Well, today ends my (Jamie's) work travels for now. I have FINALLY returned to London for at least a month. I've spent the last two weeks in Guernsey, and Scott came out last weekend to visit.
And Scott's trip report:
Early Saturday morning I made my way to Gatwick airport to meet my wife (the lovely and talented Jamie) for a weekend away on the second largest Channel Island – Guernsey. Instead of the slightly pricey Gatwick Express, I decided to try the regular overland train from Clapham Junction (about £10 one-way, instead of the £30 for the Gatwick Express – you can also get to Gatwick via overland train from London Bridge, wouldn’t expect it’s much more than from Clapham Junction). I have to say that the trip was actually less stressful than the express – a quick bus ride to the train station then 45 minutes on the train as opposed to the 35 on the express – definitely the way I’ll be going in the future, as I’m cheap enough to not want to spend an extra £20 to save 10 minutes...
The flight was on time and uneventful – I’d decided to fly with Aurigny Air instead of the slightly cheaper but infinitely more annoying Flybe (narrower seat, less legroom, no frills at all). I arrived at the tiny Guernsey airport at about 9:30 and quickly caught a cab into St. Peter Port, the main town on Guernsey.
Unfortunately the cash point at the airport was broken – according to the cab driver it had been broken for a few days. Fortunately Jamie met me outside the Old Government House Hotel where she paid for the ride....have to love being on expenses...
The Old Government House Hotel is THE place to stay in St. Peter Port, especially if you’re on expenses and cost isn’t an issue. It’s a beautiful old building that rambles up and down random staircases and corridors, some hallways featuring only one room. It’s conveniently located just above the interesting bit of St. Peter Port and is within walking distance of several quality pubs, restaurants, and wine bars (although as Steven Wright so insightfully once said: “Everywhere is within walking distance, if you have the time”). The rooms are tastefully decorated with nice bathrooms, slightly hard beds, L’Occitaine bathroom additives (shampoo, soap, conditioner, etc), and the best of all, Gavottes from Dinard (if you haven’t tried these little cookie-like crepe thingies, find them and try them – now).
After dropping off my bags and freshening up a bit, we wandered down to the harbour to buy our tickets to Sark for the day. The £22/person ticket bought us an outbound trip on the noon sailing, and a return on the 6:00pm boat. We had a few minutes to spare so we decided to have a quick breakfast/brunch on a little terrace restaurant a few streets up from the main harbour road. I had a tasty bacon sarny (can’t go wrong with bacon at any time of day) and Jamie went for a highly-citrusy granola, fruit and yogurt bowl thing (it may have been called “La Terrace”, although it may not have been).
The boat ride to Sark takes about an hour and is very scenic – you get to sail past Herm and a few of the really small islands before going around to the back side of Sark where they put the harbour. I suppose all the cliffs and sheer drops on the near side of the island made the far side a better choice, but it adds probably 20 minutes to the boat ride, which is just inconsiderate. The harbour is at the bottom of a very long and fairly steep hill. Sark, as an island, doesn’t have any cars or buses, just lots of horses, bikes, and oddly tractors. There’s a little tractor bus thing that for £1 per adult (£0.50 for a child) will pull you up the hill to the start of the village proper. I’m not sure if it has a name (the village, not the tractor, although I’m not sure if that has a name either).
The first thing that you’ll notice about Sark is the lack of paved roads. The second is the lack of cars, which explains the first. The third thing is the number of tractors about, which seem to have replaced cars for the most part. The fourth thing you’ll notice is what you’ll end up wishing was the first thing – all the horses and the mess they leave behind, both on the dirt roads and on your shoes.
Seeing as it was about 1pm and at least an hour and a half since my bacon, we found a little restaurant for lunch. We stopped at the first one we came across called “La Petite Poule” (the little hen) where I had a not-particularly-convincing onion soup and Jamie had pretty tasty crab cakes.
Seeing as there are no cars on Sark, you basically have three options for sight-seeing – by bike (several rental locations just up from the harbour), by horse-drawn carriage, or by foot. We choose the third option and started off towards La Coupe, a tiny and precipitous bridge thingy that connects the main island with the unimaginatively-named “Little Sark”. Apparently there are stores and buildings and things in Little Sark, however we were distracted by the chocolate shop just before the bridge, where we bought several unbelievably good treats (the hazelnut one was by far the best).
After our chocolates (and the bridge thing, whatever, did I mention the chocolates?) we walked back to the main town type place and found “La Seigneurie” – the ancestral home of Les Seigneurs of Sark, who are the aristocratic rulers of the (until very recently) feudal society. A good portion of their estate is open to the public (by suggested donation of £4, a bit steep by my estimation) where you can wander through the extensive garden, play in the hedge maze, or look at field guns (one of which was left by the German occupiers at the end of the Second World War).
After an hour or so wandering around the La Seigneurie, we headed back into town to find a pub to have a pint or two as we waited for our boat to take us back to Guernsey. Tragically, all the pubs save one close between 5pm and 6pm, which, until we found that last pub, was looking to be a MAJOR problem. Fortunately, some clever people have left their quaint pub open just where you catch the tractor-bus-operation back down to the harbour. I couldn’t believe how cheap that pub was – for a pint of Guinness, a glass of white wine, and a tasty packet of peanuts I was only charged £4.60 – I’ve just been charged £8.30 for the same order save the peanuts in London. I had to ask for the amount I owed twice as I just couldn’t believe it. Best damn Guinness I’ve ever had, other than the free one I had at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin (some people say I’m tight, I prefer to think of it as thrifty).
After getting back to Guernsey, we went back to the OGH (Old Government House) for dinner. They have a fancy-pants restaurant which contains only five or six tables (there’s a less-fancy restaurant down the hall, which also has a bar and a very fancy patio). The fancy restaurant has an unbelievably cheap (£60) seven-course tasting menu, which for the price includes several amuse bouche AND wine pairing (generous pours too, not those cheap little mean pours you sometimes get – I wouldn’t recommend driving to dinner, or planning on walking particularly straight after your meal). The chef obviously takes pride in his craft, and serves fantastic seasonal dishes which are cooked to perfection. The wine pairings are well thought-out and very tasty. If you’ve read any of our trip reports before, you’ll know that Jamie and I are definitely food and wine snobs and don’t lavish undue praise – the restaurant at OGH is by far the best value for money for a high-end meal that I’ve seen in a long time.
