18 November, 2023
Last night Alex made a wonderful Argentinian casserole for dinner. It was warm and filling on a very cold and raining night. We slept soundly.
It is still raining this morning but luckily we only have to repack our suitcases for our trip to France and Spain tomorrow and head over to a Tesco Supermarket to restock some supplies and refuel the car. It is a good chance to test the car which ran faultlessly and see if I still know how to drive on the correct side of the road. Tomorrow I will see how I go driving a Right Hand Drive car in a Left Hand Drive country. It will be interesting at least. I prepare the car with all the French requirements and we sort and repack ready for the next three months in France and Spain.
Alex has very kindly offered to do our laundry while we are out shopping and saves us a lot of time so Lynn not only irons my newly-laundered clothes but irons 12 of Ross’s business shirts as well.
Tonight we are taking Ross and Alex out to dinner at the local pub. The pub is packed full tonight so it is lucky that Alex booked us a table. We all eat well and had some good bevvies. We will also sleep well again tonight.
19 November, 2023
It is windy by the time we are out of bed at 8:00 am but at least the rain has stopped. A quick breakfast, pack the car and farewells and we are driving the 20 minutes to Folkstone to catch Le Shuttle (English Channel Tunnel railway) to France. We have to traverse a number of very narrow lanes to the M20 then straight in to the loading area for the shuttle train.
The train is not very busy this morning so we are loaded on the 10:45 am train instead of our booked 11:50 am scheduled service.
It is only takes about 35 minutes to make the crossing and it is so much easier than flying or taking a car ferry.
On the other side of the English Channel we emerge in bright sunshine but obviously after rain. It is now a matter of getting used to driving our car in France.
It isn’t long before the clouds build and it starts to rain heavily. We manage to arrive two hours early at 1:00pm at our accommodation in Boulogne-sur-mer but since it is off season the owner arrives and agrees to let us check in early.
We unpack and head downtown to get some provisions for dinner as most restaurants are closed on a Sunday evening and as we find out, so are most of the supermarkets. We manage to find a small store and pick up some essentials to have with a bottle of wine for dinner.
The Maison is beautifully restored and even has a number of peacocks and peahens roaming around the grounds.
20 November, 2023
Since it is bucketing down with rain and there is a strong wind outside Lynn’s decided she will spend the day resting to nurse her cold. I have a few emails to catch up on and some Ancestry information to correct so I spend the day at the PC down in the breakfast area. I also use the time to again deal with HSBC issues and buy the grandchildren’s Christmas presents online. It would be far better to have Christmas with the grandkids but they are still too young to remember this one. However, we hope that the Christmas letters from Santa which we organised whilst at Santa’s Village in Finland back in June may surprise them.
There are only two rooms booked at this B&B at the moment and the other couple who are French are out all day sight seeing around Calais. On their return they tell us that it rained so heavily that they saw nothing all day. It felt like I had this Grand Maison to myself for the day.
We have to venture out tonight to find a restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately it is still raining and since it is almost winter it is also very dark, very early. To our surprise driving back into the town is a pain as the traffic is very heavy. Where is all this traffic coming from or going to? As was the case last night many restaurants are not open and there is absolutely no parking anywhere near our restaurant choices. In the end we give up and settle for that famous Scottish Restaurant as they have plenty of parking. Tomorrow morning we will go into town and find some suitable places to park with restaurants close by. It is still forecast for rain again tomorrow but we can’t miss seeing some of this town.
21 November, 2023
It is still raining this morning as we go down to breakfast. The other guests are checking out today so we have the house to ourselves for the next two days.
After breakfast I locate a free parking area next to the old town walls so we drive in to see if we can find a restaurant for tonight and explore some of the old town. It is so much easier with less traffic and in daylight. There is plenty of parking and the rain has eased off a little.
We have parked right by the North Gate of the fortified old town. Rue de Lille with Place Godefroy Bouillon (named after a local lord who departed from the port of Boulogne in 1096 to lead the first Crusade and was made King of Jerusalem) at one end and the Basilica at the other end, is lined with shops and restaurants which we check out for tonight.
Boulogne-sur-Mer’s Ville Haute is a beautifully preserved medieval town with the Basilica Notre Dame which has the longest crypt in France (dating back to Roman times). Cobble stone streets, ancient buildings, a chateau museum, quirky shops and restaurants. Also, the UNESCO-listed Belfry where cannon balls were fired on the town by King Henry VIII when he laid siege to the town in 1544.
Julius Caesar took off from this town to invade England in 55BC. Napoleon mustered an Armada for the same purpose centuries later.
In fact, Napoleon Bonaparte spent three years in Boulogne planning an invasion of England. He stayed in a mansion called the Imperial Palace, now a university building, at the Place Godefroy de Bouillon.
Past the Imperial Palace the road changes its name to Rue du Puits d’Amour which continues through the city wall where one can climb the stairs and stroll around the ancient, boulevard-wide ramparts which have 17 towers.
The archway frames a French flag and monument known as ‘Le souvenir francaise aux enfants de Boulogne morts pour la patrie’ (French memory of Boulogne’s children who died for their homeland).
