Menhir- great walk from the house!

Ever heard of a Menhir??? You may remember Asterix carrying one???

From Wikipedia:

A menhir (from Brittonic languages: maen or men, “stone” and hir or hîr, “long”^[1]), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs’ size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top.

There is one about a mile from the house. You do have to be brave enough to head down a dirt path and explain to the farmer where you are going! He was very friendly and down the path, past the cows, it was there!

The signs explains that it is the Standing Stone of La Coudre. It explains the stone in French and English!

It was impressive to see it—and the walk makes a good two mile trek out of the house.

Vannes- Highly Recommended on Saturday

Visiting Vannes will take some time from the house. It is about an hour and a half to drive, but well worth it- especially on market day!

I arrived to a bustling town full of market shoppers in the walled city. There is an indoor market, fish market, and outdoor market. Food, fruit, vegetables, clothes, jewelry, and more. You can walk for an hour or two just looking at it all.

I stopped at the harbor and had lunch- very yummy! There was all of the seafood choice you could ever have. I had a bowl with salmon and fresh vegetables!

My final stroll was through the rampart gardens- just perfect.

Six months of learning! Merci, HHiF!

I have had my house for six months and it has provided me with so much opportunity to learn.  It has created an endless number of questions, to which I get French answers, and other questions to which I have to let go and try to understand.   The house may be my best French teacher of all time (but, I still love MKB for those of you who know her).

The first thing the house has taught me is vocabulary.   There are so many words for things in a house and things you need to fix a house that I just never knew!  I’m not sure I know them all in English, so this complicates things even more.  I have spent hours in French DIY stores, which I have now come to love, just looking at the names of things.   It is even more difficult when you need to buy something, like a sink stopper.  How do you say that?  I ended up with “the thing you put in the sink to keep the water from escaping” and then just ordered them on Amazon!

The second thing the house has taught me is community.  In just six months there is a whole host of characters in my life in France that I never knew before.   It reminds you that people are good and you can always find and make friends if you try.   The best of these new people in my French house life is Sue, who take care of the house.  I have learned so much from her and she has been wonderful.

The final thing that the house has taught me, and reminded me every day, is that there is really no right or wrong in the world.  You can do anything anyway and it works.   My favorite was the idea to put yogurt down the toilet to keep the septic tank working!   It makes perfect sense when you think about it, but I had to think about it when I heard it the first time.   We just get so used to our own ways that we start to think that are the only way.  My house is reminding me that this is just my own lens and it is important to keep those lenses open and moving.

So thank you, Holly’s House in France for a good first six months!

Everything you need- Merdrignac!

About 15 minutes from the house you have everything you could ever need in the town of Merdrignac.

There is a market every Wednesday! You won’t want to miss it, but if you do there is also a larger supermarket in the town. It is a great in between the small market in Collinee and the large stores in Lamballe.

Merdrignac is also a great place to go out for lunch, dinner or a drink. There are several restaurants on the Main Street.

There are two bakeries in the town, one of which has my favorite pain au raisin of the region ( I am a bit of a connoisseur of these yummy pastries! )

You can also find a very friendly post office, banks, ATMs and other small shops. It is a great stop for an afternoon or quick trip from the house!

Day in Dinan

Dinan is such a beautiful city with an old city center that is perfect for a day out. Just ramble through the streets, look at the buildings, pop in and out of the shops, and stop for a coffee or ice cream. You will love it!

Dinan is only half an hour from the house and on the way to St Malo and other cities, so you can combine it with another visit to make a full day. There is plenty of parking as you come into the city center as the old part of the city is all pedestrianized.

You can see my gelato stop below. How do you ever choose??? I had mint chocolate!

Regional Products! Buy Bretagne!

Brittany is famous for so many things- dairy, apples, cidre and an independent spirit ( it speaks to the Texan in me!). So why not buy products from the region?

When in the store, look for the Brittany flag on products or items that say “de Bretagne”. A great example is this milk- it’s from the region! You can find eggs, milk, cheese, butter, jams, juices, and many things that are regional in the grocery store.

There are several items that the region is really famous for- and cidre must be the most well known. This is an alcoholic drink that is made from apples. My favorite thing to do with it is to make a kir Breton as an aperitif. This is cream de cassis and cidre. Many people love cidre with their meals- remember, you drink it from a cup that looks like a bowl- not a wine glass!!

There are many other specialties- a cookie that is distinctly Breton, the Kouign Amman that is an apple cake, the Breizh soda ( like a local coke!) and salted caramels! All very, very Breton!

Beaches!!!

Ready to spend the day at the beach? Or at least take in some sea air while you eat a lovely meal? Then I highly recommend Erquy and the beaches all along the bay.

About 40 minutes from the house you will be spoiled by sandy beaches and lovely restaurants, sea side shops, and wonderful places to have a coffee or a smoothie!

I would recommend an entire day to take advantage of everything there is to do. Make sure to take your beach towels and your flip flops!!

Josselin- worth the trip!

Josselin is about 45 minutes from the house. It is such a lovely town with old timbered houses, a river with lots of water activities, and a castle that you can visit! It is the perfect day out- have lunch and enjoy the perfect village atmosphere and then sight see!

The castle

You must take a guided tour of the castle and there is one a day in English. The tour lets you see the lower floor of the castle that is still lived in by the Rohan family. The rooms are beautifully kept and fully furnished. The tour takes about 45 minutes and then you can stroll through the gardens and have a look at the tower.

After the tour, enjoy the city! I had lunch in a lovely bistro and sat outside watching the world go by. There are many little shops with souvenirs, art, and food.

This is my salad with hot goat’s cheese on toast (chèvre chaud!). Absolutely my favorite!!!

There is also a river with kayaking and paddle boarding. So you can spend the afternoon on the water if you like!

A very highly recommended day out!

Cancale: Best day trip!

If it is a sunny summer day, consider a day trip to Cancale. It is a little further away from the house- about an hour- but worth it! It is just on the coast of the English Channel and you can see Mt. Saint Michel in the distance on a clear day.

There are so many choices to eat- you can go to any of the beautiful restaurants that face the shore and order. The specialty is Oysters, but you can get all sort of seafood and even other options if seafood isn’t your thing.

The other option is to go to the market and get oysters and wine to go and sit on the pier or on the beach and have a picnic!

There are tons of cute shops, souvenir stores and lots of Brittany merchandise. It is a wonderful day out with a great meal and lots to see and do! Don’t forget the beaches- you can swim here as well!!

Day trip to St Malo

How did this idea of a house in Brittany start? It all started when someone asked me where I would go if I could go anywhere in the world. My answer was St. Malo!

This is a beautiful sea side city about 45 minutes drive from the house. The walled city has everything- shopping, souvenirs, and wonderful food! It is a perfect day out and you can even go for a swim if you like!

It is a perfect way to spend the day- strolling the street looking at all of the restaurants and people. I love to look at all of the choices for Moules – mussels! There are so many choices for the sauce they are cooked in!

I love to chose a restaurant and have moules with a glass of wine and watch the world go by! There are also wonderful gelato shops and soft serve ice cream shops to finish the day!