After dinner we made our way to the restaurant for a few quick glasses of scotch (for me anyways, Jamie is not a fan, preferring wine instead) as a night cap. We must’ve made it back to our room to sleep as that’s where we woke up. I’m using deduction rather than memory for this leap of faith, I’m sure you’ll understand.
Somewhat unsurprising, we managed to have a lie-in on Sunday morning. After we got up, we walked down to the main bus loop and caught the (clockwise) bus (the 7 bus, the 7a being the counter-clockwise, a very reasonable £0.60 per ride) around the island, a restaurant called “Crabby Jacks” our destination for the day.
Crabby Jacks is located over the road from the beautiful Vezon Bay, one of the several sandy beaches on the far side of the island. I’ve decided to rename (unofficially, of course) the restaurant to Crappy Jacks, as the service was horrid and the food even worse. Jamie fish and crab cakes were mostly potatoes with just a few lonely scraps of crab to be found, and my prawn cocktail (need I say more) was absolutely slathered in Marie Rose sauce. We decided to play it safe and went for burgers and chips. Not much I can really say about that.
We caught the bus the rest of the way around the island and made it back to the airport in time for me to catch my cab back to the airport. Much to my dismay (and everyone else on the flights, I presume), the plane which was supposed to go from Manchester to Gatwick and then to Guernsey where we would get it, broke in Manchester. After a few hours of waiting (at the pub, with a good friend, Mr. Guinness to keep me company) Aurigny managed to charter a plane from Stansted to fly to Gatwick to pick up the Guernsey-bound passengers from London, then pick us up from Guernsey to take us up to Stansted to get us close to home. I was incredibly impressed with both Aurigny for not leaving us stranded on the island, and to Titan Airways out of Stansted for picking us up (they’d already had a full day of flying, and the crew were on overtime to help out – they were fantastic and the flight was excellent – highly recommended if you’re doing a charter out of Stansted).
The ride back from Stansted to Clapham takes much longer than from Gatwick back home, and is quite a bit pricier. Aurigny had arranged a coach to take us back to Gatwick if we wanted, but that would have taken even longer. I got home late and tired, but glad I’d taken the time to explore Guernsey and Sark. I would definitely recommend it if you have extra time and want to see another bit of Britain that you wouldn’t otherwise see.
Friday, 20 June 2008
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Pug Meet Up in Green Park - What a Day!
Today was an exciting one. There is a pug meet up in Green Park behind Buckingham Palace on the first Saturday of every month. As it wasnt too hot today we thought it would be fun to take the monkeys.
First problem of the day: The Victoria Line to Green Park from Clapham was down for engineering works. That meant making two changes on the tube with the kids. Not fun.
We arrived at 2pm and headed to the meet up. There were quite a few pugs there, and of course they were getting alot of attention. Hamilton and Charlie even got their pictures taken a few times on the tube.
After about 15 crazy minutes Charlie had had enough and was panting and wheezing. We took a time out, relaxed for a while and then decided to head home.
Second problem of the day: Turns out Charlie has a phobia of public transit. Not that I blame her, anyone that has taken the tube in rush hour can understand. However she kept wheezing like Willie used to on car rides and it was REALLY embarrassing and started to really worry us. So we got off early and walked home. It was a long way.
So now we have 2 exhausted puggies, and 2 exhausted humans.
Some ideas are better not implemented!
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 10
Monday, 26 May 2008
Today was another travel day. We headed back up to Dinard to catch our flight home in the afternoon. We stopped in the touristy village of Rochefort en Terre, and then again in Dinan for lunch by the river. We got to Dinard with some time to spare so we sat on the beach and had one last drink overlooking the beach. Flight home was uneventful but full as it was the evening of the bank holiday Monday. We had a fantastic time in Brittany, and while they don’t make a lot of cheese in this region, the seafood was amazing. It was different than other regions of France that we have visited, and we loved it too!
Pictures from Day 10:
Today was another travel day. We headed back up to Dinard to catch our flight home in the afternoon. We stopped in the touristy village of Rochefort en Terre, and then again in Dinan for lunch by the river. We got to Dinard with some time to spare so we sat on the beach and had one last drink overlooking the beach. Flight home was uneventful but full as it was the evening of the bank holiday Monday. We had a fantastic time in Brittany, and while they don’t make a lot of cheese in this region, the seafood was amazing. It was different than other regions of France that we have visited, and we loved it too!
Pictures from Day 10:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 9
Sunday, 25 May 2008
We woke up and went downstairs for a very odd breakfast. Cold crepes with no forks, just a knife. Messy, but good. We drove back into town to take a few photos while the light was good before starting out on our driving tour of the Cote Sauvage (Savage Coast). Our first stop was Pointe D’Arradon where we did a quick walk around the harbour. From here you get a great view of the Golfe du Morbihan. Next was a very quick stop at Lamour-Baden, hoping to take the boat over to one of the island to see one the prehistoric megaliths. But it was closed; instead we drove to Auray for a look around and for some lunch.
Auray is a quant little port town on the river with fantastic half-timbered buildings and lots of very touristy restaurants. We had a tasty lunch at one of them – mussels and fries for me and tuna and durade for Jamie. I was forced to have profiteroles for dessert – I hate it when that happens!
After lunch we took a quick walk around the Menhirs at Carnac, and then took a drive to the Savage Coast on the south side of Brittany. It’s much more rugged here than the north coast, and we spent some time sitting on the rocks watching the tide come in and crash against the rocks.
By this point it was getting late so we got back into Isabelle and drove back to Vannes for dinner. It being Sunday, pretty much everything was closed, but we found a nice restaurant to eat at just near the cathedral. We started with a baby scallop dish for me and oysters for Jamie. Next were more scallops for me and curried monkfish for Jamie, followed by cheese and dessert. An excellent way to end our last full day of Francing.