The Basilican of Notre Dame, built on the site of other churches dating to AD636, is unique – part Rome’s Pantheon, London’s St Paul’s Cathedral and Les Invalides in Paris – it was designed by a priest with no architectural experience but is magnificent.
As it starts to rain again we reach the car and head back to the Maison to do some washing and update the blog. Early this evening we will head back to hopefully find a functioning restaurant.
Driving along the D96 into town the Basilica dominates the skyline and there are several pieces of very good street art along the way.
Once again we park by the city wall where the illumination of the Basilica’s Dome is rather impressive.
Unfortunately, none of the restaurants in Rue de Lille in the old town is open so we walk to Place Dalton where we find a pub and bistro open with boards outside illustrating the food they serve.
It’s now about 5:30 pm. After perusing the menu which lists both drinks and food, the waitress promptly comes to our table to take our drinks orders. When she delivers the drinks we go to order food but she says: “Non, non, non! Ze kitchen duz not open until 7 pm for food!”
Buggar! We sit and nurse our drinks for 1.5 hours while we watch the curling on the Eurosport channel. At 7:40 pm our food finally arrives and is almost inedible. So much for French cuisine!!!
22 November, 2023
Finally, the rain has stopped and this morning is bright and sunny with a top forecast of 11 Deg. C.
After our solitary breakfast we drive into town.
This is the other piece of street art that is on the D96 drive into town.
Today we park closer to the West Gate entrance to the old town which has a more ornate facade.
Once inside the gate there is a set of stairs leading up onto the ramparts that totally enclose the old town.
From here we get another view of the Belfry which is behind the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall).
Also from here we get an aerial view of the Square of A. Mariette-Pacha, the famous Boulognaise Egyptologist. In the square is a monument to the man, atop a pyramid, behind that a step period and behind that a modern gold-capped obelisk with hieroglyphics. Alongside the square is an Egyptian boat.
François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette (11 February 1821 – 18 January 1881) was a French scholar, archaeologist and Egyptologist, and the founder of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities, the forerunner of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. He discovered the ruins at Saqqara in 1851 and other significant Egyptian discoveries. In 1869 he even wrote a brief plot for an opera which Verdi accepted as the subject for Aida.
When we arrive at the stairs to the Basilica we descend and enter the church.
The first Christian building on the site was probably built by the Romans during the 4th or 5th century, on the peak of the hill that forms the modern haute ville. In around 1100 a new church was built on the site and over the next few centuries underwent numerous changes.
In 1567, on the creation of the Diocese of Boulogne, the church was elevated to be its cathedral, and flourished until the French Revolution. The building was then demolished in stages. Of the original cathedral, only the impressive Romanesque crypt from the medieval building survives.
A local priest and self-taught architect, Benoît Haffreingue, vowed to rebuild the destroyed cathedral. After a vigorous campaign he was able to gain the support of many, including Victor Hugo and François-René de Chateaubriand, and soon had considerable public opinion behind him.
Construction of his design began in 1827 with the building of the rotunda and continued for nearly fifty years. The dome that now dominates the town was finished in 1854 and its western towers were completed in the 1870s. In 1879 the rebuilt church was declared a minor basilica.
Notre-Dame was built to a new design inspired by both Classical and Renaissance styles, and bears many similarities to St Paul’s Cathedral.
The area beneath the dome was initially designed to form the complete church, but additional funding allowed the expansion to the nave and transept that form a Latin cross. This gives the finished building the unusual internal appearance of being formed by two distinct churches, each of which is equally beautiful.
Decorated in Romanesque style, the crypt’s walls are covered with frescoes and there are relics on display. Here Edward II of England married Isabelle of France in 1308. Their son Edward III later started the 100 years war.
When Haffreingue began work on the new church in 1827, the workmen discovered a crypt that had lain unknown for centuries, having probably been filled in during the 1544 siege of Boulogne by Henry VIII of England. The crypt is 128 metres long in total, and is believed to be the longest in France. Its Romanesque columns date back to the 11th century.
With 19th-century masonry accompanying the original medieval work, the many rooms also include the foundations of a Roman temple dedicated to Mars and evidence of Roman barracks.
Back up on the ramparts it’s a short walk to the Chateau which was built in the 13th century by Philippe Hurepel (1180-1234), count of Boulogne and son of Philip II of France.
The castle is built in the eastern corner of the medieval walls surrounding the Haute Ville, the walls themselves reconstructed by Hurepel. The eastern part of the castle was built over the corner of the Roman wall, parts of which are still visible in the basement. Housing together the political, legal and economic powers of the time, it was also a residential and defensive site.
Classified as a court castle it has its own moat. It’s accessible from both the outside – the large gateway to the city is still used today – as well as from the castle courtyard.
With its 9 cylindrical towers joined by curtain walls its shape resembles an irregular polygon.
After passing the main entrance, which has lost its original drawbridge, the first building on the left is what was the state room when the castle was built then follows the chapel, armoury, lodgings and kitchens.
After completing a circuit of the ramparts we jump in the car and drive 3 minutes to Rue Napoleon.
