Brittany April 2023
Britany by Jean Luc Bannalec
In January our friend Axel recommended we try a series of murder mystery stories that take place in Brittany. Now as the planner I am, we had already booked our whole 3-month trip by then. But after reading one or two of the books, we decided we had to go to Brittany. So we juggled our lodging arrangement and booked two weeks in Concarneau, the city where the Chief inspector, Georges Dupin, lives and works. It meant a really stupid geographical trip – from the south to the north to the center to Paris. Many extra hours of driving, but it turned out to be really worth it. Britany is beautiful and fascinating. Brittany is a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic. We were staying the in Department of Finisterre, named by the Romans Finistereor end of the world. And the Bretons take this seriously. The Celts were the first settlers, and the language is Celtic based. Music and traditions are Celtic also. It’s a place where there is a fairy or legend behind every rock, including the home of King Arthur and Merlyn. For a true Breton, France and Paris or foreign places. And because of the warm Atlantic current that hits southern Brittany, one finds palm trees and tropical plants. Bannalec’s books are an odeto the area and convinced us we had to see it.
We decided to let Bannalec’s books guide our trip.
I’m so glad I lived long enough to visit this northern province of France. So much natural beauty, history and good food! I’d like to share this with you, perhaps to entice you to come see for yourself and to make a permanent record to which I can refer when my memory deserts me.
Where is Brittany?It’s as far to the Northwest as you can go in France (see map below).
It’s Springtime here. The tree leaves are popping. Their light greens make me think they would make a good salad. The fields are deep green of varying hues. And then the vast fields of vibrant, happy yellow rapeseed create such a contrast. We remember maybe ten years ago when these yellow fields were few and far between. Now they are all over the country.
Few vineyards here. While Brittany does produce somewine – a type of Muscadet–it is known for itsexcellent hard cider, apple brandy – calvados– and now, beer. The primary products here are seafood and grain.
Food: After spending 3 weeks in Meze in the south of France whereeverywhere you look are mussel and oyster farms, we thought we would be limited to crepes during our stay in Brittany. ButNOT so! The seafood is fantastic. Brittany is known as a primary producer of sardines. Concarneau, our base of operations, is the primary Brittany seaport for tuna. The canning of fish is a major, and historic, industry here.Almost every restaurant prides itself on its seafood offerings. Today I had couteaux farcis. A strict French translation would be “stuffed knives”. In reality: stuffed razor clams. Lots of garlic and butter. Wow!
Fish soup is delicious and available everywhere, including in jars at the grocery store.
Pastries. Our local bakery in Salisbury, Anna Rosa, offers Kouign Aman – a wonderful multi-layered, rose-like pastry made with lots of butter. Here in Brittanywhere it was invented, kouign aman is a pie shaped pastry and sold everywhere. Pastry shops are amazing.Everything they make is delicious. Why? I surmise that it’s the amount of butter they use. As a matter of fact, in the not-too-distant past there was a “butter strike” here in Brittany. Farmers pay no tax on butter production. That’s why no cheese is produced here, unlike in neighboring Normandy. Anyway, Breton butter producers discovered that they could make more exporting butter than selling it locally. Things got vicious until a settlement was reached whereby the butter producers were forced to pay a tax on butter they exported. The French consume more butter than most countries.
On our car trip up here, we stopped to buy sandwiches at a rest stop. The only ham sandwiches they offered were ham and butter. No mayo. No mustard.
The other staple here is the crepe and its cousin, the galette. The difference? The crepe is made with wheat flour; the galette is made with buckwheat flour. You can make a meal out of the two. The galette is savory – like ham, cheese and mushroom, even lobster and scallops. The crepe is sweet – like butter and Grand Marnier topped with whipped cream, or Chantilly, as they call it here. The menu in a Creperie reminds me of old Howard Johnson’s 31 flavors.
Maybe we’re just spoiled, but so far beefsteak hasn’t been a good experience. Unless you consider jaw exercise a plus or have a huge budget.The beef here is very lean, not marbled. Other meats – pork, lamb, badger – are good and tender. (I was lying about the badger). I take it back. We just barbecued some faux filet. Very tender!
Concarneau: Lies on the southern coast of Brittany, just southeast of Quimper on the map below.So, why did we pick this town? It was because of Inspector Dupin. He’s the hero of a series of detective novels we became entranced with: “Brittany Mysteries” by Jean Luc Bannalec.Dupin is based in Concarneau. He eats at one of our favorite restaurants, L’Amiral, located right next to the Police Station. What attracted us was the many locations he visits while he’s solving crimes. For instance, he visits Le Foret de Broceliande. This forest is allegedly the turf of King Arthur and his knights of the Roundtable. In the forest lies the Church of the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Eternal Youth, and the Valley of No Return.Merlin is allegedly buried somewhere in the forest.