Pictures from Day 9:
We woke up and went downstairs for a very odd breakfast. Cold crepes with no forks, just a knife. Messy, but good. We drove back into town to take a few photos while the light was good before starting out on our driving tour of the Cote Sauvage (Savage Coast). Our first stop was Pointe D’Arradon where we did a quick walk around the harbour. From here you get a great view of the Golfe du Morbihan. Next was a very quick stop at Lamour-Baden, hoping to take the boat over to one of the island to see one the prehistoric megaliths. But it was closed; instead we drove to Auray for a look around and for some lunch.
Auray is a quant little port town on the river with fantastic half-timbered buildings and lots of very touristy restaurants. We had a tasty lunch at one of them – mussels and fries for me and tuna and durade for Jamie. I was forced to have profiteroles for dessert – I hate it when that happens!
After lunch we took a quick walk around the Menhirs at Carnac, and then took a drive to the Savage Coast on the south side of Brittany. It’s much more rugged here than the north coast, and we spent some time sitting on the rocks watching the tide come in and crash against the rocks.
By this point it was getting late so we got back into Isabelle and drove back to Vannes for dinner. It being Sunday, pretty much everything was closed, but we found a nice restaurant to eat at just near the cathedral. We started with a baby scallop dish for me and oysters for Jamie. Next were more scallops for me and curried monkfish for Jamie, followed by cheese and dessert. An excellent way to end our last full day of Francing.
Pictures from Day 9:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 8
Saturday, 24 May 2008
We slept in a bit before heading downstairs for breakfast. We discovered that they don’t take credit cards so we had to make an emergency trip to Loudeac to grab some cash…in doing so we also discovered our cash withdrawal limit on our cards. Luckily we got enough and headed back to the B&B.
After saying goodbye to Christiana and Christian, we drove to Bignan to have lunch at Auberge La Chouanniere which had been highly recommended by Christian – evidently he used to send trainee chefs there. As you would expect, the food was fantastic (including the foie gras as all good meals should include). We highly recommend a stop here if you are heading south.
Next was on to Vannes through the drizzle. We’d been very lucky with the weather so far. As we drove it kept getting worse and worse. We got to Vannes and quickly discovered that the map I’d printed would’ve been better if it had shown the way through town centre. Nevertheless, we found our B&B – Villa Catherine http://www.villa-catherine.fr/ thanks to some fantastic navigation by Jamie.
After getting settled in our room we decided to walk to town for dinner. The 20 min walk seemed like a better idea before we got absolutely soaked. We walked for around for a while, Jamie trying to take photos while I held the umbrella for her. As it was raining so hard, we were forced to stop at several pubs along the way, including an odd Irish place called Paddy O’Dowd’s where we a few pints of Guinness.
At 7:30pm we wandered up the street to the Green Guide recommended La Table des Gourmets for a fantastic 6 course tasting menu with wine pairings. The entertainment for the evening included watching an old guy wine and dine a MUCH younger woman – the debate was if she was a woman of negotiable affection or not…
We trudged back to Villa Catherine and watched the finale of Eurovision 2008 (some European singing competition) before passing out with exhaustion.
Pictures from Day 8:
We slept in a bit before heading downstairs for breakfast. We discovered that they don’t take credit cards so we had to make an emergency trip to Loudeac to grab some cash…in doing so we also discovered our cash withdrawal limit on our cards. Luckily we got enough and headed back to the B&B.
After saying goodbye to Christiana and Christian, we drove to Bignan to have lunch at Auberge La Chouanniere which had been highly recommended by Christian – evidently he used to send trainee chefs there. As you would expect, the food was fantastic (including the foie gras as all good meals should include). We highly recommend a stop here if you are heading south.
Next was on to Vannes through the drizzle. We’d been very lucky with the weather so far. As we drove it kept getting worse and worse. We got to Vannes and quickly discovered that the map I’d printed would’ve been better if it had shown the way through town centre. Nevertheless, we found our B&B – Villa Catherine http://www.villa-catherine.fr/ thanks to some fantastic navigation by Jamie.
After getting settled in our room we decided to walk to town for dinner. The 20 min walk seemed like a better idea before we got absolutely soaked. We walked for around for a while, Jamie trying to take photos while I held the umbrella for her. As it was raining so hard, we were forced to stop at several pubs along the way, including an odd Irish place called Paddy O’Dowd’s where we a few pints of Guinness.
At 7:30pm we wandered up the street to the Green Guide recommended La Table des Gourmets for a fantastic 6 course tasting menu with wine pairings. The entertainment for the evening included watching an old guy wine and dine a MUCH younger woman – the debate was if she was a woman of negotiable affection or not…
We trudged back to Villa Catherine and watched the finale of Eurovision 2008 (some European singing competition) before passing out with exhaustion.
Pictures from Day 8:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 7
Friday, 23 May 2008
We had breakfast on our own this morning as the other guests had left very early. We spent the day driving around the Pink Granite Coast – the north-westish coast of Brittany where the rocks on shore are all huge pink granite masses. It looks like a prehistoric world!
We spent most of the day walking through the amazing cliffs and driving along the coast, stopping for lunch at a creperie in Ploumanach, a tiny fishing village. We were both tired from the late dinner the night before so we headed back to the B&B for a nap before dinner. Jamie managed to fall asleep in the car on the way. We both crashed and then headed down to dinner with Christiana and Christian.
Like last night, the meal was fantastic, featuring Guinea fowl with potatoes and some odd vegetable that tasted like oysters. We had a fabulous time and Christian even shared some of his prized pear brandy with us. A huge honour as it’s his favourite drink and only available in Switzerland. I think we’ve made some new friends, they were so gracious to invite us into their private home for dinner!
Pictures of Day 7:
We had breakfast on our own this morning as the other guests had left very early. We spent the day driving around the Pink Granite Coast – the north-westish coast of Brittany where the rocks on shore are all huge pink granite masses. It looks like a prehistoric world!