Napoleon built 2000 boats and was so sure of success he had a 54 metre high victory column (Colonne de la Grand Armee) erected 3 km away from the old town at Wimille between 1804 and 1841. The column is topped by a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte turning his back on the sea. His ambitions didn’t go to plan, but the column remains.
After we return to the Maison, I order a Clean Air Certificate (Crit’Air) for the car which has been a requirement since August if you want to drive in 13 of France’s towns. We’ll be staying in 3: Toulouse, Nice and Reims so I organise for it to be delivered to our accommodation in St Emilion. It only costs Eur3.70 and is for the lifetime of the car, but if you don’t have one the fine can be up to Eur135.
As we can’t find a restaurant that opens before 7:00 pm for dinner we opt to drive to the large Leclerc supermarket 4 minutes away to buy something to cook at home.
Tomorrow we drive the 240 km to Honfleur, about 2 hours away.
23 November, 2023
After our host, Nick, kindly produces a compressor so that I can inflate the car tyres, we are away at 11:10 am driving under an overcast sky with an outside temperature of 13 Deg. C.
The GPS takes us down the A16 then the A28 and A29 to our destination of Honfleur.
So, 2 tolls and a bridge fee later – for crossing the impressive Pont de Normandie over the River Seine – we arrive around 1:30 pm and check in.
Honfleur is located in the Calvados area of Normandy. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie.
Honfleur is especially known for its old port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted frequently by artists – such as Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind, who formed the école de Honfleur (Honfleur School) which contributed to the Impressionist movement.
The first written record of Honfleur is a reference by Richard III, Duke of Normandy, in 1027. By the mid-12th century, the city was a significant transit point for goods from Rouen to England.
After 1608, Honfleur thrived on trade with Canada, the West Indies, the African coasts and the Azores. As a result, the town became one of the five principal ports for the slave trade in France. During this time the rapid growth of the town saw the demolition of its fortifications.
The wars of the French revolution and the First Empire, and in particular the continental blockade, caused the ruin of Honfleur. In recent times its recovery as a significant port has been hindered by the development of the modern port at Le Havre.
After the Normandy landings, Honfleur was liberated together by the British, Belgian and Canadian armies on 25 August 1944 without any combat.
The Sainte-Catherine church, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, has a bell tower separate from the principal building, and is the largest wooden church in France. The church is partially covered in chestnut shingles, which are called “essentes” in the local dialect.
The first nave is the oldest part of the building, dating to the second half of the 15th century, constructed right after the Hundred Years’ War. It was built on the model of a market hall, using naval construction techniques, which gives the impression of an upside-down ship’s hull.
In the 16th century, a second nave was added, whose vault was like the wooden vaults of modest Gothic churches. This second part was more round, and did not look like a ship’s hull.
The famous “Axe masters” of the naval yards of the city created this lovely building without using any saws, just like their Norman ancestors (who can be seen in action in the Bayeux Tapestry), and like the Vikings before them.
The bell tower was built a good distance away, so that parishioners would not be burnt in case of a fire. Indeed, the bell tower drew lightning strikes due to its height and its position on the side of a hill.
We stop at the ‘Green Parrot’ Bar & Bistro which is one of many that line the harbour – but one of few that is open at the moment – for its special: Le Vin Chaud de Maison!
24 November, 2023
Finally, the rain has stopped so we decide on a walk along the Seine then through the Jardin des Personnalities to the Croix de Grace just before the beach commences.
The garden is landscaped over more than 20 acres and pays tribute to 21 people.
Each person has a space of his/her own, within a boat-shaped hedge and with a bust and a sign with homage to their work. There are 4 categories: painters, artists, navigators and historical figures.
At the top end of the garden is an exit onto the promenade which ends where the beach commences.
Walking back to the Old Harbour we pass by La Lieutenance. The lieutenancy building (la Lieutenance) is at the entrance to the old harbour. It is an old building of the 18th century, and the former home of the Governor of Honfleur. One of the sides of the building is an old gate of the city, the Port de Caen, which was to be part of the city’s fortifications. It was between 1684 and 1789 home to the Lieutenant of the king. In 1793 it became the commerce tribunal.
Opposite is Le Vintage Bar and Restaurant so we pop in for a coffee and a hot chocolate to warm up.
After hot beverages we cut down Rue Haute which has more restaurants and shops and Boulevard Charles V.
In Boulevard Charles V we come across the house where Erik Satie, another notable Honfleur artist, was born. Satie (1866-1925), a French composer and pianist was born and lived in Honfleur as a youth. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and in the 1880s worked as a pianist in a café-cabaret in Montmartre, and began composing works, mostly for solo piano, such as his Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes.
A meeting with Jean Cocteau in 1915 led to the creation of the ballet Parade (1917) for Serge Diaghilev, with music by Satie, sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso, and choreography by Léonide Massine.
Satie’s example guided a new generation of French composers away from post-Wagnerian impressionism towards a sparer, terser style. Among those influenced by him during his lifetime were Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Francis Poulenc. There is a museum dedicated to him in Honfleur in the house where he was born.
At this point we part company with me returning to the hotel while Lynn continues to explore.
While photographing Jongkind’s house in Rue du Puits she hears a small bang and a tinkle of falling glass to witness a truck that has reversed into a shop window and pierced it with the edge of its extra long tray.
