"Now listen very carefully, I shall say this only once . . . . . . " as we all know Michelle of the Resistance, as featured in the hit BBC TV show 'Allo 'Allo, said that line many more times than you could shake a stick at, so where better to find out the truth about the wartime French Resistance and a cafe owner called Rene than almost on our doorstep in Brittany. Situated just on the outskirts of St Marcel, about 3km from Malestroit, is the 'Musee de la Resi...

A grand day out in Nantes was planned, initially because we had located a shop that sold Cognac aux Amandes (Almond Cognac), which had proved a great hit with friends who had recently visited us in Malestroit. This warming Cognac, with a hint of almond flavour, can be found in a few restaurants in Malestroit and is served after dinner as digestive. We had scoured the shops and supermarkets but had never seen it sold locally, so after a bit of internet searchin...

For the first time since owning the house in France we have decided to catch the train from our local station at Questembert. The station is about 12km from Malestroit and is on the main line between Vannes (population 50,000), Redon (population 10,000) and Nantes (population 280,000) a journey of, if you catch a fast train, about one hour and twenty minutes from Vannes to Nantes. It is fair to say that SNCF have a fairly erratic timetable, one that makes no se...

Well this it, the day I have been waiting for for some time has finally arrived. It may only be the start of a holiday, but it is a holiday with a difference, it is one without thinking that I have to be back at work on Monday morning and that really is a nice feeling to have. So the journey begins with a stay in Malestroit, a place that we liked when we first visited (probably in the summer of 2006) and a place in which we have now purchased a second home - in f...

With just one and a half days left at work I thought it was about time to set up a travel blog for ther forthcoming trip. Provided I survive my evening out in Derby tomorrow this blog will get updated at various intervals as we set out on a well deserved break from work. Hopefully the 'W' word will not be required until well into 2015!