We spent most of the day walking through the amazing cliffs and driving along the coast, stopping for lunch at a creperie in Ploumanach, a tiny fishing village. We were both tired from the late dinner the night before so we headed back to the B&B for a nap before dinner. Jamie managed to fall asleep in the car on the way. We both crashed and then headed down to dinner with Christiana and Christian.
Like last night, the meal was fantastic, featuring Guinea fowl with potatoes and some odd vegetable that tasted like oysters. We had a fabulous time and Christian even shared some of his prized pear brandy with us. A huge honour as it’s his favourite drink and only available in Switzerland. I think we’ve made some new friends, they were so gracious to invite us into their private home for dinner!
Pictures of Day 7:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 6
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Today turned out to be a very interesting day. One of the reasons we chose this B&B is to take cooking lessons with Christian Caille, who is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. We started with another basic breakfast of bread and coffee before piling into Christian’s VW West Falia and heading into the unknown. We picked up picnic supplies at a Champion, and we were ready to go pick mussels!
We got on well with Christian, who very much reminded us of a French version of Jamie’s dad – a little disorganized with white hair and beard. We eventually made it to Pointe Minard on the Emerald Coast and managed to find a rather steep path down the cliff to the rocks below. We spent an hour or so prying mussels and oysters off the rocks (Jamie eating more oysters than collecting), managing to fill a fairly large basket.
We climbed back up to the top and enjoyed our picnic lunch of bread, cheese, pate, and carrot salad before heading back to St Caradec for dinner and our cooking lesson.
I started by dicing shallots and chopping parsley and peeling boiled potatoes with Christian while Jamie got a tour of the garden from Christiana. We ate the oysters from the shell as a first course, and then got stuck into a demonstration on cooking mussels which actually turned out to be fairly easy. We ate those with the potatoes that we had fried up and then moved on to the salad and cheese, finally followed by a demonstration of Crepes Suzettes. The whole night we spent chatting with Christian and Christiana. We ended the evening with a magical glass of 40 year old calvados – it tasted like heaven in a glass – best beverage I’ve ever had.
Tomorrow is a drive along the Pink Granite Coast then another meal with Christian and Christiana.
Pictures from Day 6:
Today turned out to be a very interesting day. One of the reasons we chose this B&B is to take cooking lessons with Christian Caille, who is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. We started with another basic breakfast of bread and coffee before piling into Christian’s VW West Falia and heading into the unknown. We picked up picnic supplies at a Champion, and we were ready to go pick mussels!
We got on well with Christian, who very much reminded us of a French version of Jamie’s dad – a little disorganized with white hair and beard. We eventually made it to Pointe Minard on the Emerald Coast and managed to find a rather steep path down the cliff to the rocks below. We spent an hour or so prying mussels and oysters off the rocks (Jamie eating more oysters than collecting), managing to fill a fairly large basket.
We climbed back up to the top and enjoyed our picnic lunch of bread, cheese, pate, and carrot salad before heading back to St Caradec for dinner and our cooking lesson.
I started by dicing shallots and chopping parsley and peeling boiled potatoes with Christian while Jamie got a tour of the garden from Christiana. We ate the oysters from the shell as a first course, and then got stuck into a demonstration on cooking mussels which actually turned out to be fairly easy. We ate those with the potatoes that we had fried up and then moved on to the salad and cheese, finally followed by a demonstration of Crepes Suzettes. The whole night we spent chatting with Christian and Christiana. We ended the evening with a magical glass of 40 year old calvados – it tasted like heaven in a glass – best beverage I’ve ever had.
Tomorrow is a drive along the Pink Granite Coast then another meal with Christian and Christiana.
Pictures from Day 6:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 5
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
After a slightly odd breakfast at the B&B (just bread and coffee – normal for France, but for a B&B?) we packed into Isabelle and started towards Rennes, the capital of Brittany, for the day. We made it as far as Loudeac before getting completely lost as there was a diversion. Problem was that they diverted traffic but never told traffic how to get back onto the highway!
We eventually made it after a beautiful drive of just less than two hours and found parking on the outskirts of the city. Rennes has a great metro system, so we parked and rode the metro into the centre. Getting off we saw our first beautiful view of Rennes. We were in Place Ste Anne, a square lined with cafes and restaurants. We wandered around for a bit before deciding that it was time for lunch. Putting our trust in the Green Guide, we walked across the historic centre of town to a place called Leon le Couchon (Leon the Pig, can you imagine and English restaurant called that!) http://www.leonlecochon.com/leon_le_cochon/plan_leon-le-cochon.htm .
Being the adventurous epicurean that I am, I ordered the andouillette with potatoes, while Jamie went for the safer but infinitely more boring steak. I made it a fair way through the compressed intestine sausage before the thought of what I was eating and the hideous smell of it become too much for me. Jamie thought the whole thing was rather amusing.
After lunch we wandered around, following the walking tour in the Green Guide. Rennes is a beautiful town, filled with narrow streets and half-timbered houses. The walk (more of a relaxed saunter really, with a stop for a crepe and a coffee to get rid of the andouille taste), took a good couple of hours by which time we decided that we were ready for a drink (hmmmm…starting to see a pattern here). We found a little café on Place Ste Anne where we’d started the day and relaxed with a bottle of wine/coffee for a few hours.
We decided that we didn’t want to wait around until 7:30 for the restaurants to open so we took the metro back to the car and headed home. There is a little creperie in our village so we went there (after getting lost again in Loudeac). The crepes were very tasty and the cidar just as good. Still couldn’t get rid of the taste of andouille though!
Pictures from Day 5:
After a slightly odd breakfast at the B&B (just bread and coffee – normal for France, but for a B&B?) we packed into Isabelle and started towards Rennes, the capital of Brittany, for the day. We made it as far as Loudeac before getting completely lost as there was a diversion. Problem was that they diverted traffic but never told traffic how to get back onto the highway!
We eventually made it after a beautiful drive of just less than two hours and found parking on the outskirts of the city. Rennes has a great metro system, so we parked and rode the metro into the centre. Getting off we saw our first beautiful view of Rennes. We were in Place Ste Anne, a square lined with cafes and restaurants. We wandered around for a bit before deciding that it was time for lunch. Putting our trust in the Green Guide, we walked across the historic centre of town to a place called Leon le Couchon (Leon the Pig, can you imagine and English restaurant called that!) http://www.leonlecochon.com/leon_le_cochon/plan_leon-le-cochon.htm .
