Brittany's Beaches

This weekend we had real sun for what feels like the first time this summer and we took profit of the lovely weather to enjoy our local beach (La Briantais near Lancieux) with my partner's children.

The coastline here is littered with tiny bays and sandy coves. The best part about the beaches in Brittany is that they have everything, sand, sea, rocks and rockpools, cliffpaths and at our local beach a nature reserve on dunes which has some great little paths and hideaways in it.

Our mission though, was to build two giant sand castles, and we did, here they are. with armies included. We all had great fun and were hungry and exhausted when we got home. After tea we all crashed on the sofa and watched Star Wars. Fab.

Nothing makes you feel better (and nothing is cheaper) than a day at the beach.

Motorbiking and Motorbike blessing in Brittany

Motorbike clubs and motorbike blessing in Brittany

A couple of friends of mine joined a local Motorcycle Touring Club (Moto Touring Club de Plerin) in Brittany. They wanted to improve their command of the French language as well as expanding their knowledge of this part of France, so they selected this Club which had only French members, they found friendship and a general welcoming attitude. The Club specialises in group ride-outs, generally lasting for a day, discovering rural Brittany with its virtually empty roads (compared with the UK!) and also has many other social events during the year.

For example this year, 14 members of the club visited Belgium at Easter (yes it did snow!!) where they were hosted by the Du Panne Moto Club who showed them their region and lavished hospitality (and Belgian beer) on their group. The favour was returned in May when 8 members of Du Panne came to Brittany, along with 10 riders from N. Ireland and a further 8 riders from Germany to celebrate the MTC 30th anniversary, a weekend of festivities. A great time was had by all and MTC will be visiting both Belgium and N Ireland next year.

An annual international gathering of Bikers takes place at Porcano in Department 56 (Morbihan) on August 15th ( Assomption - public holiday) each year. The event is called ' The Madone des Motards' and MTC attended with 18 riders. This event started in about 1975 when the local vicar, who was a biker, blessed about 5 members of his congegation and their bikes. The event has been repeated annually thereafter and this year over 20,000 riders were present (see photos)- all who wished to have their bikes blessed did so (there is no compunction for this and all are welcome whatever their religion), those who just came 'for the ride' enjoyed an 85km ride out through surrounding villages when the local populace turn out with flags etc to welcome the riders, the procession through each village takes about 2 hours to pass!

Nick has just changed his bike and replaced his ageing BMW 1100cc tourer with a new BMW 1200cc sport tourer - he says that his partner Lin has got much closer to him since the change (she has to hang on to him as the bike is so fast!!!!)

When not roaring around the French countryside on his BMW, Nick runs a Surveying firm who carry out pre-purchase building surveys for 'Brits' who buy houses here in France http://www.french-property-survey.com/ why not contact him if you think he can advise you on your house purchase?

First Post

My first post.

I'm sure i'm not the first (and won't be the last) person to sit in front of their first post and wonder where to start and why on earth they decided to do this. Do I write a page for everyday of my life until now ? No, it would bore you to tears. I'll try to stick to the things I have done in Brittany and the places I have visited and felt were worth sharing with you. I'm also hoping that some of you will write to me with idea's that you feel deserve mentioning.

The Pirate's Maze

The Pirate's Maze is only a short step from Dinan, St. Malo and Dinard on the Rance Valley.

I had a lovely afternoon out at this maze with some friends and their children. The mazes were excellent, there were four in all. Each maze had a set of 10 questions to be answered by finding the question boards in the right order. These questions added interest at the same time as guiding you through the maze. We split into teams so it got a bit torrid rushing from board to board. When you finally reach the centre of the maze there is seating and snacks for the exhausted adults and great outdoor games for the younger ones which kept them entertained for at least another 30 minutes whilst we caught our breath and got ready for the next maze.

The kids had a lovely time and were kept busy for the whole afternoon.

It was very good value for money (entrance fee approx 7 euros each). There were also pic-nic tables near to the car park and we were allowed to go out, have our lunch and then return leaving all the pic-nic stuff in the cars.

Indoor Pool in Dol de Bretagne "Dolibulle"

The indoor swimming pool at Dol de Bretagne is lovely. It has three different swimming pools and a big fun slide which the kids loved (after a little coaxing because it is high).

Dolibulle is open every afternoon (even Sunday) between 14.00 and 18.00 and the standard prices are about 5 euros per person. There is no time limit.

The thing I most liked is that the whole area was nicely done, clean and warm so when you had had enough of swimming you could go and sit on the side, dry off and relax so you get that warm summer feeling in the middle of winter.

In the summer months the large glass doors are drawn back and you can sit outside on the grass and sunbathe.

Perfect.

Indoor Playground - Whopi at Cap Malo near Rennes and in St. Brieuc.

Woupi is a great solution when it's raining outside and the children need to get rid of some energy. Cost: 6 euro/hour

Woupi is a Wakey Warehouse type indoor playground for children up to 12 years of age. The best thing about it is that the adults get in for free and there is a seating area (with wi-fi so take your laptop) where you can read or work whilst the children are playing. It has limited opening during the French term times but during school holidays it is open all day.
website: http://www.woupi.fr/

They also cater for children's birthday parties with special booths set aside, animators and cake.

The Woupi we have been to is at Cap Malo just outside Rennes, Cap malo has a variety of other entertainment facilities such as bowling, golf, karting, indoor football, cinema and restaurants. Almost all age groups can find something to do at Cap Malo. Website: http://www.cap-malo.com/ . There are also DIY/Homebase type shops and garden centres at cap malo.

There is also a Woupi in St. Brieuc www.woupi.fr

Ice Skating in Brittany

I'm always amazed at how cheap a good afternoons' entertainment is in Brittany. Again, I thought this ice skating rink "Le Blizz" near Rennes was great value for money.

We arrived at 2.pm and were surprised to find the boot hire was also included in the price. Once inside, the rink was not too busy and the children were able to "find their feet" without being in too much danger from the whiz kids There was also a children and toddlers rink with supports and a kind of skating push chair supplied for free.

We had a great afternoon and could stay as long as we wanted. There are lockers inside the rink area for handbags and valuable so we were able to smuggle some water in and a small snack to keep the energy levels up. Water is a must as we all got very thirsty for some reason. There is a bar area accessible from the rink so that you can take a rest, eat and drink before continuing on your new ice skating career or, your bottom.