Clam digging in Ile Tudy

Today was an exceptionally beautiful day,lots of sun and just a tiny little breeze.  It's the first great day we've had here although there hasn't been much rain,still lots of grey weather and wind.  The wind is more or less a constant fixture here since we're so close to the ocean.  The part of Bretagne (Brittany) where we are is called le Pays Bigoudin, it encompasses a tiny area of Finistere Sud.  The houses are typical of the area. Slate peaked roofs, white on the ouside, palm trees grow here but they're not too abundant.  It's quite lush and green because of the heavy rainfall and generally mild year round.  A long time ago women wore a very traditional costume with the high lace hat.  Click on the pictures below to enlarge and it will show you how elaborate the costumes were.  There are pictures of row of Bigoudennes working in the fish factories all dressed in identical costumes, startling images and a testament to how devoted to their traditions they were.  There are only 10 Bigoudennes left,the old traditions are dying just like everywhere else.


We are staying in a town called Guilvinec which is the biggest fishing port for what is known as peche artisanale, fishing which doesn't involve huge boats but much smaller vessels which go out for crab, blue lobster, shrimps and all types of other fish.  Regardless of the scale on which it is done there is still a concern due to global warming of the oceans and the air temperature.  Some species of fish are harder to catch, blue lobsters are not as plentiful as they once were furthermore there is competition from the British Isles for cheaper lobster.  It's the same problem plaguing countries everywhere, either try to buy local and pay more money or buy cheaper and buy from elsewhere.  Welcome to our globalized world which was theoretically supposed to make things better.

This is a typical house of the Finistere Sud

Driving to Ile Tudy is very picturesque.  There were many people who had had the same idea.  It's a full moon and the tide is very low allowing for great clam digging.  The three and a half of us (HAHA_)  got to work, boots absolutely necessary or barefoot is another option  Either way you're going to get wet.  We got a fair bit of clams, not the huge ones that you can bake on the half shell but good size ones nevertheless along with other clams called "coques" which sounds like a pretty juicy word in English.  Back home soak them thoroughly to get rid of all the sand and tomorrow huge clam chowder for our efforts.  Bon appetit.

On the road to Bretagne (Brittany)

We left la Grande Motte on a rather dreary day for southern France where weather has been unusually cold for this time of the year.  It was sputtering but we were off to a good start, didn't miss any turns and found the highway for direction Barcelona.  We hadn't done a road trip in France in quite a few years, naturally things have changed.  The highway system is very impressive but also very expensive. It is privately owned by a consortium with the lofty name of Vinci.  I tried to find out who was behind the consortium without any success, it appears to be quite secretive.  In any case it is impressive in that the roads are well maintained, directions are clearly indicated and there is a radio service which broadcasts hourly or even continuously on major hangups which might occur along the way.

There are plenty of rest areas, so many in fact that it's almost mind boggling.  Some are more rudimentary with just a gas station and a store while others offer a broader range of services such as showers, finer dining and even hotels.  We've traveled by car a great deal, in the U.S. Mexico and Canada.  Canada is by far the worse in terms of rest areas.  We crossed all of Canada from coast to coast and probably located 5 which is beyond pathetic in terms of the service provided.  The U.S. is generally pretty good, highways are well maintained too and free of charge.  Mexico has a fairly comprehensive highway system but it's not cheap either although not as expensive as France.  The trip from St. Paul de Vence to La Grande Motte probably cost around 65 Euros (about $80.00 Canadian depending on the exchange rate) while the trip from La Grande Motte to Nantes cost 67 Euros, about the same.  In Bretagne (Brittany) highways are free, as soon as you get to Nantes.

The things one likes about France, lack of big advertisement on the highway, discrete panels, hidden away hotels etc...might also be the things one dislikes about France when one is tired of driving and seeking a motel type accommodation.  First of all there are none right beside the highway except for the odd rest areas which might have one usually fairly small hotel.  It's not like Canada or the U.S where you can just spot hotels from the highway, here it requires a bit more work.  We were getting tired and decided to get off the highway at a place called Chantonnay, it was on the map, I figured it would be a decent size.  Unfortunately there was a pilgrimage of sort going on and all the hotels in the town and the surrounding area were booked. We were directed to another town supposedly only 10 clicks away, turned out to be more like 25 or 30 clicks.
Got to the place in question, the two hotels in town were closed and we never found the other one.  Lost about a frustrating hour, decided to push on to Nantes.  Nantes was very chaotic with lots of "peripheriques" which circle the city, of course no hotels in sight.  We got lost on a peripherique and on our way to Paris. Had to turn around and I managed to spot Vannes (a smaller town) which held the possibility of some hotels being available.  Got to Vannes, it was cold and miserable.  There were 2 hotels not too far from the highway, i.e. you could actually see them, miracle of miracle.  The person at the reception desk was not very receptive to our request for a "chambre".  Apparently none were available in all of Vannes because of the golf tournament and that damn 4 day weekend was plaguing us again.  My only consolation was that the weather was crappy and golfing was not going to be a very pleasant experience.