She photographs the truck, both immediately after the incident and as it drives away, as well as the damage to the window. This shop, nor the 2 related shops opposite, is open.
Returning to the hotel she walks past the top end of the harbour and calls into the Eglise Saint-Leonard.
There already existed a sanctuary in 1186 on the site of the current church as evidenced by a charter from Grestain Abbey. The facade is in the flamboyant Gothic style and is the only remaining part of the old Gothic building. There are also some Renaissance elements remaining. Most of the church was burned by the Huguenots during the wars of religion in the 16th century. Most of the building was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, which explains the particular shape of the dome bell tower, rare in Normandy, but reminiscent of those found in Eastern France.
Near to the hotel is a fun fair which, when we had arrived, looked like it had been closed down for the winter, but along one side several booths have been opened and behind them is a large stall serving goodies like crepes, churros and ice creams.
Arriving back at the hotel Lynn phones the shop and leaves a message that the shop window has been damaged and that she has photos if the driver of the truck hasn’t been in contact with the owner.
25 November, 2023
At breakfast Lynn gets an SMS from the shop owner asking for her photos and thankful that she had left a message as apparently the driver hasn’t been in touch.
A sunny morning but 4 degrees cooler today at 8 Deg. C. The plan is to walk to Mont Joli to see the view but as we head out we realise that as it’s Saturday, it’s market day. In the Cours des Fosses car park there are clothing, leather and jewellery stalls set out which then continue along the edges of the harbour.
Then along the street next to the Eglise Sainte-Catherine and in the church’s square are food stalls.
We walk through the town then up a very steep roadway then a steep switchback path to the summit of Mont Joli.
The hill dominates the city and offers a panorama of the Seine valley and the Pont de Normandie which connects Honfleur to Le Havre.
We had planned to go out to dinner later this evening but the local French food is uninspiring and I seem to be developing a gut ache so we just have a snickers bar and a cookie with a cup of tea in our hotel room for dinner.
Lynn went for an early evening walk to get some supplies from the local supermarket and to see what was causing all the thumping noise and doof-doof music. Apparently the carnival is open tonight from 2:30 pm to 11:00 pm so we are assaulted with the noise and music until late. There are not many people at the carnival which we can understand with a night time temperature of 4 Deg C.
26 November, 2023
It’s our 7th wedding anniversary today so we’ve booked a more upmarket restaurant for lunch. Since it’s Sunday many of the local restaurants will be closed tonight.
Each year Lynn sends me an anniversary email, this year with a very appropriate message attached:
I had a bad night’s sleep spending much of the night on the loo. Bloody French food. It makes Polish food seem excellent quality.
We head off to lunch just after midday. The food is a little better but these restaurants wouldn’t survive a week’s reviews in most places around the world. And they allow diners to bring their dogs in with them!
I order a fatty and gristly entrecote and Lynn orders duck breast which she tells me is delicious.
I am still feeling unwell – I suspect a mild case of food poisoning – so we head back to the hotel where I update the GPS. At around 4:30 pm we get an email from next week’s hotel advising us that they have decided not to bother opening during our booking. This is the third French hotel to cancel our booking that we made last June. I knew there was a reason that I hate the bloody French. Couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.
And the carnival is open again this afternoon, too. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
27 November, 2023
It has been raining all night but at least the carnival closed down early by about 9:00 pm.
We only have a short 1 hour 50 minute drive on toll-free roads to our next stay at Beauvoir where we have a partial view of Mont-Saint-Michel from the bedroom window.
This stay is in a gite but for some very strange French reason we are not supposed to check in until 5:00 pm. There obviously isn’t a French word for ‘Service’ as most of our French accommodation so far has been a hassle one way or another (excluding the Maison). At least we don’t have to check out of the Mercure Hotel in Honfleur until midday.
As I’m fed up with French cuisine, when we arrive we drive to the local supermarket in nearby Pontorson and stock up on wine and food so that we can eat in for the next 3 nights.
28 November, 2023
Bliss! Finally a lie-in this morning thanks to the quiet village we are in and the external window shutters. When we finally surface we are greeted by a stunning, 9 Deg. C. sunny day with no wind.
We’re out the door at 11:15 am to drive the 3 minutes to the car park then walk the short distance to the free shuttle bus that departs immediately.
The bus takes about 10 minutes from departure, with a stop at the hotels, across the causeway to drop off at the footbridge. They run every 10 minutes up until 10:00 pm.
At this point Lynn reveals that it has been almost 19 years since she last visited here, on 26 December 2004 – otherwise known as the day of the devastating Aceh Tsunami.
We deliberately chose this time of day – 3 hours before low tide – to ensure access to the Mont.
Today’s high tide earlier this morning was 12.72m. Low tide at 2:20 pm will be 2.36m. By comparison, today’s low tide at Snapper Rocks (near Burleigh Heads) was 0.26m and high tide was 1.8m. Apparently at the Spring high tide the Mont’s causeway has been known to be inaccessible as the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel is the zone of the highest tides in continental Europe, with a tidal range of up to 15 metres. The sea then reaches the coasts “at the speed of a galloping horse”, as the saying goes.
