Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Not sure if it was the turkeys or the donkeys that finally dragged us into conciousness but the sun is streaming in when we open our eyes. Gradually the other six vans leave as we take our time getting sorted, and watch the cows go down the road again befor going oursleves.
After an easy drive along the N165 we leave the main road and drive through Arzal and Herbignac, where in May 2014 we beat a road closure by seconds.
We reach Guerande and find the aire on the edge of town, and take a 1km walk to the fortified centre.
We've wanted to visit Geurande properly ever since we stopped briefly one evening on the way back to a gite we rented near Vannes. We enter what is a typical Breton walled town through the twin turreted St Michael's gate. Built as the centre of salt commerce it wastes no time in promoting both its heritage and position to visitors. Salt is still harvested in the surrounding area and everywhere shops sell postcards of the salt pans and bags of the revered salt. For those with sweeter tooth nougat, chocoate and waffles are plentiful.
In the centre we find Lucien's Creperie and stop for a traditional Breton lunch of gallettes and cidre. The creperie is very busy, but leisurely and we spend over an hour sitting in the sunshine enjoying our meal.
Through the centre we exit the porte du sal or salt gate. On this side the moat still exists, dark green water with large carp swimming just below the surface and boxes of flowers floating mid stream. It is all very picturesque.
We re-enter through another archway and sit on a shady corner with an ice cream to cool down. Nearby a charcutier has salted hams hanging outside. They are enourmous, grey and brown pear-shapes like a mummified MrBlobby. Having looked around from every direction we make our way to the aire and opt to stay here as we are too late to get to a possible Passion by their 17:30 deadline.
It's a bit noisy near a roundabout but nothing like as bad as Vicenza last year and its quite a cool evening with some light showers.
Still full from lunch, we nibble on some of the cheeses we bought yesterday.
- comments