At this point we were feeling quite dejected and sick of being on the road nevertheless we pushed on towards Lorient.  I spotted a hotel (again from the highway, double wow!) and there were a few rooms left, yes our quest was over.  This hotel was part of a chain and sort of a do it yourself booking although there was a receptionist there at the time we arrived.  Generally you can just plunk your Visa card down and book yourself a room via the handy machine outside.  These rooms are tiny,two suitcases, two adults and that's it. You can almost pee and shower at the same time but hey, they serve a purpose and they're pretty cheap by European standards.  Including breakfast for 2, 56 Euros that's a pretty good deal.

Refreshed and happy the next day we drove to Quimper and then to Guilvinec which was our final destination.  Just another note on French highways, not as many trucks and the trucks which are present are not as big as the ones in North America.  I liked that.  The speed limit is a fast 130 kms on a good day, on a rainy day 110 kms. Most people go faster, I do think the French are pretty good drivers. It's quite difficult to obtain a driver's license here. Many people fail on their first attempt and it's not unusual to have to try twice or even 3 times in order to get one.

This is it for my blog so far.  I will be updating when we visit some new spot but for now we're staying put with family.  Hope you enjoyed it.

May 8th, Montpelier and beyond

May 8th is an important holiday in France, it's a national holiday since it's the day that Nazi Germany capitulated.  There are important celebrations held everywhere in various towns in France. We attended one in la Grande Motte, heard the Mayor and various other officials speak and got to sing La Marseillaise twice.
La Marseillaise is one of the bloodiest national anthems around but the French make no apology for it since it was written during the French Revolution.  A few words on La Grande Motte, can't remember if I mentioned that the architect who conceived this project, name of Balladur, was inspired by the Mayan pyramids he saw in Mexico.  All the buildings have to more or less conform to that shape and be no higher than 8 stories with slopping sides so that balconies have no overhang, it gives the town a very special flair found nowhere else in France. The population swells in the summer, the port is very attractive and the beach is 10 kms. long plus there are lots of apartments to rent.  It's a great place for a family holiday. La Grande Motte is recognized as a World Heritage Site of significant importance.

May 8th fell on a Thursday this year, very handy since Friday was the day of L'Ascension when Jesus ascended to heaven after the crucifixion. This is also the day when this most secular of nations reacquaints itself with religion in order to secure another holiday followed by the Saturday/Sunday link (they call it le pont or the bridge) and suddenly hello 4 day weekend.  This will create some problems for us when driving to Bretagne but more on that later.

We went for a visit of the city of Montpelier a few kms. away from the Grande Motte. It's a university town filled with lots of young people and there are also bureaucrats galore judging by the numerous buildings primarily devoted to public functions.  The old part is medieval with many beautifully restored buildings, it's always amazing to walk in those streets where centuries ago people lived, worked and died.  Montpelier has also made an effort to reinvent itself as a thoroughly modern city and there is a modern part which is quite monumental in scope with parks, big avenues and a pedestrian walkway filled with cafes and restaurants, on either side, which leads directly to the river.  There was an extreme sport water event taking place while we were there with competitors from around the world, very very busy.   We preferred the old section with its narrow streets and shaded little parks.  Montpelier has possibly the oldest medical faculty in Europe (Bologne might have the claim of being the first) it was founded by Jewish medical scholars.

On the way back we took the coastal road along the 10 km. beach. We dipped our toes in the Mediterranean but it was too cold for a swim.  Tomorrow we leave for Bretagne. We've assessed Friday as the best day to be on the road to avoid the dreaded "plugs" on the road.  We will be saying au revoir to Southern France, never did get to Cannes to take some pictures but there's always future years, can't do everything at once, must save some for rainy and sunny days equally.

My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: On the road to Nimes - France Blog. no. 4

My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: On the road to Nimes - France Blog. no. 4: Nimes is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon and an important tourist destination.  I had never traveled there but knew that it was the ...