A statue of Saint Michael placed at the top of the abbey church rises 157.10 meters above the shore. The urban ramparts seen today are essentially the work of Abbot Robert Jollivet. In 1417, it surrounded the lower town and the foot of the Mont with a continuous enclosure with a crenelated parapet. The abbey and its outbuildings are classified as historic monuments by list of 1862; the islet and the coastal strip of the bay have been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 1979.
The mountain also benefits from a second world recognition as a stage of the Routes of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France for “pilgrims from Northern Europe (who) passed through the Mount when they went to Galicia”.
The economy of the Mount has been dependent, for twelve centuries, on numerous pilgrimages, notably until the French Revolution. People came from all over Northern Europe on pilgrimage to the abbey.
Originally it was known as Mount Tombe. There were two oratories, one dedicated to Saint Symphorien, the other to Saint Stephen, built by hermits in the 6th and 7th centuries. Following this first Christianization of Mont Tombe, an oratory was erected in honor of the Archangel Saint Michael in 708 (709 for the dedication), as indicated in the Annals of Mont-Saint-Michel written at the beginning of the 12th century.
For the first time in 710, the Montoise island lost its name of “Mont-Tombe” and took that of “Mont-Saint-Michel-au-peril-de-la-Mer”, referencing the passage of pilgrims crossing the bay getting stuck in the mud or drowning, before the name “Mont-Saint-Michel” was gradually established.
In 709, Aubert, bishop of Avranches, installed a community of twelve canons on the site to serve the sanctuary and welcome pilgrims – the mountain became both a place of prayer and study, and pilgrimage. It was at this time that the mountain, to the east of the rock, welcomed the first villagers who were fleeing Viking raids.
This first habitat must have housed the different trades necessary for the construction of the first sanctuary: stonemasons, masons, laborers and carpenters. Most houses had to be built of wood and cob. It is likely that the pilgrims found room and board in one of the village inns, which appeared to welcome them at the foot of the mountain. The village thus developed in the shadow of its medieval abbey, growing at the turn of the year 1000 thanks to the protection of the Benedictine abbots.
The replacement of the canons by Benedictine monks took place in 965 or 966, the year being the founding of the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel. From then on, the Dukes of Normandy wanted to make the mountain one of the great centres of pilgrimage in Christianity and launched vast construction projects. It was the beginning of the glorious era for the abbey which would be led by 41 Benedictine abbots, from 966 to 1622.
It was these first Benedictine monks who endowed the abbey with the pre-Romanesque double-nave church of “Notre-Dame-sous-Terre” (966), then had the nave of the abbey church whose transept crossing was established on the top of the rock. The island of the mountain being too small to house a stone quarry, the granite came from the quarries of the nearby Chausey Islands where it was cut from the rock by stone cutters, transported by sea (blocks hauled under small boats or barges, by means of hawsers and a winch operated at high tide) and assembled in blocks sealed by masons.
Through the centuries the Mont was owned by various dukes and kings, was besieged, fortified, burnt numerous times and subsequently rebuilt numerous times. In 1731 part of the abbey became a state prison and after incarcerating some 14,000 prisoners was finally abolished in 1863 by Napoleon III.
3 July 1877, the grandiose celebrations of the coronation of the statue of Saint Michael took place in the abbey church, in the middle of a period of sacral recharge. Celebrated by the Bishop of Coutances in the presence of a cardinal, eight bishops and a thousand priests, these festivities attracted 25,000 pilgrims.
Urgent work to consolidate and restore the abbey, classified as a historic monument in 1862, was carried out from 1872 by Édouard Corroyer, archivist of Historic Monuments, with the mission of restoring it to its original condition. The bell tower and the spire, which suffered storms and lightning having set the abbey on fire twelve times, were rebuilt by the architect Victor Petitgrand between 1892 and 1897, in styles characteristic of the 19th century – neo-Romanesque for the bell tower, neo-Gothic for the spire.
The Archangel Saint Michael (statue in laminated, embossed and gilded copper plates) which crowns the spire (finally completed in 1898) was made in 1895 by the sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet. Measuring 3.5 m, weighing 800 kilograms and having cost 6,000 francs (or 15,000 euros today), it was erected on August 6, 1897 in spare parts. Damaged by lightning strikes and corroded by sand-laden winds which caused its gilding to disappear, the statue underwent a removal, restoration and re-installation operation, via helicopter, in 1987 and 2016.
In 1922, worship was restored in the abbey church. From 1965 to 1966 the last major restorations were carried out by Yves-Marie Froidevaux.
Since the 19th century, romantic authors and painters came to the mountain, for its unique charm and its picturesque qualities, such as Guy de Maupassant.
At the end of the century, several hotels were established on the mount. In the second half of the 20th century, the transformation of the site into a world-class place to visit made the small Normandy town one of the leading tourist destinations in France.
Since 2001, brothers and sisters from the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, coming from the Saint-Gervais church in Paris, have provided a religious presence all year round. They replace the Benedictine monks, who had returned to the Mount since 1966. They are the tenants of the Center des monuments nationaux and do not intervene in the management of the abbey.
Every day, the community meets for services in the abbey church (or in the Notre-Dame des Trente Candles crypt in winter), thus returning the building to its original destination, to pray and sing.
