Discovering North Brittany and Beyond

We have holidayed in France many times over the years, visiting lots of different regions. Some of the most memorable times have been spent in or around North Brittany. Famous for the Breton stripe, cider and home to the less well known Breizh cola. Brittany is a region steeped in history, with many beautiful cities and monuments. As we loved it so much, I decided to put together a few of our favourite places to visit, to help out, should you be heading there this year.

For a taste of city life, the coastal city of St Malo is a must see, it is a walled city with beautiful cobbled streets, independent shops alongside plenty of cafes and restaurants.

With two young children in tow, it isn't always easy to find somewhere to eat but we have never had a problem in France, children are always well catered for, children's menu or not. We didn't get to spend as much time as we'd liked in St Malo, but we did get to see the cathedral and if you do have time or are close by, then there is an Aquarium, another great rainy day activity. 

This part of France has a beautiful coast line, known as the Emerald Coast, the sand shimmers with gold and the beaches and coves are beautiful. You can while away days just playing in the sand, enjoying the tides as they roll in and roll out, uncovering beautiful coastlines, rocks and pools.

If you prefer a more secluded, less commercial beach, then Saint-Coulombe is a beautiful place to visit. As the sea shimmered, we paddled amongst fish and little tiny crabs rolled down the beach, it was just stunning and we spent hours there. Picnics, cold drinks and plenty of sand castle building made it the perfect chill out day. The beach at Basse Cancale was just as beautiful but had some amenities for those that maybe don't fancy a picnic, with lots of little boats bobbing up and down in the sea and a restaurant, cafe and shop at the top of the beach, it was a little less secluded but just as beautiful.

Jutting out of the wonderful landscape is Mont Dol, a strange inland island which sits an impressive 65 meters above sea level. You can walk to the top, or if you are feeling less energertic you can drive, but it is well worth a visit. You can see for miles once up there and there is a wonderful windmill, or moulin, if you are feeling French, on a clear day you can even see all the way to Mont-St-Michel.

In the small village below the summit is a boulangerie, cafe and bar, the town of Dol itself has some beautiful medieval houses and an impressive 13th century cathedral. With so much history in this part of France and it is well worth exploring.

Just outside of Brittany on the Normandy/Brittany boarder is Mont-Saint-Michel, my children recognised this imposing structure from Mickey Mouse and the Three Musketeers, it was where Pete held Mickey prisoner. So for them, it was a great way to get them involved and excited by looking for the doorway to the dungeon.

It is an extremely busy place and because of this you can no longer drive all the way to the island. Instead you have to park slightly inland and get a bus from the car park, unless you fancy the long walk that is. Don't let that put you off though, there is a good system to get you on the buses so it is easy enough. With a pushchair in tow, it was a little difficult getting up the steep cobbled street. However, we made it around half way, stopped for lunch and then headed back down. It is an absolutely stunning place though and the views are amazing.

Just a short drive inland from Mont-Saint-Michel, sits Alligator Bay, my son loves alligators and crocodiles, well any reptile come to think of it. So this was the perfect attraction for him. As a lot of it is inside it is also a great place for a rainy day out. 

We sat and had a picnic in the car park, as this is the done thing in France and there were lots of other families doing it too. The great thing about France is you can be totally French in your attitude to picnics, it is completely acceptable to take a baguette, some cheese, ham, crisps and some veggies and just sit anywhere and eat, breaking up the bread with your hands if you need too.

There are so many wonderful villages who have regular market days, so it is a good idea to check out the local tourism office before you go or reading any information supplied where you are staying. With local cheeses, ciders, wines, fish, fruit and veg they are a great way to find yummy local delicacies. 

Like it's neighbour Normandy, Brittany has some fantastic cider farms, so don't be afraid to stop at them, they often speak a little English, great if your French isn't that good. They are always happy to let you have 'un petit degustation' or a little taste to you and me. You often find some of the most wonderful ciders and aperitifs as well as jellies and other apple produce. 

Have you been to Brittany? If so what was your favourite place to visit?

Our Holiday Safari Adventure

Ok, ok so we didn't really go on a safari, but we did visit the Cerza Safari Park in Normandy.

For one day my son got to pretend to be Steve Backshall or Steve from the Deadly 60 as he is known in our house.

Telling us all about the different animals and their pray, as well as getting us to pretend to be his camera man!

Love the colours of this gorgeous Macaw!

Look at that face!

Love the eyes!

Gorgeous Tapir

A rather nosey baby bear

It just started raining as we got to the Giraffes

Why anyone would want to kill a Rhino I don't know!

Trying to hide behind the leaves!

Loved these fellas!

 And finally, probably the highlight of my sons day was this amazing Alligator Snapping Turtle, we have seen them on the Deadly 60 and to see one in real life was amazing. Can you see the little pink bit of skin in his mouth? Well he uses this as a lure to attract fish and then snap and the fish is dinner! Totally amazing!

My son was delighted when we saw this Alligator Snapping Turtle

A Very Real History Lesson

Whilst on holiday we visited the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, a little morbid I admit but I do love WWII.

Thousands upon thousands of white crosses with a few stars stand in rows, it's hard to imagine what it would look like if each one was actually a man!

There are no dates of birth just the day on which their lives were cut short. Many mown down by machine gun fire or blown to pieces by the heavy shelling that awful day and those that followed. 

 The beach is now peaceful, in fact it is a gorgeous beach but because of it's history isn't used as much as maybe it would be, there is no beach bar or bucket and spade stalls.

The monuments at Omaha beach are a beautiful symbol of the tragedy that happened on the beach that misty June morning.

I have been to the WW1 memorial to the missing at Theipval which has 73,367 names engraved on it. The American Cemetery only has about 9,500 crosses, but to see the them stood up in lines like that seems more real than names upon a wall. It is almost possible to visualise the great loss.

The museum which holds some interesting pieces of history was well worth the visit (once you got past the metal detectors and bag searches anyway).

Films and items from the time help you to envisage what it was like, the full scale of the D-Day Landings.

I am forever fascinated by the beaches, every time I go back I am in awe of what happened on that day, the day's running up to it and the days after it.

I have visited the Pointe Du Hoc, an utterly breathtaking place which I shall never forget and still bears the scars from the days leading up to June 6th.

And then Arromanches, where the remains of the Mulberry Harbour still sit, I will write a post about this another time.

Finally, I saw a flag fluttering against one of the stones, a fabulously named man and as the flag blew in the wind it said everything that needed to be said.