used to take place till the 70’s and the money given was used to buy bread for the poors…
Today the grave is still visited and lots of ex-voto



indicate that Saint Léonard is a healer Saint.



Read it in French : Le tombeau de Saint Lénard (Léonard)