Normandy and Brittany

19 September 2009

We had reserved vacation cottages, part of a complex of houses called Coat Aillis, near the channel coast on the way to Morlaix, between the towns of St Michel en Greve and Plestin les Greves. There were to be 16 of us, staying for one week starting Saturday 12 September, exploring the area and renewing our acquaintances. All 9 women had graduated from Bishop's University together in 1964 and two of the husbands had met their wives at Bishop's. The remaining five men, the Associates, were cordially welcomed by the group. This was the second time our group had shared a vacation together. Two years ago last May we met in County Cork, Ireland. That trip was so successful we planned a second gathering, this time in France. It seems that this second vacation was a success as well as the group asked when and where our next gathering would be. Maybe two years from now we will meet again.

Coat Aillis is owned by an English-Dutch couple, Simon and Paulien Pocock. The two acre property was originally a farm and the Pococks have gradually renovated the farm house and several other farm building into a very comfortable vacation compound. There was even a large swimming pool for our use. A large plexiglass dome ensured pleasant swimming temperatures during our visit. We had reserved the Main house and three smaller houses for our group. The main house, with a large kitchen, living room and dining room was perfect for our group dinners every night.

Claudia and Neil Carver had volunteered with Ray and me to host the meal the first night. The Carvers were already in residence at Coat Aillis, having arrived the previous night. As soon as we arrived at Coat Aillis we set off for the Super U in Plestin to buy groceries. We had a request for Ray's signature Fish Chowder and the local store had a good selection of seafood for the dish. Each successive night saw another group adding their own special touch to the meal. Our menus could have filled a cookbook. We had appetizers of huge local artichokes one night. Our dinners included a chicken and ham casserole, a delicious sausage and potato dish, veal stew and baked fish fillets with roasted vegetables. Desert was fruit and cheese and occasionally a Normande or Bretagne tart. A welcome addition to our meals were the fresh green beans and tomatoes Paulien gave us from her garden. Marg also discovered a field full of unearthed potatoes and gathered some for us to add to our dinners. Delicious!

Another delicious meal together

Ruins on the coast

The group evolved into two day-time factions; the Hikers and the Tourers. Ray and I were part of the Hiking group; no big surprise! Between five and seven of us had a different walk every day. A friend of Liz' daughter recommended a hiking route book that we used for all of our hikes. We had three coastal walks, two on either side of the bay between Plestin and St Michel en Greve and another farther east along the Rose Granite coast. On the remaining three days we walked through forest and along quiet country roads. There were ruins of a Gallo-Roman thermal bath set on the cliffs overlooking a bay and a tumble of huge pink granite boulders littered the coastline of the Rose Granite Coast.

Each town had an interesting church to visit. One of the strangest was in the small village of le Yaudet. The original Celt inhabitants worshipped the goddess Cybele as Mother Earth. She was always depicted lying down suckling an infant. The first Christians to arrive simply substituted the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus for Cybele. Right above the altar of Chapel of le Yaudet was the Virgin Mary with the tiny Jesus beside her, reclining in a bed covered in crisp white linens. To the right of the bed was God, depicted as a king with sumptuous robes and a crown. Mary's parents, Anna and Jacob flanked the scene, but Joseph was nowhere in sight. I guess he didn't count in this story.

Virgin Mary with baby beside her in bed watched over by God

Lannion houses

The rest of the group drove to Quimper one day to visit the famous pottery works. Another hit were the megaliths of the Brittany coast at Carnac. Some of the group made it as far as Paimpol, hoping to take a boat ride to the bird sanctuary island of Ile de Brahat, but it was too windy that day for the boats to go. A few visited Dinan, a lovely medieval town full of half-timbered houses, that Ray and I managed to fit in on our way back to Paris. We all visited Lannion for their Thursday market and to have lunch in one of the restaurants.

The Carvers and I had a lesson in French driving on our way back to the cottage after visiting the Rose Granite Coast. We had just passed Lannion and were intent of reading the road signs and not getting lost when we were passed by a police car motioning us to stop on a side street. We had no idea why were being stopped. The two police officers got out and asked Neil for his driver's license. We asked in our bad french what the problem was and explained that we had been in danger of being lost. The policeman said "le Feu". We thought he meant we had passed a fire on the side of the road somewhere. Claudia thought we had a fire in the car. Finally we understood that we had gone through a red light! None of us had any idea where the neglected light had been. I got out of the car with our map and while one policeman was examining Neil's papers, I asked the second, very young officer if he could help point us in the right direction. Maybe that helped as Neil got off with just a warning. Whew!

A short time before we left Canada for France there were alarming reports in the Globe and Mail about toxic seaweed in the bay right in the area we would be visiting. Thank goodness it did not affect us but it continues to be a big local issue. Petitions have been circulated and the government has been contacted to help solve the problem.

The issue came to a head when a man was riding his horse across the wide, sandy beach, Les Greves, between the towns of St Michel en Greve and Plestin les Greves. The horse collapsed and had to be put down. The bay is shallow for a long distance and seaweed washes up into the bay in large quantities at this time of year but the quqntity of seaweed seems to increasing. It becomes especially bad when the seaweed is left to rot and forms a crust. If this crust is penetrated, by a foot or hoof, toxic sulphor dioxide is released. Several locals have reported respiratory problems recently but noone was listening until the horse died. Children are now banned from the beach and adults are warned that they can walk the beach, a favourite activity, only at their own risk.

Apparently the seaweed is toxic because of agricultural run off, especially from pig farms. The horse owner is suing the mayor of St Michel for damages. The locals say he is suing the wrong person. The mayor of Plestin has the largest pig farms in the area and doesn't believe his practices are the cause. The locals disagree. They point to the Green policies of St Michel and say Plestin's mayor should be the person sued.

Tractors clear the beach of seaweed on a daily basis but it does not solve the problem. There is talk of dredging the bay this winter but noone knows if that will be long term solution.

What a pity as the beach is lovely and great for swimming and walking. We hope a permanent solution is found soon.

The end of the week arrived and we said our goodbyes. Ray and I drove back to Paris, some others were extending their trip in another vacation home in Normandy. Some were heading to Ireland and more to Paris. Whatever we were doing, we all had good memories of our visit together in Brittany.

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