Being the adventurous epicurean that I am, I ordered the andouillette with potatoes, while Jamie went for the safer but infinitely more boring steak. I made it a fair way through the compressed intestine sausage before the thought of what I was eating and the hideous smell of it become too much for me. Jamie thought the whole thing was rather amusing.
After lunch we wandered around, following the walking tour in the Green Guide. Rennes is a beautiful town, filled with narrow streets and half-timbered houses. The walk (more of a relaxed saunter really, with a stop for a crepe and a coffee to get rid of the andouille taste), took a good couple of hours by which time we decided that we were ready for a drink (hmmmm…starting to see a pattern here). We found a little café on Place Ste Anne where we’d started the day and relaxed with a bottle of wine/coffee for a few hours.
We decided that we didn’t want to wait around until 7:30 for the restaurants to open so we took the metro back to the car and headed home. There is a little creperie in our village so we went there (after getting lost again in Loudeac). The crepes were very tasty and the cidar just as good. Still couldn’t get rid of the taste of andouille though!
Pictures from Day 5:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 4
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Another busy day of driving. We got up at 8:30 and found a café up the street in Dinan (being slightly afraid of the potential breakfast at the hotel) for a coffee and croissant. Next was a short photographical tour of the remains of the ramparts of the old town before packing up Isabelle and hitting the road.
The plan was to head back up to the Emerald Coast near Dinard and explore more of the Breton coast – Cap Frehel and such. The coast was beautiful with rocky points and sandy beaches. We also stopped at Fort la Latte, which is this great fort, perched on a hill overlooking the English Channel.
After walking out to the Point at Cap Frehel, we turned inland and made our way to the centre of Brittany, stopping briefly for lunch in St Alban at a roadside creperie. This was Jamie’s first Breton crepe and it was fantastic - filled with cheese, mushrooms and ham. I enjoyed a lovely salad – is it still considered a salad if it’s covered in bacon and duck?
By taking a somewhat round about route through very rural Brittany (on purpose of course), we made it to our B&B in St Caradec by 3pm. http://www.beautifulbrittany.com/en/index.html We checked in and had a short chat with Christiana. She recommended that we drive the short distance to walk along the canal that Napoleon had built between Nantes and Brest – so we did. It was stunning – miles of seemingly unused locks and canals with a relatively well-kept footpath alongside. We walked for nearly an hour before deciding that it was time for a beverage.
We planned to have dinner in Loudeac, so we drove straight there, with an idea that we’d find a little café on a nice street to have a drink while we waited for dinner. Turns out Loudeac is not that scenic at all. We found an odd little bar called Le Nelson and I had my first pastis of the year while Jamie had a glass of wine. We stretched that out as long as we could before having an éclair down the street while we waited for the restaurant to open (it was excellent by the way). Even that didn’t kill enough time so we decided to go for a drive.
We made it as far as a really manky pub down the road, frequented it seems, by all the local shady men. After an hour and a bit of waiting at the pub we drove back to the restaurant to discover that it was still closed. Closer inspection of the sign outside revealed that it is only open on Wednesday and Saturday nights! As it was Tuesday we contemplated simply going back to St Caradec for a crepe but decided to have a pizza in Loudeac instead.
After a very tasty pizza we only got slightly lost as we tried to make our way back to the B&B. Fortunately, we had the foresight to buy a bottle of wine which we drank on our room. I don’t drive when I drink so had moved to diet coke earlier in the afternoon.
Pictures from Day 4:
Another busy day of driving. We got up at 8:30 and found a café up the street in Dinan (being slightly afraid of the potential breakfast at the hotel) for a coffee and croissant. Next was a short photographical tour of the remains of the ramparts of the old town before packing up Isabelle and hitting the road.
The plan was to head back up to the Emerald Coast near Dinard and explore more of the Breton coast – Cap Frehel and such. The coast was beautiful with rocky points and sandy beaches. We also stopped at Fort la Latte, which is this great fort, perched on a hill overlooking the English Channel.
After walking out to the Point at Cap Frehel, we turned inland and made our way to the centre of Brittany, stopping briefly for lunch in St Alban at a roadside creperie. This was Jamie’s first Breton crepe and it was fantastic - filled with cheese, mushrooms and ham. I enjoyed a lovely salad – is it still considered a salad if it’s covered in bacon and duck?
By taking a somewhat round about route through very rural Brittany (on purpose of course), we made it to our B&B in St Caradec by 3pm. http://www.beautifulbrittany.com/en/index.html We checked in and had a short chat with Christiana. She recommended that we drive the short distance to walk along the canal that Napoleon had built between Nantes and Brest – so we did. It was stunning – miles of seemingly unused locks and canals with a relatively well-kept footpath alongside. We walked for nearly an hour before deciding that it was time for a beverage.
We planned to have dinner in Loudeac, so we drove straight there, with an idea that we’d find a little café on a nice street to have a drink while we waited for dinner. Turns out Loudeac is not that scenic at all. We found an odd little bar called Le Nelson and I had my first pastis of the year while Jamie had a glass of wine. We stretched that out as long as we could before having an éclair down the street while we waited for the restaurant to open (it was excellent by the way). Even that didn’t kill enough time so we decided to go for a drive.
We made it as far as a really manky pub down the road, frequented it seems, by all the local shady men. After an hour and a bit of waiting at the pub we drove back to the restaurant to discover that it was still closed. Closer inspection of the sign outside revealed that it is only open on Wednesday and Saturday nights! As it was Tuesday we contemplated simply going back to St Caradec for a crepe but decided to have a pizza in Loudeac instead.
After a very tasty pizza we only got slightly lost as we tried to make our way back to the B&B. Fortunately, we had the foresight to buy a bottle of wine which we drank on our room. I don’t drive when I drink so had moved to diet coke earlier in the afternoon.