On the road to Nimes - France Blog. no. 4

Nimes is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon and an important tourist destination.  I had never traveled there but knew that it was the repository of very important Roman ruins.  The first monument we visited was the Roman amphitheater built around 1st. or 2nd. century A.D. It's been renovated by the French government at considerable expense but it's a splendid example of Roman architecture with its classical elliptical design and is well known as the best preserved amphitheater in France, possibly even the best outside of the Coliseum in Rome which is, of course, much bigger.  This building is still used for corridas where, unfortunately, they do end up killing the bulls.  In Portugal and Mexico they stage corridas too but the bulls are spared the ignominious death which is a much better outcome for both bull and spectators.  The interesting thing about Nimes is that it was built at the crossroads of the Via Domitia built by the Romans to connect Italy to Spain.  The second most historical building is the Maison Carree which literally means Squared House, it is also known as one of the best example of this type of architecture found anywhere in the territory of what constituted the Roman Empire.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/MaisonCarr%C3%A9e.jpeg/220px-MaisonCarr%C3%A9e.jpeg

Hopefully this link will work and give you an idea of how beautiful this building is. Of course it too underwent extensive renovations but one has to admire the French government's dedication to the preservation of its most historical buildings.  Sure it costs a lot of money but it's definitely worth it.  It attracts a lot of tourist dollars and supports building trades, artists and artisans whose special skills might otherwise be lost.

We meandered through the streets of Nimes, the downtown core is quite compact, free of cars and only open to pedestrian traffic which is wonderful.  All this walking gave us a good appetite. We stopped in a little restaurant which had the obligatory sidewalk terrace where we had a very leisurely lunch.  I had an appetizer of thinly sliced raw beef topped with slices of mozzarella and tomatoes (it's called carpaccio in Italian).  This was followed by tagliatella noodles with crispy fingers of duck and a little salad, no desert, some wine+coffee. It was most delectable.  We continued on to the gardens and the fountains in the center of the city.

Leaving Nimes we made our way to Aigues Mortes which is a walled medieval city built by King St. Louis who was very big into crusades, not a good thing in my book but apparently he is revered in France as one of the just kings (there were quite a few who weren't that great if you know a little about French history). Aigues Mortes in addition to being walled also had a tower where protestant women were sent to atone for the fact that they had chosen the wrong religion.  These women were of noble birth, of course, other protestant women were summarily executed and not quite as "lucky".  Along the way we also discovered that the source of Perrier water is in a little town called Vergeze. Originally the water was naturally carbonated but now the carbonation is added to the water to get that perfect Perrier mix of water and bubbles.  It's also dispiriting to learn that what was once owned by the French and is so distinctively thought of as French is now owned by Nestle.  Regardless it's pretty amazing to think of all those millions of bottles of Perrier circling the globe coming from this one source.

This post was not meant to be an exhaustive blow by blow of all the spots we visited in great accurate detail, if you want that there are plenty of guide books around and the ever ubiquitous Wikipedia always willing to inform you.   Hopefully it might have given you a little taste and maybe even a desire to visit that part of France.

Direction La Grande Motte - Post no. 3 from France

The sun was shining bright and early, actually not too early since we were still a little confused sleep wise, maybe about 9:00 a.m. It takes a little time for the body to adjust+we're not as young as we used to be the end result being everything takes longer.  A brisk shower to wake up and then off for breakfast.  I enjoy French breakfasts a lot, they remind me of my childhood.  There was a lovely little dining room, outside patio was also a possibility but I wanted it a tiny bit warmer.  Fresh croissants and baguettes sliced down the middle were on offer which is pretty much standard.  Nevertheless in concession to more Continental tastes most hotels now offer cereals, milk, yogurt  ham and cheese.  There were also bowls of fresh fruits and fruit salad cups.  I love that when you ask for cafe au lait, they bring each of you a pot of steaming coffee and a separate steaming pot of milk.  Also love those delightful little jam jars, so pretty, have never seen those anywhere else but perhaps they're common in other European hotels.

