A magical do-it-yourself trip to discover Brittany and Normandy. Ryanair flight from Venice to Paris Beauvais for € 162.00 for 2 return. Car hire with enoleggioauto.it, Alamo company, for a brand-new Peugeot 207, € 365.00. We covered almost 2000 km. The motorways are almost all free, except for some stretches in the Rouen area. Fuel costs more or less as in Italy. Hotels booked on Booking.com: Etretat: hotel Ambassadeur € 53.00 without breakfast, nice and in the centre. Coutances: hotel Etap € 59.00 with breakfast, modern and essential. Mont St Michel: hotel Le Saint Ubert € 71.00 without breakfast, 2 km from the mount. St.Brieuc: hotel Premiere Class € 39.00 with breakfast, a bit spartan. Quimper: hotel Escale Oceania € 60.00 with breakfast, nice and in the centre. Vannes: Quick Palace € 51.00 with breakfast, modern and essential.
Rennes: hotel le Sevigne € 82.00 with breakfast, nice and in the centre. Rouen: hotel le Relais de 2 Rivierers € 57.00 with breakfast, in the centre.
We managed to see everything we had planned, everything went smoothly. Atmospheres, scenery, people, everything was perfect. We have been to France many times, but never this far north, and we were fully satisfied with this holiday, for the first time without the sea. It is pleasant to go to a restaurant and not pay a cover charge, to always find a jug of fresh water available, and menus at more than reasonable prices. What can I say???? A bientot France
Once we've picked up the car we head towards Fecamp, a stroll along the seafront to admire the highest cliffs in Europe. Continuing to Etretat, we climb the cliffs, on both sides of the beach, unfortunately the weather is cloudy, but the sight is unmissable. We have dinner on the seafront, the first galette of our holiday (it's a kind of savoury crepe that gets filled with anything, the "complete" one also includes the egg).
Second day, this one will be eventful. We leave Etretat early, cross the Normandy bridge, to reach Honfleur, a small village with colourful houses. We continue to Bayeux, the gothic cathedral is stunning and we eat galette no. 2. Today there's beautiful sunshine! We stop at Arromanches, one of the landing beaches, suddenly the sky clouds over and a strong wind blows. We continue to Utah Beach, the sun is scorching, a walk on the endless beach, American flags fluttering everywhere. A short stop at St. Mere l'Eglise to then reach Coutances.
Unfortunately it's already raining in the morning, we reach Granville, but getting out of the car is almost prohibitive. We continue to Mont St. Michel and there's a downpour. We park just below the mount, we all get soaked just to reach the centre of the little village....and to think we had booked the hotel purposely 2 km away to leave the car there and make it on foot. We climb up to the abbey, still in the downpour, we manage to see the immensity of the low tide until the camera gives out on us. A short stop at the hotel to recharge it and...almost to escape the clouds...we continue to Cancale...where the sun is shining (and that's 50 km).
We savour the oysters at the stalls in the port, to be tried if you're not too squeamish about the plate that gets pseudo-washed: € 4.50 for 12 oysters (+ 1 free) + € 0.50 for the opening and as much for the lemon.....absolutely not to be missed...as is the sight of the boats at low tide. We go back to Mont St Michel which is already evening, hoping for a dry evening stroll, but as soon as we get out of the car...off it goes....it starts raining again!
We arrive early at St. Malo, the weather is uncertain. We climb up onto the walls and walk all of them, the centre is a bit chaotic. We then continue to Dinan, a very pretty and well-kept little town, with beautiful half-timbered houses. Next stop Fort La Latte, view over the ocean and blazing sun. A hurried excursion to Cap Frehel (we regret a little not having stayed longer). St Brieuc is disappointing, as is the Premiere Classe hotel....but something has to go wrong!
We arrive at Douarnenez, a glance towards the beach....and it's raining. We continue to Audierne, a nice little village with a small harbour in a bay....and it's raining. Another galette, this time washed down with cider, apple liqueur, with a particular taste...but we had to try it! From Audierne we head towards the Pointe du Raz nature park, we arrive and it's foggy, we get out with kways and umbrellas, it's drizzling! After half an hour of walking, helped by a cold wind, the sun timidly comes out and then the sky turns an exhilarating blue: these places are a paradise of nature! Spotting the promontories, the distant islands, the hidden little beaches, smelling the scent of the moors....the charm of these places. We continue to Quimper, the hotel is in the centre, so we visit the city both before and after dinner.
We stop at Concarneau, a little village nestled on an islet, surrounded by walls. We continue to Pont Aven, where we find a costumed festival, the Queen is elected, there are bands and songs in the Breton language, it doesn't even feel like being in France. Next stop at the megalithic sites of Carnac....but it's raining! Heading for the Quiberon peninsula, it's Sunday and there's a tremendous queue, but it's pouring! It stops for a moment, we get out, at least for a photo, just in time to get all soaked! Route towards Vannes, there's spectacular sunshine, we leave the car a little far from the centre, we walk, we have dinner, 500 metres from the car a downpour comes down and our little folding umbrellas are about to give way....we reach the hotel quite "damp".
We take a drive along the gulf, we reach Pont Navalon, spectacular views, today the sun is out. A boat trip seems a bit risky to us, the sun is there yes but it's not too warm and a strong wind is blowing. The approach journey begins and we stop at Jossellin to visit the castle of the same name, truly interesting. We then continue to Rennes, we park right below the hotel and go into the centre for dinner.
We continue from Rennes towards Fougeres, there's a castle you can visit and a nice tour of the little town, it's drizzling a bit. A stop at Caen, it disappoints us, so much traffic and a bit of chaos. We want to treat ourselves to one more view of the ocean and we go to Cabourg, the seaside promenade is spectacular. We finally buy the famous all-butter biscuits. In Rouen too the hotel is close to the centre so we have dinner right below the cathedral.
It's the day of the return.....we leave Rouen after lunch and along the road that takes us to the airport we still have the chance to see another castle (there are quite a few in this direction). We reach Beauvais, everything proceeds quickly, Ryanair takes us back to Venice right on time.
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