Well, I thought we couldn’t top anything we had seen or done so far on this holiday, but I was wrong. We arrived at ‘Clos St Golven, Taupont’ and immediately I knew that, if ever there was a ‘Karen house’, this was it! Michèle and Eric, the owners, both came out to meet us and were both so warm and welcoming. Beautifully decorated and furnished, their house was too, with an over-riding sense of calm and peace.

I could have stayed there for 2 months, rather than the two days we had planned. Many conversations (in french!) were had, about anything and everything, so it felt like we were in the home of friends. Michèle and Eric also have a gorgeous dog, Gouma , a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Initially shy and reticent, Gouma soon became very affectionate with us both, he was just lovely.

Michèle and I found we had many things in common, one of them being cooking. She made the selection of jams we had each  morning for breakfast and all of them were  delicious – rhubarb and apple, fig, strawberry  and pumpkin, orange and ginger. Eric also is  pretty handy in the kitchen, cooking us fresh  crêpes each day. Thank goodness we are doing so much walking here……

 

 

Dinner on our first night in Brittany, was at a restaurant in the nearby town of Ploërmel- ‘L’Atelier Gourmandes’ – for the long awaited galette. Yum, that’s all I can say! Light, crunchy and just the right amount of filling, along with a salad and a glass of cider, it was the perfect end to a lovely day.

The next morning, I would have happily stayed at the house and not gone anywhere at all, I was so comfortable, but we did manage to drag ourselves away and headed off to see what Breton countryside had to offer.

Simple answer? It’s beautiful….

Quite different to both Normandy and the Loire valley, but since all of the regions in France are quite diverse, we were not surprised by that. A little more rural and rugged, the style of housing is more austere and there is a strong celtic influence here too, particularly in the north west of the region.

We decided to do a 10klm sign posted walk in the Forest of Broceliande , which was perfect after being in the car for several hours the day before. Afterwards, we headed to the small town of Josselin and toured the château, which overlooks the Nantes-Brest canal.

The castle has been in the Rohan family on and off for centuries and the town is named after the son of the viscount who built it. The castle is now owned by the only remaining members of the Rohan family. Some areas are open to the public, but only by a tour,  and we were lucky enough to be there at the right time and be included. After an early dinner we headed back home for an early night. We slept like babies…

This morning we left Taupont with heavy hearts, but with plans to keep in touch via email. Not such a long day of driving was necessary to bring us to our next accommodation and we arrived safe and sound at ‘Belle Fontaine’, a XVII century manor house in Pontrieux. It’s gorgeous as well but, apparently, we’ve got a bit more that we bargained for – from all accounts there is a resident ghost. I wish I had known that little bit of information beforehand!

The owner Stephanie, a french canadian, has been living in France for 30 years. Previously having lived in Paris, she and her husband bought this house approximately 6 years ago. We’ve got an apartment in the house, which is lovely, so we will be quite comfortable for our two day stay, our ghostly friend not withstanding…  Tomorrow we’re not sure what we’ll do yet so will wait to see what the weather is like and then plan from there. I love having no agenda, it makes it a real holiday – no lists of things to be done!!!