We really enjoyed Hotel Les Bastides, I highly recommend it if you ever end up around this part of France.
We packed the car with the two heavy suitcases and off we went.  I had asked for directions previously but we only had a very rudimentary map and no GPS nevertheless we didn't get lost once.  The directions are very well indicated, unlike those in Mexico. The only thing which confused us a bit were the "postes de peage" on the autoroute.  Some booths are prepaid but it's hard to know which ones.  The first one we encountered in Nice we had to pay directly with coins into a machine.  We didn't have enough coins and had to stop the traffic behind us.  I had to get out of the car and go look for someone who was working there, it was a bit stressful with all the honking of irritated and impatient drivers.  They do so love to lean on that horn.
These "postes de peage" along the highway were much more impressive in terms of size. They're about 12 feet deep and you literally don't know where to go, they have huge T's meaning tickets written on top.  Somehow the first few we had to pay directly into the machine, I had made some change in anticipation so that was cool.  For the next ones you had to grab a ticket and off you went.  Some kilometers later is where you pay depending on the distance you covered and where you took your ticket.  The machine would not accept my Visa card and this time it was too much money and I didn't have enough coins. One guy showed up so was able to pay cash with bills.  That was handy.  We had figured out the system.  Tickets first, slot it in at next stop and pay.  It's a hassle when they only want Carte bleue.  What's also freaky is the merging of 12 lanes of traffic into 3 or 4 lanes after you've passed the "postes".  It all seems quite random but with a purpose. With no lines on the ground to guide you you just aim in one general direction and hope for the best.  French drivers are generally good drivers.  It takes a long time to get your driver's license here and many people fail and have to go for numerous trials again and again.  I would have probably failed.

Got to La Grande Motte literally The big Lump.  It's a little town that grew near Montpellier and is now quite big.  It's mostly a tourist destination filled with lovely villas, there's a huge golf course, a yacht club, a very long beach and a cool downtown with distinctive pyramid shaped buildings.  It's a pretty uppity place but we have relatives here and that's where we were headed.  It's nice when you haven't seen relatives in a long long time you can expect a little TLC.  We couldn't find the place though so had to stop at a bar to make a phone call and the relative came to get us.  We're pretty much settled in. It's a very big house, there's an outdoor pool been in quite a few times.  We also do a little back and forth between this house and another, which is even bigger, where relatives have gone and dogs have to be taken care of, a shar pei dog with no folds and the biggest Newfoundland dog I have ever seen, about 87 kilos.  Cool thing about this house there's an indoor swimming pool and the temperature is at a balmy 31 degrees. We've been swimming there every evening before dinner which is stylishly French late, around 8:00 p.m.

Look for my next blog on our excursion to Nimes.  I had read somewhere that there are more Roman ruins to be found in France than in Italy, it might be true because the South of France is filled with well preserved temples, statues, aqueducts,amphitheaters and Roman arenas, till then.

Saint Paul de Vence - France no. 2

We visited the beautiful Medieval town of St. Paul de Vence, one of the jewels of France, so exquisitely well preserved.  It's situated up high on a hill which dominates the valley with breathtaking views of the mountains and the villages below.  Again we we were surprised at how green and lush everything was.  Parking is a bit of a problem as it is in all these types of locale which are strictly pedestrian.  The parking was situated below ground, quite a few levels, with hairpin turns since there's really not much room to build and space is at a premium.  The parking was almost full, again very surprising, this being early May I didn't think there would already be so many travelers in France.  Many of the tourists were French and Italian.  At the exit of the parking you wind your way through the predictable boutiques selling herbs of Provence and various soaps from the region+ lavender.  Ever since I've been made aware that these so-called herbs of Provence are often grown and shipped from Romania I've been reluctant to plunk down some euros never sure of the actual provenance.  It's sad but everything is made elsewhere now even France isn't immune to that virus.  I think I would rather go into the hills and pick the herbs myself, they're quite plentiful there.
The village itself is made up of narrow streets with huge cobblestones, some streets are not only narrow but steep, only one person can get through with another following behind.  There are a lot of beautiful art galleries  some well known artists who spent time here were Paul Cezanne and Marc Chagall who actually died in Saint Paul, we visited his rather modest tomb in the local cemetery.  Various visitors have started placing rocks on the tomb, one rock per visitor, a little sign of acknowledgement and respect for the great artistic visionary Chagall was.  We meandered among the many side streets, lovely little plazas await in unexpected places, went up on the palisades and took what I hope will be decent pictures.  I'm not a great photographer by any stretch of the imagination.  The air was redolent with lovely flower smells like you find in the South of France.  It's easy to see why many would want to retire here, I certainly wouldn't mind if money were not a consideration. We shared an Italian ice cream, returned to the car and wound our way back to our hotel, Les Bastides de Provence but first made a little pit stop to grab something to eat.  We weren't very hungry and starting to feel quite tired and jet lagged at this point.  We needed some rest.  We were driving to La Grande Motte (near Montpellier) the next day.  Driving can sometimes be a stressful and difficult experience in another country.  As it turns out it wasn't too bad except for the "Postes de peage"  where you have to pay but that's a whole other blog.  Enjoy this one.