3. So long and thanks for all the fish.

The penultimate day and we took just a short journey through the countryside to the Abbé de Bon Repos, an old ruin on the banks of the Brest/Nantes canal. As old ruined abbeys go, it was well worth a look around and one of the larger renovated rooms contained an informative exhibition about the history of the canal network in France.

Our drives around the area were not without incident as a couple of times we ran in to protests by the local farmers. The first consisted of a roadblock on the motorway, but as we were waved through we were not hindered unduly. The second we must have missed by a matter of minutes when we stopped off at the hypermarket and the authorities had just cleared up a large pile of rotting fish and straw, recently dumped by the demonstrators. I am sure, dear reader, you can imagine the lingering smell.

The remainder of the time was spent socialising, mostly with other Jersey (temporary) ex-pats who have their own holiday residences in the area and, bearing in mind the incidents described above, I am sure that the protesting farmers would have been more than pleased with our contribution to the local cheese and wine economies.

Thus our few days in Brittany came to a close. Grateful thanks go to Karen for her patience in driving us around, to both Karen and Mel for their most amiable company, the two boys for being well behaved, and to all for being great fun!

2. Fun days and dodgy knights

Most of the second day has been spent in Pontivy, one of the larger towns in the Central Brittany region. Although the sky was grey and damp on the drive down, not long after our arrival the clouds cleared and it became sunny and very warm indeed. We had a short exploration of the town itself and also circumnavigated the 15th century medieval Chateau Rohan. Unfortunately, due to the recent collapse of part of the southern wall, the chateau was closed to the public. Whether or not the funds or the will exists for repair remains to been seen.

Following the old adage of "when in Rome", we joined the locals in the town square for a long and leisurely lunch. The restaurant was crowded and busy, the service was attentive and the boys did well ordering their "jambon et frites" in very respectable French. It is always one of life's pleasures to share a meal in the sunshine with friends and today was no exception.

After lunch we found the local Carrefour and stocked up on some fresh fruit, and then popped into the local patisserie to buy the creamiest of gateau. We then drove a short distance to a picnic area by the side of the dry lake bed and sat with a view of the rolling countryside to consume these sticky and extremely tasty essentials.

The last stop of the day was at an outdoor arena advertising an "Excalibur and the Knights of the Round Table" extravaganza. The small but appreciative crowd enjoyed a show reminiscent of a pantomime version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The boys thought it was a scream even though either they, or us, could understand barely a word. In fairness the displays of horsemanship were quite impressive and the performers acted with enthusiasm.

1. Six go touring in Brittany.

A few weeks ago our friend Karen suggested that we get together and spend a few days in a holiday home owned by mutual friends in Caurel, a small village almost in the centre of Brittany. Not having been to that part of France for nigh on 15 years, this seemed like too good an opportunity to turn down, so Claire and I, together with Karen and her son Caleb (aged 7), Caleb's best friend Kingsley and Kingsley's Mum, Mel booked the ferry, purchased a few Euros, dug out our passports and looked forward to a few days of Bretagne hospitality.

Departure day dawned and it being the first day of the summer holidays, typically it was misty, drizzly and drab. The ferry was also jam packed with parents taking their offspring across to the Continent, determined to make the most of the six week break. Despite the number of cars and passengers however, the ferry departed on time and some eighty minutes later we were driving up the ramp at St. Malo, trusting in the sat-nav and making our way southwards to Caurel.

Our trust was not betrayed and before long we were pulling up outside our Gallic abode. It was a lovely little house, typical of the region offering a panoramic view and with more than enough room for everyone to live in comfort. It also had a reasonably sized garden that could double a football pitch for the two boys. 

After unpacking the priority was food so the girls went off to the local supermarché to stock up on bread, cheese and wine, whilst your correspondent was on child minding duties. Needless to say, the late lunch did not disappoint!

Not surprisingly, time had flown by and we hadn't planned on doing too much for the rest of the day. We did however take a short drive to the nearby Lac du Guerledan, the largest man made lake in Brittany. The view would have been picturesque had the lake not been drained earlier in the year in order to carry out repair work on the dam and hydro electric plant, but the remains of what became underwater buildings and flooded trees provided a rather surreal backdrop.

Needless to say we were all rather tired after dinner and having put the world to rights over a glass of wine/cold beer, our beds were calling.

(Bit of a problem attaching pictures...scroll to the bottom of the page and all four should appear).