Pictures from Day 4:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 3
Monday, 19 May 2008
We woke up at 8:30 again this morning, hoping to avoid the hordes of tourists that would be descending on the Mont. After quickly getting ready in our plastic enclosures of bathrooms that reminded us of a motor home (with the leakiest shower in all of Europe) we walked up to the abbey at the top of the hill. It was a good thing we got there early as we could already see the lines of buses pulling into the parking lot.
The abbey itself was beautiful and almost completely empty at that hour. We had some of the rooms all to our selves. Hard to believe such a beautiful place even exists!!! We would have loved to see it in full use with monks all around.
We collected our bags and made the short walk down to the reception, grabbing a quick croquet monsieur on the way. I’m glad we hit the abbey when we did – the road was almost solid with ‘pilgrims’ heading up towards the abbey as we left. Even pulling a suitcase through the crowd was difficult…we were like salmon swimming upstream.
We loaded up Isabelle, stopping only briefly to take a few more photos as we went. Our mission for the day was to get to Dinan the long way round. We managed to find it, only making one wrong turn – who needs GPS? Jamie managed to pick right instead of left at the intersection heading into town so I got to drive right through the narrow and cobble stoned old centre of Dinan.
We checked into our rather plain, dorm like room at Hotel Arvor http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/658ac/1eca7/3/ then jumped on the Train Touristique around the city. Jamie has a strange obsession with these tourist trains. Next we walked down the STEEP and rather windy road to the old port and had an excellent 3 course meal on a patio overlooking the River Rance at Auberge Terre Neuve. We had planned on taking the tourist boat cruise from the port; however right across the road from the restaurant was a little place that rented boats.
Being the adventurous nautical types that we are we immediately signed up for a 3 hour tour (fortunately our ship wasn’t called the Minnow). We motored up river for an hour or so, passing through one lock and back again, and then back down river for another hour or so until we got to a little marina. Definitely more fun than the tour boat could have been. All that boating worked up a mean thirst, so after a bit of slightly aimless wandering we found a little pub in front of the basilica St Saveur where Jamie discovered that Hoeggarden is her favourite beer. Being so close we took a quick peak in the basilica before going to Chez la Mere Pourcel (http://www.chezlamerepourcel.com/anglais/index_gb.php) for a fantastic meal in a beautiful half timbered building in the heart of Dinan. We wandered around for another hour or so taking photographs of the town as the light slowly faded.
Dinan is a beautiful town – lots of medieval buildings, half-timbered houses and narrow cobbled streets, excellent food and friendly people make it one of our favourites in Brittany.
Pictures from Day 3:
We woke up at 8:30 again this morning, hoping to avoid the hordes of tourists that would be descending on the Mont. After quickly getting ready in our plastic enclosures of bathrooms that reminded us of a motor home (with the leakiest shower in all of Europe) we walked up to the abbey at the top of the hill. It was a good thing we got there early as we could already see the lines of buses pulling into the parking lot.
The abbey itself was beautiful and almost completely empty at that hour. We had some of the rooms all to our selves. Hard to believe such a beautiful place even exists!!! We would have loved to see it in full use with monks all around.
We collected our bags and made the short walk down to the reception, grabbing a quick croquet monsieur on the way. I’m glad we hit the abbey when we did – the road was almost solid with ‘pilgrims’ heading up towards the abbey as we left. Even pulling a suitcase through the crowd was difficult…we were like salmon swimming upstream.
We loaded up Isabelle, stopping only briefly to take a few more photos as we went. Our mission for the day was to get to Dinan the long way round. We managed to find it, only making one wrong turn – who needs GPS? Jamie managed to pick right instead of left at the intersection heading into town so I got to drive right through the narrow and cobble stoned old centre of Dinan.
We checked into our rather plain, dorm like room at Hotel Arvor http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/658ac/1eca7/3/ then jumped on the Train Touristique around the city. Jamie has a strange obsession with these tourist trains. Next we walked down the STEEP and rather windy road to the old port and had an excellent 3 course meal on a patio overlooking the River Rance at Auberge Terre Neuve. We had planned on taking the tourist boat cruise from the port; however right across the road from the restaurant was a little place that rented boats.
Being the adventurous nautical types that we are we immediately signed up for a 3 hour tour (fortunately our ship wasn’t called the Minnow). We motored up river for an hour or so, passing through one lock and back again, and then back down river for another hour or so until we got to a little marina. Definitely more fun than the tour boat could have been. All that boating worked up a mean thirst, so after a bit of slightly aimless wandering we found a little pub in front of the basilica St Saveur where Jamie discovered that Hoeggarden is her favourite beer. Being so close we took a quick peak in the basilica before going to Chez la Mere Pourcel (http://www.chezlamerepourcel.com/anglais/index_gb.php) for a fantastic meal in a beautiful half timbered building in the heart of Dinan. We wandered around for another hour or so taking photographs of the town as the light slowly faded.
Dinan is a beautiful town – lots of medieval buildings, half-timbered houses and narrow cobbled streets, excellent food and friendly people make it one of our favourites in Brittany.
Pictures from Day 3:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 2
Sunday, 18 May 2008
We began the day with a relatively early morning walk down by the marina in Dinard. Desperately, but futilely, in search of coffee. Being somewhat opposed to paying over the odds for average breakfasts at hotels, we’d decided to skip the €36 option at the hotel. We did finally grab a pain au chocolat and a croissant in a boulangerie on the way out of town.
We gathered our things, collected Isabelle and headed towards St Malo, just across the bay. St Malo was once a famous privateer stronghold where Jacques Cartier was from. Now it is a walled tourist town, full of naff shops selling swords and monogrammed soaps. Well, maybe that is a little harsh, but we prefer the realness of Dinard. Fortunately St Malo redeemed itself by having good espresso and fantastic views from the ramparts.
The city was destroyed during WW2 and has been completely redone, which they have done very well. We wouldn’t have even noticed this if someone hadn’t told us. We walked the ramparts and along the edge is a group of Quebecois flags, so of course, as Canadians, we stopped to take a picture of Jacques Cartier (he ‘discovered’ and claimed Canada for France in 1534). Turns out that it wasn’t Jacques…it was a famous privateer called Surcouf. Why he was standing amongst Quebecois flags is mystery we still haven’t solved! We did find Jacques later but he was off by himself in a park. Hmmm…perhaps a mix up when putting up the statues?