In 2020, the commune had 27 inhabitants, called the Montois. In 2023, the village of Mont-Saint-Michel joined the list of villages labeled Heritage Village, which work to highlight their heritage.
Over time, the islet of Mont Saint-Michel has become an emblematic element of French heritage.
29 November, 2023
After a late sleep-in we wake to another relatively sunny day. It is cold outside but we plan a quiet rest day – except that Lynn has some ironing to do.
We have now managed to rebook properties where the French seem to think that it is OK to cancel bookings made 6 months ago at the last minute. We have caught up on the blog, done the washing and ironing so the only thing outstanding is to deal with 3 HSBC banking issues. The bank must be seriously employing untrained monkeys as, after three months they still have not returned my AUD Term Deposit funds, can’t seem to fix Lynn’s Global View so that she can transfer funds and now, there One Time Password by SMS has failed so we couldn’t make a payment last night for out accommodation in Cannes.
They respond quickly to my complaint emails apologising for the inconvenience but nothing actually gets fixed. Still the issues persist. I have now had to resort to reporting them to AFCA which they promptly apologised for but still nothing is done. It seems that HSBC is employing more mindless Chinese staff like we encountered just before we left Oz when we had to go to the branch manager (Australian guy) to get things rectified. That problem was caused by a poorly-trained Chinese girl who only partially entered our residential address despite reading it off our drivers’ licenses.
Tomorrow we are off to Quimper where we booked 4 nights in a Best Western Plus hotel 6 months ago in the old town only to be told a few days ago that they will be closed this weekend and have cancelled two of our four booked days. We manage to find a Mercure hotel a little further away for the other two days. Originally we were going to cancel all four days and stay at the Mercure but we decided that the original hotel is closer to the old town and it also gives us the ability to give them a proper serve when we do their review!
30 November, 2023
7:00 am and it’s still dark outside! After packing the car we leave at 9:40 am and drive away under an overcast sky and in 5 Deg. C. temperature.
Rather than take the toll road direct to Quimper, we stop firstly at Saint-Brieuc – named after the monk, Brioc. Unfortunately it is chucking down rain so we continue on. As we are driving out of the town we can see that it is quite picturesque with houses on cliff tops and cliff faces that descend into deep valleys. In fact, the town is crossed by two valleys where the Gouët and Gouédic rivers flow.
Our second stop is Morlaix which is also a picturesque town with a fine marina and a massive viaduct, a railway structure which allows the crossing of the Morlaix river and the service to the city station by the line from Paris-Montparnasse to Brest.
Construction of the viaduct began on 20 July 1861. It measures 292 meters long and rises to 62 meters high. Its main span is 15.50 m. It includes two levels with nine arches on the lower level and fourteen arches on the upper level.
In January 1943 the Royal Air Force dropped 43 bombs on the town in order to cut the rail line by damaging the viaduct which it only managed to do fleetingly. A few hours later the Germans had repaired it, but the other 42 bombs killed 80 residents and injured many others.
From here we take the D785 SW then the N165 to Quimper. The D785 bisects heath land where we drive through misty rain and see enticing glimpses a lake through scudding low clouds.
A bit reminiscent of driving through the Scottish Highlands with the odd cottage here and there, a thin ribbon of a road with scant traffic on it and wild weather enveloping the heath.
After enduring torrential rain, suddenly it is blue sky and sunshine as we arrive in the town of Pleyben. Its most striking feature is the Pleyben Parish Close housing the opulent Gothic and Renaissance-styled Eglise Saint-Germain, a triumphal arch and a monument called ‘the Calvary at Pleyben’.
And as we drive through town we pass a guy walking along the footpath with 2 baguettes under his arm, happily munching on a piece he broke off one of them.
Around 1:30 pm we arrive at the hotel and promptly walk the 180m to the commencement of the old town while the weather holds.
Quimper is the capital of Finistere in Brittany. It was the ancient capital of Cornouaille, Brittany’s most traditional region, and has a distinctive Breton Celtic character. Its name is the Breton word kemper (having the same linguistic derivation to the Welsh ‘cymer’), meaning “confluence” – the confluence of the rivers Le Steir and L’Odet. It’s even twinned with Limerick, Ireland.
Quimper was originally settled during Roman times. By AD 495, the town had become a Bishopric. It subsequently became the capital of the counts of Cornouailles. In the eleventh century, it was united with the Duchy of Brittany. During the War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364), the town suffered considerable ruin. In 1364, the duchy passed to the House of Montfort.
The Cathedral of Saint-Corentin, with its Gothic-style façade, was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries. It is the oldest Gothic structure in lower Brittany. Its two towers are 76 m (250 feet); its spires were added in the 19th century.
The 15th-century stained glass windows are exceptional.
Monseigneur René Nicolas Sergent pressed for an altar to match the grandeur of the cathedral and Mon. Boeswilwad, the architect-in-chief of “Monuments Historiques” was put in charge of the project. He commissioned the goldsmith Placide Poussielgue-Rusand to create the altar. Poussielgue-Rusand’s altar was exhibited at the 1867 Exposition Universelle and was gifted to the town of Quimper by Napoleon III. The altar is consequently known as the L’autel d’Or or the autel Napolėon and was consecrated in 1868.