We haven’t been disappointed. L’Amiral faces the port, and a small island connected by a footbridge. On the island lies the Ville Close, a 15th Century town enclosed in ramparts. Inside the walls lies a tourist attraction: gift shops, restaurants, cafės and a Fishing Museum. People live there too. (see photo)
My travel agent, Anzie, found us a great location, within walking distance of the town center.Off-street parking, a little yard, even a barbecue.
Finistere: The region where we stayed is named Finistere, or “End of the Earth”. Looking at the attached map you can see why they call it that. The land reaches pretty far west. The other day we drove as far west as we could. We ended up at Pointe de Raz. Parking at the beach, we saw several surfers wearing wetsuits. It was a bit misty. I tried to peer as far west as I could. Once the mist cleared just a bit. I swear I saw what appeared to be a silhouette of the Empire State Building!
Being the most distant province from Paris, the Bretons felt they were neglected by the government. They also felt like strangers in a strange landdue to the difference in language and customs.Breton language isCeltic-based, as opposed to the Latin influence of French. We include a pic of a typical Breton road sign as an example. And the city we stayed in was Concarneau or KonkKern! Amazingly, 221,000 Bretons still speak their native language.
Architecture: The typical Breton house has an almost formulaic appearance. Built of stone, it has two wide chimneys – one at either end –a steep roof, often with dormers. The roof is shingled in black slate. It used to be thatched. The newer houses are covered with white cement.
Famous Bretons: Sarah Bernhardt, Jack Kerouac, Sir Lancelot, Jules Verne.
Cost of Living: It depends on where you live. Restaurant prices for prix fixe meals are cheaper down South. Hard alcohol – scotch, bourbon, gin – is quite reasonable.Gas? Forget about it! I paid $90. to fill the ten-gallon tank of our Renault the other day. Gas has always been expensive over here. Every city/village has a market day at least one day a week. This is where you can find deals. In the larger cities you’ll find a covered market in a stationary building called Les Halles. They’re lots of fun.
Exploring: How do we keep busy? Just about every day we pick a section of the region to explore. Some examples:
The End of the World: We traveled as far west as we could.
The Forest of Brocėliande: King Arthur’s stomping grounds.
Pont Aven: A charming town.A riverruns through it with restaurants and cafes on one side and picturesque houses opposite. In the mid-19thCentury, a considerable artist colony developed. The founders were Americans. One of the members was Paul Gaugin, who produced some of his finest work here.
Parish Closes:The 16th and 17thcenturies were the wealthiest period for Brittany, based upon the production of linen for sails, and leather. At that time intense competition developed among the villages in the central part of the province. Each parish tried to outdo the next in the complexity and ornamentation of the village church.To be a “Close”, the church must have the following fourcomponents:a wall surrounding the church, a cemetery, a “calvary” – a cluster of religious statuary including Christ on the cross surrounded by mourners, and an “ossuary.”The latter is a building which was used to store the bones of ancient bodies who weredisinterred to make room for the newly deadin the limited space of the church graveyard.
As you will see in the attached photos, the church interiors would leave the term “baroque” wanting. The three most famous: St-Thegonnec, Guimiliau, andLampaul-Guimiliau.We visited Pleyben, Pleyber-Christ, Saint=Thegonnec, Loc-Egunier-Saint-Thegonnec, Lampul and Sizun.See this link: https://www.ciap-enclos.fr/en/parish-closes-gem-of-breton-heritage and https://www.ciap-enclos.fr/en/land-of-parish-closes
The Isles of Glėnan: We took a cruise out to an “archipelago”, a cluster of islands about 15 miles off the coast ofConcarneau.We disembarked on the largest island – St. Nicholas – for about an hour. Boardwalk paths down to a vast white sand beach.Thendid a circle cruise around the cluster. The cruise was guided both in French and English. Although the weatherman didn’t cooperate, we enjoyed it. The water looks like the Caribbean.There is also a famous sailing school founded in 1947 by two former resistance fighters and intended to be a place of quiet and beauty for those injured during WWII. Advice: Bring your own picnic lunch. For additional photos of the islands:https://www.deconcarneauapontaven.com/en/explore/ocean/glenan-islands
Quimperis described as “one of the most attractive cities in Brittanny”. The high steeple of Cathedral St-Corentin guides you to the center of town.The plaza surrounding the cathedral is filled with restaurants, museums (art, history, pottery) cafés, and gift shops. Two rivers come together here. River tours are available.
Of course, there are so many more things to see and do in Brittany that we’re enticed to return. Maybe next year?
Now, on to the Dordogne!
A la prochaine,
Chuck
Brittany
Concarneau
Douarnenez
Port-Aven
Parish Closes