After wandering around the ramparts for a while, we loaded back into Isabelle and drove the Emerald Coast towards our next stop – Le Mont St Michel. After stopping at a lookout point along the way we headed towards Cancale for some famous oysters for lunch. We found a bit of Cancale inappropriately labelled (they have signs when you enter a town and then have a sign with an X through the town name when you leave) as it wasn’t the REAL Cancale, it was Basse Concale…but it had lots of restaurants overlooking the Bay of St Michel. You could even see Le Mont in the distance. We managed to have a very tasty lunch in the sunshine. Later we drove past the real Cancale and it looked very nice. Damn French, first the mustard, now this!! (See previous Francing trip report for mustard story http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=34889327&numresponses=119&start=0&searchText=bikerscott )
We drove along the Bay to the Mont. All along we caught spectacular views of the famous abbey on its little hill in the middle of the Bay. We arrived at the official parking and found a spot for Isabelle, then ascended into Hell.
Le Mont St Michel (actually in Normandy) is a beautiful village which has been completely overrun with massive hordes of tourists and the horrible sword-selling shops that they attract. Of course, we don’t consider ourselves to be tourists ha ha ha. We arrived around 3pm and checked into our hotel, Auberge St Pierre http://www.auberge-saint-pierre.fr/ and wandered around for a bit until we found a nice vantage point to watch the ‘galloping horses’ of the tide come surging across the bay. After 2 cold hours we realized that the horse would probably have to be dead to be out-galloped by the tide! We now have what will most likely be the most boring time lapse photography ever. I blame Jamie for this, as it turns out we were a couple hours early for the tide and she got the time wrong!!!
After 2 hours freezing in the cold we found a suitable bar and I had a grog and Jamie tried a Kir Normande (crème de cassis/cidar/calvados), followed by a bottle of cidar. Yes, a whole bottle. We then headed out for dinner. By this time the day trippers had left and the town was serene and beautiful…exactly why we chose to stay there overnight!
There is really only 1 road on the Mont leading up to the abbey, and what everyone says is true…there is no good food. We settled on Les Terraces de Poulard where we had the worst service ever. Our waiter opened the wine, put it down on the table, and immediately walked away, all without saying a word! Jamie enjoyed her mussels in cream and lobster, and I an omelette with ‘wild’ mushrooms from a tin and the leg of lamb. The wine was delicious anyway, a yummy Chateauneuf du Pape.
We are avid photographers, so after finishing our average meal we dragged out the tripod and got some lovely shots of the abbey all lit up. Absolutely worth putting up with the tourists!
Pictures from Day 2:
We began the day with a relatively early morning walk down by the marina in Dinard. Desperately, but futilely, in search of coffee. Being somewhat opposed to paying over the odds for average breakfasts at hotels, we’d decided to skip the €36 option at the hotel. We did finally grab a pain au chocolat and a croissant in a boulangerie on the way out of town.
We gathered our things, collected Isabelle and headed towards St Malo, just across the bay. St Malo was once a famous privateer stronghold where Jacques Cartier was from. Now it is a walled tourist town, full of naff shops selling swords and monogrammed soaps. Well, maybe that is a little harsh, but we prefer the realness of Dinard. Fortunately St Malo redeemed itself by having good espresso and fantastic views from the ramparts.
The city was destroyed during WW2 and has been completely redone, which they have done very well. We wouldn’t have even noticed this if someone hadn’t told us. We walked the ramparts and along the edge is a group of Quebecois flags, so of course, as Canadians, we stopped to take a picture of Jacques Cartier (he ‘discovered’ and claimed Canada for France in 1534). Turns out that it wasn’t Jacques…it was a famous privateer called Surcouf. Why he was standing amongst Quebecois flags is mystery we still haven’t solved! We did find Jacques later but he was off by himself in a park. Hmmm…perhaps a mix up when putting up the statues?
After wandering around the ramparts for a while, we loaded back into Isabelle and drove the Emerald Coast towards our next stop – Le Mont St Michel. After stopping at a lookout point along the way we headed towards Cancale for some famous oysters for lunch. We found a bit of Cancale inappropriately labelled (they have signs when you enter a town and then have a sign with an X through the town name when you leave) as it wasn’t the REAL Cancale, it was Basse Concale…but it had lots of restaurants overlooking the Bay of St Michel. You could even see Le Mont in the distance. We managed to have a very tasty lunch in the sunshine. Later we drove past the real Cancale and it looked very nice. Damn French, first the mustard, now this!! (See previous Francing trip report for mustard story http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=34889327&numresponses=119&start=0&searchText=bikerscott )
We drove along the Bay to the Mont. All along we caught spectacular views of the famous abbey on its little hill in the middle of the Bay. We arrived at the official parking and found a spot for Isabelle, then ascended into Hell.
Le Mont St Michel (actually in Normandy) is a beautiful village which has been completely overrun with massive hordes of tourists and the horrible sword-selling shops that they attract. Of course, we don’t consider ourselves to be tourists ha ha ha. We arrived around 3pm and checked into our hotel, Auberge St Pierre http://www.auberge-saint-pierre.fr/ and wandered around for a bit until we found a nice vantage point to watch the ‘galloping horses’ of the tide come surging across the bay. After 2 cold hours we realized that the horse would probably have to be dead to be out-galloped by the tide! We now have what will most likely be the most boring time lapse photography ever. I blame Jamie for this, as it turns out we were a couple hours early for the tide and she got the time wrong!!!
After 2 hours freezing in the cold we found a suitable bar and I had a grog and Jamie tried a Kir Normande (crème de cassis/cidar/calvados), followed by a bottle of cidar. Yes, a whole bottle. We then headed out for dinner. By this time the day trippers had left and the town was serene and beautiful…exactly why we chose to stay there overnight!