The cathedral is dedicated to Quimper’s first bishop, Corentin.
The pedestrianised streets of Vieux Quimper have a wide array of crêperies, half-timbered houses, and shops.
The town has a rustic atmosphere, with footbridges spanning the rivers that flow through it. The town’s eating establishments boast some of the best crêpes and cider in Brittany. The town has also been known for copper and bronze work, food items, galvanised ironware, hosiery, leather, paper and woollen goods.
The town’s best known product is Quimper faience, tin-glazed pottery. It has been made here since 1690, using bold provincial designs of Jean-Baptiste Bousquet. Quimper even has a museum devoted to faience.
It’s chilly so we decide that it must be wine o’clock so we call into a Tabac and order “deux vins chauds, s’il vous plait”.
As usual, restaurants here won’t open until 7:00 pm for dinner. On the way back to the hotel I espy a pizzeria which opens at 6:30 pm – that’s got my vote!
Unfortunately, when we turn up at the pizzeria they advise that they are only open at 6:30 pm for take-a-way orders and the restaurant is not open until 7:00 pm. We leave.
Since we have to wait another half an hour we decide to head back to the warmth of the hotel and then head out at 7:00 pm to Mario’s, a trattoria in the same street as the hotel. It is a good choice as the food is delicious, the house wine quaffable and the prices reasonable. So good that we order veal scaloppine and book a table for pizza tomorrow night – at 7:00 pm, naturally.
1 December, 2023
The weather forecast is for a sunny day but as I throw open the curtain it is cold, dark and cloudy outside. The plan for today is to walk the town to see all the tourist hot spots in Quimper. It is only a small town so that shouldn’t take long.
Since it is very cloudy outside we have a slow breakfast and don’t emerge from the hotel until about 12:15 pm. There is a very cold wind blowing and it is about 7 Deg C outside. I describe it as like having an ice cream headache.
Our first stop is close by just on the other side of L’Odet River – the Max Jacob Theatre. In 1893, the lawyer Urbain Couchouren (1864-1893) bequeathed to the city of Quimper a plot of one hectare, located on the edge of the left bank of the Odet, on the condition that this land be used for the construction of an old people’s hospice. However, the town hall is committed to the project of building a theater on this land, while allocating funds to the construction of the hospice desired by Urbain Couchouren, but on land close to the civil hospice.
This non-compliance with the will causes a legal dispute leading to lawsuits. The Council of State was seized, and the President of the Republic Émile Loubet ended up signing a decree on 20 August 1899, which authorizes the Quimper municipality to carry out its project. These adventures are the plot of Max Jacob’s play, Le Terrain Bouchaballe, written twenty years after the events.
It was the proposal of the Nantes architect Georges Lafont which was chosen, the sculptures of the facade being entrusted to the Nantes sculptor Émile Gaucher and the interior decor to the Parisian Adrien Karbowsky. Work began in the spring of 1902 and the building was inaugurated in 1904. In 1913, Sarah Bernhardt performed here in l’Aiglon while in 1997, the theater was renamed the “Max-Jacob Theatre”.
Walking back along the Odet River we are impressed by the number of footbridges, and a couple of road bridges, that cross it. Further down the river we come across a sign that indicates this river bank, where cars are parked, can become inundated during high tides.
On both sides of the river there are traditional French apartment buildings and other impressive buildings, one of which is the Prefecture of Finistere building.
Continuing along the river’s edge we arrive at our destination, Le Quartier de Locmaria which comprises: the Museum of Faience (Quimper pottery); the Art Embroidery School and its exhibition space, and the Church of Locmaria – the Place of Mary.
The Locmaria district is emblematic of Quimper. Initially the place of the original port city in the 1st century AD and the place where the oldest abbey of Quimper was established, Locmaria is known today as the district of earthenware makers where Quimper earthenware – faience – is manufactured.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the prioress brought in, through a Benedictine convent, a Provençal earthenware maker named Pierre Bousquet who became the founder of the first factory, which later became La Hubaudière-Bousquet (HB). The development of earthenware gave Locmaria the character of an industrial suburb of Quimper for the following two centuries.
Architecturally, the Notre-Dame church is a very fine example of the beginnings of Breton Romanesque style. Built from the 11th and 12th centuries, it was modified in the 16th century by the addition of a Gothic portal with ribbed vaults, the apse was rebuilt in the 17th century, then restored in its Romanesque layout in the 19th century. It is one of the best preserved Romanesque buildings in Brittany.
The church is flanked by a 17th century cloister along the south aisle which connects it to the adjoining priory to the west. Excavations revealed the classic plan of a Romanesque abbey organized around its cloister.
In 1150, there were 8 nuns in the choir, which is a significant number for a simple priory. During the Middle Ages, Locmaria is one of the four female abbeys in Brittany. In 1633 the priory was rigorously reformed. During the Revolution, the monastery closed and the 22 nuns who occupied it left. After being disused, the church was reassigned to parish worship in 1857.
