Trip to England and France, August 2005
Days 4, 5, & 6: My guidebook to Brittany warned that the food at my hotel was “quite ordinary” and that I might be “forced” to take half-board, meaning breakfast and supper each day with the room, but I wasn’t forced at all. I was asked if I would prefer to take my meals at the hotel and I accepted the offer, gratefully. Mainly because I was interested in ordinary French food (the author of my guidebook was obviously British) but also because I found it relaxing to get to know the servers, and to know which table was mine each evening (the only one set for one!). I found that taking half-board was easy because a four-course meal was all prepared, no decisions necessary.
Ordinary French food then consisted of bread, wine, a salad course, a main course, a cheese course, and dessert. On my first evening, for example, I was given a lovely little potato salad served in half an avocado, salmon in cream sauce, three kinds of cheese, and a lemon tart.
The French guests at other tables all seemed to be digging into heaping platters of difficult seafood. It was August, and everywhere I looked people were simply enjoying the pleasure of being on holiday, in the presence of friends and family. Children were well-represented and I didn’t see any of them eating chicken nuggets or grilled cheese.
I spent three days at the hotel in Port Blanc, touring the area, some of the nearby islands, old towns, cathedrals and small villages. One of the most intriguing things about Brittany is the prevalance of Celtic influence. This website gives a great summary to pique your interest in the region. I’m well aware Brittany is not a place most Americans ever think about, but the British, naturally, are crazy about it.
My chief visual memory will be of stone, lace, and hydrangeas; huge blooming plants in all shades of pinks, blues and purples. They flower like crazy in the Breton and Norman soil. I was bowled over by their abundance. It didn’t matter at all that everyone had them; I just kept drinking them in, over and over, starved for their beauty. I know my hometown here prides itself on its hanging flower baskets, but when you see how the French adorn their city halls with flowers, then you know what civic pride is all about:
8:28:30 AM 
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