The French Feed – the sequel

That was a long break between posts!

I had to check and the last time there was a post on the French Feed was 13 February. Just after that I went back to Australia for a three week visit. Or so I thought. So nearly five months later I was able to get a flight back to France armed with face masks, hand sanitisers and a ton of documents to say I am allowed to leave Australia. The flights were quite empty, only people travelling together were allowed to sit next to each other so I had empty seats around me. Lee met me at the airport and we headed straight back to Cherbourg, and after two weeks of laying low I can confidentally say I’m Covid19 free.

Like everywhere, we have plenty of new rules about face masks, social distancing etc and the number of cases in many regional areas of France is relatively low. Of course Paris is another story but that is to be expected with all the high density housing in the city.

Obviously this has put a big dampener on our travel plans and those of many of our family and friends who were coming to visit. We will now try and do some trips within France but avoid any big cities or towns.

So to kick things off, last weekend we headed of to Brittany, so called because it was ‘owned’ by the British for much of the last 1000 years. After much argy-bargy, it ended up with the French until the Germans came on the scene in WW2. We stayed in Brest which was pretty much destroyed during the war and so not exactly the prettiest town in France. It has been rebuilt with a lot of concrete and granite, more about providing immediate housing for the homeless than worrying about aesthetics.

As always, it’s best to let the photos tell the story:

This is part of the port of Brest, about the only part of the city that remains from before WW2. It’s very much a working town and the number of new apartment blocks and development of the wharf area means it must be prospering.

We used Brest as our base and spent most of our time checking out the coastline around Brittany. It has an interesting history, including the fact that they have their own language – Breton. It nearly died out after being suppressed by the French education system and now only about 5% of the population can speak this language, although there are efforts to teach it in schools.

The road signs thoughout Brittany are in both French and Breton.

Compared to Normandy, Brittany has many bridges built in challenging locations. We would be travelling along a quiet back road and come across something like this:

Pont de Terenez – finished in 2011, replacing an old bridge that was also a replacement for the original which was destroyed during WW2. Amazing to look at, especially considering the big curve that is best seen from above (see below)
The previous bridges were built just upstream (white line to right of bridge shown above). There is a observation platform at the south end on one of the original concrete towers – where the white splodge is).
On the way to Brittany we stopped for lunch at St Malo and found 4 Rue Vauborel which would be of zero interest to anyone who has not read “All the light we cannot see” (one of the best books I’ve read in ages). The wall at the end of the street is the sea wall – to keep the huge tidal surges from flooding the town.
Even before WW2, Brest has always been a target for invaders because of the large natural harbour. This is looking across the water to the outskirts of town. Can you spot the bunkers?

Some pretty beaches and coves are dotted all along the coastlines. So different from Australian beaches – rose beds, book libraries, concrete bunkers… we spotted some very optimistic surfers sitting on their boards in the water, trying to catch the occasional ripple.

Then it was back to Cherbourg where we are getting temps in high 20’s, but not as hot as Paris with 39 degrees last weekend.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – it must be summer.

Till next time…

L & M

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