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Île -de- Ré and Brittany

8/9/2015

12 Comments

 
 Île-de-Ré and Brittany
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After a wonderful week in Paris, we caught the train to Rennes. Taking trains in France can be  somewhat nerve-racking. A billboard shows you the track the train will be arriving on 20 minutes before departure. After the announcement, everybody rushes up or down the assigned track, trying to find the right car where they have a reserved seat. In our case, the announcement wasn't made until 10 minutes before departure, so you can just imagine the pushing and shoving to  get onto the train. I almost lost my hubby because he is so polite, allowing people to pass. Once we arrived in Rennes, we rented a car and drove to the Île-de-Ré to visit friends who own a house on this gorgeous island. The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Our three-day stay was relaxing and fun. We went to the local market and bought fresh fruit, cheeses, oysters and fresh-caught fish. Our first meal on the island was mules frites (mussels and French fries). It was so much fun to have our friends show us this beautiful island. I bought a lot of different sea salts and brought them home.
Île de Rey
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After a short and sweet visit with our friends, we left for a three-hour drive to Quimper,  a picturesque town in Bretagne with cobblestone streets, shops and museums. Quimper is generally regarded as the cultural center of Brittany. Once a year, an annual festival celebrates the Breton Culture. From Quimper, we explored the surrounding area for the next three days.
Our first stop was Pont-Aven, an attractive little village best known for its  association with Paul Gauguin. Here we had breakfast, visited the local market and walked by some old mills. 
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Point -Aven is a tourist destination, as is Corncarneu, our next stop. We did not stay very long because it was simply too touristy for us. Our next stop was Bénodet on the southern coast of Brittany. 
We took a nice stroll along the bay watching the sail boats and found a great place to have a wonderful lunch. We had fried fresh sardines on a bed of lettuce with tomato dip. My husband had a wonderful piece of white fish on top of a zucchini ragout with olives and capers in a tomato sauce. I had a most delicious scallop salad with prosciutto. I love the pink tails on the scallops.
After our great lunch, we decided to go for it and drove to Pointe du Raz, a promontory that extends into the Atlantic Ocean. This wild and windy point is one of Brittany's most popular natural sites. It has breathtaking cliff-top walks and white-washed houses nearby.
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After our stay in Quimper, we drove to Cancale. Mention Cancale to a foodie and a quick reply will be "oysters," which have been cultivated here for hundreds of years. Originally, we were to meet some friends for a night but it didn't work out. All we had left were local oysters and crab. For our first course, we sat on a sea wall eating oysters we had  bought from one of a dozen vendors. It was a memorable experience eating these briny magnificent sea creatures, throwing the shells on the beach.
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The next day, we drove to Rennes to drop off our car and take the train back to Paris, where we flew home the next morning. Don't ever assume that dropping off a car at the train station outside of Paris would be easy. We had no idea that the entire railroad station was a giant construction zone which made it a real challenge to drop off the car. I asked the lady at the counter if people had just abandoned their cars and taken a taxi to bring the key. She nodded yes. 
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Traveling is always an adventure and life is good. Bon voyage .
12 Comments
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert link
8/13/2015 05:25:21 am

What a fun adventure. I adore traveling especially to places far away!

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Gerlinde
8/13/2015 06:50:58 am

This was a fun trip with a lot of new things to see.

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EllaDee link
8/13/2015 03:11:04 pm

Wonderful photos and seductive travel narrative. Oh, tempt me you do! I love oysters both au natural in presentation, and location, and also the pink tails on the scallops.

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Gerlinde
8/16/2015 01:52:46 am

EllaDee, I was tempted so much with the food on my vacation that now I have trouble getting into my clothes.

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Pamela link
8/14/2015 04:15:38 am

You have friends in all the right places!! :-)

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Gerlinde
8/16/2015 01:53:41 am

I'm a lucky girl!

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Marylin Warner link
8/15/2015 01:17:28 pm

WOW! Thank you for taking me along on this adventure through your pictures and wonderful writing details, Gerlinde!

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Gerlinde
8/16/2015 01:59:39 am

Thank you Marilyn, coming from you it means a lot. Writing is still a struggle for me and I think it always will be.This is good practice!

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mimi link
9/18/2015 03:51:34 am

Wow, what beautiful photos. Now I'm even more determined to visit Bretagne. I had no idea Quimper is in that region. My mother has a lot of old Quimper pieces. Thanks for the link!

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Gerlinde
9/19/2015 10:37:01 pm

Quimper is a cute town, I enjoyed staying there.

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Diane Koenig
4/17/2016 08:56:29 pm

Gerlinde I finally read your post on Brittany as we will be going there this summer. It looks divine with still the picturesque feeling of the days of Van Gogh and Gaugin. I really look forward to eating fresh from the sea food and bringing back some pottery from the region.
Diane Koenig

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Gerlinde
4/17/2016 10:21:01 pm

Brittany is beautiful. I wish I could go with you.

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    I love to cook and I also love to travel. Traveling exposes me to a wide variety of food and experiences. I walk around cities looking for markets, restaurants, bakeries, shops, you name it, if it is related to food you will find me there, tasting, smelling, talking to vendors, having a great time.

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