There is really only 1 road on the Mont leading up to the abbey, and what everyone says is true…there is no good food. We settled on Les Terraces de Poulard where we had the worst service ever. Our waiter opened the wine, put it down on the table, and immediately walked away, all without saying a word! Jamie enjoyed her mussels in cream and lobster, and I an omelette with ‘wild’ mushrooms from a tin and the leg of lamb. The wine was delicious anyway, a yummy Chateauneuf du Pape.
We are avid photographers, so after finishing our average meal we dragged out the tripod and got some lovely shots of the abbey all lit up. Absolutely worth putting up with the tourists!
Pictures from Day 2:
Jamie and Scott Go Francing: Day 1
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Our first day back in France, I can’t believe its been almost two years since we were here. Our flight left late from Stansted, 3:45pm, I’m not sure that I liked the late departure as it seems like a bit of a waste of a vacation day. On the other hand it was nice not having to get up at 3am! It also allowed us to do some last minute chores before heading out. We made it to the airport in good time and got on the flight without incident. As usual, I fell asleep within about 10 mins and stayed asleep pretty much until we landed. We flew Ryanair and it was fine. Jamie hates flying Ryanair because they don’t assign seats and being the competitive one that she is she feels driven to try to get the best seat on the plane. Very stressful.
We arrived in Dinard about 6pm (France is an hour ahead of the UK). The Dinard airport is even smaller than the Cranbrook airport, but still had a Europcar where we picked up Isabelle - a 2008 Volkswagon Golf. Very nice little car. We have this thing where we name all our rental cars, usually after the first female who serves us that day. On our previous trip in 2006 we had a Fiat Stylo named Floriane.
We managed to drive the 10kms to our hotel (Grand Barriere Hotel http://www.lucienbarriere.com/localized/fr/hotel.htm ) without getting lost AND I didn’t hit any buses! (My first attempt to drive in the UK started out by sideswiping a double decker bus in London last summer…oops). The girl (Isabelle) at the airport offered us GPS, but we decided to wing it ourselves. Jamie actually likes being navigator and the signage in France is fine. Even getting lost can be a bit fun…for a while. The hotel was incredible. 5 star all the way. Jamie had booked it through Ryanair and got it for a very reasonable £100 a night. I felt a little odd leaving Isabelle with the valet after only having her for 10 mins but that’s how they roll here.
After dropping off our bags in our room, we started out for a walk around the edge of the ocean. I think Dinard may have been one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever been in (at least before I say Dinan…more on that later). It’s simply amazing with the lights of St Malo across the narrow bay.
We got some cash out of a bank machine and found a decent looking restaurant for dinner. Jamie was all excited when she saw all the platters of seafood on other peoples table and so we decided to have one. They looked like a decent side so we ordered appies and ‘The Admiral Platter’ for 2. Turns out the platters on other tables was the appy size platter. The Admiral Platter proved that I am at best only a captain. Our platter was HUGE!!! Two layers of platters stacked high with 2 types of crabs, languistines, prawns, whelks, winkles, oysters and shrimp. We laughed and took a picture it was so big. But we dug in and finished most of it. As it turns out we don’t have a liking of whelks and winkles (snails), even though we do like escargot.
After dinner we wandered up through town and back to the shore where we found a little place for dessert and beverages – an amazing apple tart and muscadet for Jamie and three mini glasses of Calvados for me. An excellent end to our first day back in France!
Pictures from Day 1:
Our first day back in France, I can’t believe its been almost two years since we were here. Our flight left late from Stansted, 3:45pm, I’m not sure that I liked the late departure as it seems like a bit of a waste of a vacation day. On the other hand it was nice not having to get up at 3am! It also allowed us to do some last minute chores before heading out. We made it to the airport in good time and got on the flight without incident. As usual, I fell asleep within about 10 mins and stayed asleep pretty much until we landed. We flew Ryanair and it was fine. Jamie hates flying Ryanair because they don’t assign seats and being the competitive one that she is she feels driven to try to get the best seat on the plane. Very stressful.
We arrived in Dinard about 6pm (France is an hour ahead of the UK). The Dinard airport is even smaller than the Cranbrook airport, but still had a Europcar where we picked up Isabelle - a 2008 Volkswagon Golf. Very nice little car. We have this thing where we name all our rental cars, usually after the first female who serves us that day. On our previous trip in 2006 we had a Fiat Stylo named Floriane.
We managed to drive the 10kms to our hotel (Grand Barriere Hotel http://www.lucienbarriere.com/localized/fr/hotel.htm ) without getting lost AND I didn’t hit any buses! (My first attempt to drive in the UK started out by sideswiping a double decker bus in London last summer…oops). The girl (Isabelle) at the airport offered us GPS, but we decided to wing it ourselves. Jamie actually likes being navigator and the signage in France is fine. Even getting lost can be a bit fun…for a while. The hotel was incredible. 5 star all the way. Jamie had booked it through Ryanair and got it for a very reasonable £100 a night. I felt a little odd leaving Isabelle with the valet after only having her for 10 mins but that’s how they roll here.
After dropping off our bags in our room, we started out for a walk around the edge of the ocean. I think Dinard may have been one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever been in (at least before I say Dinan…more on that later). It’s simply amazing with the lights of St Malo across the narrow bay.
We got some cash out of a bank machine and found a decent looking restaurant for dinner. Jamie was all excited when she saw all the platters of seafood on other peoples table and so we decided to have one. They looked like a decent side so we ordered appies and ‘The Admiral Platter’ for 2. Turns out the platters on other tables was the appy size platter. The Admiral Platter proved that I am at best only a captain. Our platter was HUGE!!! Two layers of platters stacked high with 2 types of crabs, languistines, prawns, whelks, winkles, oysters and shrimp. We laughed and took a picture it was so big. But we dug in and finished most of it. As it turns out we don’t have a liking of whelks and winkles (snails), even though we do like escargot.
After dinner we wandered up through town and back to the shore where we found a little place for dessert and beverages – an amazing apple tart and muscadet for Jamie and three mini glasses of Calvados for me. An excellent end to our first day back in France!
Pictures from Day 1:
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