Let’s go to Brittany!

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Here is a small Breton break before going back to our American road trip because 2 weeks ago the Boyfriend and I were invited by the Brittany tourist office to spend the weekend on the Esmerald coast with Sticky for her first holidays at the seaside!

I didn’t know Brittany apart from St Malo where I spent the weekend a few years ago. So it was about time to discover this area and its wild landscapes without having to look at the weather forecast (Brittany is famous for its wet weather). Anyway, the weather was so crap in Paris that it couldn’t have been worse.

Here is a small video of our weekend in Brittany to start.

Fréhel :

First stop: Le manoir St Michel, a XVIth century farm transformed into a charming hotel where we stayed for one night.  The hotel was chosen by the tourist office and to keep it as a surprise I hadn’t looked online  before to see what it looked like. We had a huge crush, we loved the decoration, the cosy atmosphere, the friendly welcome and the delicious homemade breakfast. blogIMG_1633blogDSCF5151blogIMG_1619blogDSCF5158blogDSCF5163

The breakfast is served in a glass room with a view over the sea and the 2 hectares private park. What a delight to taste homemade yoghurts, marmelades and cakes while contemplating the ballet of ducks, herons and rabbits!

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Sticky seems to enjoy the view as well.

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At the 2nd floor there was our room, it was simple but also very charming and confortable. The good thing to know is that the quality-price ratio is unbeatable because the owners don’t work with any booking centers like Booking.com. You can only book the rooms on the hotel website which explains why the prices are so attractive (the rooms cost between 60€ and 115€ for the biggest).

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Like I told you, the hotel is located in a delightful setting, in the middle of a quite park and only a few meters from the beach.

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This house is so full of charm and authenticity that we really regretted we couldn’t stay more than one night and so we are seriously thinking of going back soon.

Le manoir Saint-Michel - 38 rue de la Carquois – 22240 FREHEL

After a good breakfast we walked on the beach close to the hotel. Brittany is the best place to wear a sailor outfit so I wore this day my Petit Bateau yellow wax, a Breton stripes top, Aigle rubber boots and a striped Herschel backpack (what do you mean this is too cliché?).  It was the best outfit to play on the beach with Sticky, it was her first time on a beach and she was so happy, running everywhere like a crazy dog, digging holes, gathering shellfishes and swimming! You can read again the blog post about dog’s education here. By the way, if you’re interested in a 2nd blog post about this topic, don’t hesitate to mention it in the comments below. :)

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Then we took the direction of Fort La Latte, one of the most famous Breton castles. We took a coastal walk and there we had a glimpse of the castle, nested on top of the hill overlooking the sea: spectacular! Too bad the sky was so cloudy and foggy at this time even though it made the atmosphere more mysterious.

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If you continue on this coastal path, you will arrive after a 1h30 walk at the Cap Fréhel lighthouse. These wild landscapes reminded us of Corsica where we are used to go every summer, what a beauty!  Once the sun came out, it was even more beautiful.

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The vegetation here is lush, there are several types of heathers yellow and purple that make it so picturesque.

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Saint Cast Le Guildo :

We passed by Saint Cast Le Guildo to have lunch at Truc Bidule, a nice little restaurant where they serve refined dishes made with local products. As a starter we had delicious smoked fishes from Le Fumoir de Saint Cast boutique. Then I had strawberries duck breast (I know, this is absolutely not local but I can’t help myself I just love ducks). Finally I had a delicious tart for dessert. It was really good, I recommend you this restaurant if you’re in the area!

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Le Truc Bidule – 10 boulevard Duponchel – 22380 SAINT-CAST-LE-GUILDO

Pléneuf Val André :

The 2nd city we’ve visited was Pléneuf Val André. We spent the 2nd night at the 4 stars hotel Spa marin du Val André. To be completely honest with you we didn’t like this hotel, the decoration was not our style and lacked some charm. The rooms were confortable and I’m sure that many of you could like them but the Boyfriend and I prefer charming little hotels. blogIMG_1776 blogDSCF5239

Spa marin du Val André – 43 rue Charles de Gannes

We had breakfast at the tea room Le Recommandé. It’s not just a tea room in a former 30’s post office, but more importantly it’s the place where we had THE BEST PASTRIES OF OUR LIVES and I’m not exaggerating!!!  They were perfectly cooked and you could really taste the butter. This was an unexpected tasting experience and on top of that the interior design is so nice.

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Le Recommandé – 3 rue Amiral Charner – 22370 PLENEUF VAL-ANDRE

Let’s continue with Le Plein des Sens restaurant where we had lunch on a sunny terrace. The food was simple but good and it’s the perfect place to have lunch before frolicking on the beach.

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Le Plein des Sens – 39 rue Amiral Charner – 22370 PLENEUF VAL-ANDRE

Finally, we had fried smelts and mussels with French fries by the Dahouët harbor at La Voile bistrot and we finished with a kouign-amann. Eating local is important. :)

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La Voile – 42 quai des Terre Neuvas – 22370 PLENEUF VAL-ANDRE

Last address I’d like to recommend you is the la boulangerie-pâtisserie Jacquin (14, rue Pasteur, Pléneuf-Val-André) which won the best kouign-amann price and and the gold medal for the best “far breton”. It was so good that I didn’t even had time to take a picture, I’m sorry.

Don’t worry, we didn’t just eat at Pléneuf Val André, we also enjoyed the beach because this day the weather was amazing. We had almost not seen the sun for 1 month so it felt very good! Sometimes you have to go to Brittany to get some sun and there is a Brittany proverb that says : “In Brittany, it only rains on jerks.” :)

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Faguo X Cyrillus sneakers

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Just before leaving to go back to Paris we stopped at Erquy where there was a flea market and we had a kouign-amann in front of the sea. What else?

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As I’m sure you have understood, I totally fell in love with Brittany and I’m wondering how I could have missed out on it all these years. I think we will go to Brittany more often now and it’s not Sticky who would tell me otherwise. Thanks again to the Brittany tourist office for this perfect sailor weekend .

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