The river adjacent to the quarter here ceases to have a dock alongside, rather showing mudflats at low tide. Obviously this is as far as boats can go upstream thanks to the number of low-level pedestrian crossings.
Our next stop is back along the river and into the old town, at La Place Terre-au-Duc – the Duke’s Land. During the Middle Ages, this square was the center of the secular city of the city of Quimper. The dukes exercised their power here – the court, the prison, the mill and the market of the Duke of Cornwall. Many typical houses were found here, called “timbered houses” or even “half-timbered” which have given them their reputation today. Apparently, in 1745, Terre au Duc was the largest and most beautiful district of the city.
Next is Les Halles, the market hall. Opened in 1847, on the site of the former Saint-François convent, it is the only covered market located in the heart of Quimper.
Today it has a modern look but unfortunately a lot of stalls were closed.
Walking to our next location, we walk past a shop that has a yellow-tiled frieze saying in black writing: ‘Faiences de Quimper’. It may have been a pottery shop in the past but today it is a beauty salon. The building still retains its shingle showing a woman in traditional Breton dress (with a tall lace hat) sitting while painting pottery.
Around the corner is the Cathedral and its Episcopal Palace which is now the Breton Departmental Museum.
In the corner of the Cathedral square is an interesting half-timbered house which has lots of plates decorating its exterior – advertising that it is a souvenir shop. Inside it has a huge variety of quality Bretagne souvenirs…
…including an extensive range of painted, pottery plates. Lynn buys some Christmas postcards as we have 2 old-school friends who don’t have Internet so we need to post Christmas cards to them instead.
The post office is around the corner and along the way we pass by remnants of the 14th century fortified wall. Cards duly posted we walk north to another section of the fortified wall which has an intact tower called La Tour Nevet.
The Nevet Tower is the only defense tower that remains today. Nearby is La Place au Beurre.
Formerly called Place aux Ruches, then Place au Beurre-de-Pot, this is where winter butter was once sold – very salty so it kept for a long time in stoneware pots. This square could now be renamed Place aux Creperies, as their terraces occupy most of the place.
On our way back to the hotel Lynn calls into an artisanal patisserie that we had walked past earlier and purchases a canale – a small French pastry (a specialty of Bordeaux) flavoured with rum and vanilla with a soft custard centre and a dark, thick caramelized crust – to have with her afternoon cuppa.
2 December, 2023
Today we need to drive a whole 450m SE from our existing hotel to the Mercure Quimper Centre. It’s forecast to be raining the next 2 days with a top of 8 Deg. C on Saturday and 12 on Sunday.
Apparently the Breton Departmental Museum has free entry on weekend afternoons during winter so we’ll probably mosey along there to check it out.
And, yes it does! The Museum presents the archaeology, popular and decorative arts of Finistère.
Ancient arts include gold jewelry from the Bronze and Iron Ages, silver dishes from a Roman temple and gold coins from the Gauls, France and England.
The above torque has been dated to Middle or Late Bronze Age (1300-900 BC). It’s 80% gold, silver and copper. It’s a torsade gold belt (a decorative twisted braid, ribbon, or other strand used as trimming) with connections to similar jewellery made in Ireland at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age and discovered in NW France.
2 floors are dedicated to Breton traditions and arts such as costume, furniture and Quimper earthenware.
Costumes are covered extensively for men, women and children showing differences between each area of Brittany, according to occupation (fisherfolk versus farmers) and activity (every day to celebrations such as weddings, religious festivals and Sunday best). Sunday best included velvet, colourful embroidery, satin and lace, ribbon work and buttons.
Interestingly, after WWI Breton men stopped wearing their traditional waistcoats, jackets, trousers and hats with ribbons but women continued. In particular, Brittany stove-pipe white lace hats grew 39 cm in height between 1915-1935!
And, of course, footwear based originally on sabots, or clogs.
By late afternoon it is bucketing down outside. We have a booking at one of the few restaurants nearby which is only about 6 minutes’ walk away but by the time we sit down for dinner we are drenched. The restaurant is called ‘Asia’ and is a type of Asian Fusion. The owners are Vietnamese and Chinese but only speak French. Still, the food is good and worth getting wet in both directions.
The Mercure is a bit further away from the town centre (by about 300m) but also further away from restaurants. It is hard enough finding restaurants open this time of year in France let alone away from the town centres. We are having trouble getting our room warm. The heating is up full blast but the best we can do is to get the room to about 15 Deg C!
3 December, 2023
The forecast is for heavy rain all day today so we rug up to keep warm in our cold hotel room and I spend the day developing our annual Christmas e-card. The FX rate between the Euro and the AUD spikes a little in our favour this morning so I purchase enough currency to get us through to July next year. At this stage the planned trip to Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia in July and August is not certain depending on the idiot Putin and his dictatorial mates.
Since today is Sunday we have even less dining options tonight but head out again in even heavier rain. We find a Chinese restaurant and it seems that we are the only customers tonight. The food is very ordinary but it is either here or a kebab take-away. We look like drowned rats by the time we are back in our chilly room at the hotel.
Tomorrow morning we are off further south to Rochefort which is about 400km further south and hopefully a bit drier and warmer.
THE CONTINUING TRAVELS OF YOGI & BOO BOO 