It is unlike anything I have ever seen before, sort of  Science museum  meets Kew Gardens with attitude.   Situated to the north of Angers and only opened last April, it is a spectacular garden divided into 4 sections: Sought after, Generous, Domesticated and Mysterious.   Each section is brilliantly laid out with so much of interest that you begin to doubt that 1 day is enough to see it all.    The sought after plants include coffee, cacao, spices, and many others we now take for granted as every day fare, we forget that once men risked their lives travelling the  globe in search of them and that’s what the theme of this part of the park is.   With a staged film/reality show where you feel like one of the crew on board a frigate in the midst of a storm, you certainly get a feel of what is was like for those pioneers.   Lakes, ships, warehouses and lots more help set the scene and take you  back to those days. 

The Generous garden is full of plants and information about those flowers and plants that give us medecines, perfumes, shelter, food and even cleaning products, a real eye opener. 

The Domesticated gardens allow you to discover how, over the centuries, horticulturists and landscape gardeners have tamed and harnessed this tremendous potential.   With a huge indoor area to demonstrate plant adaptation from desert conditions to the Arctic, it really is fascinating and so very well presented.

Lastly my favourite part – the Mysterious gardens,  dedicated to the secrets of the plant world, stepping back into the planet’s geological and climatic history, taking visitors from treetops to the heart of photosynthesis and DNA, and exploring biodiversity and its role all along the food chain.    With lots of interactive games and activities for children of all ages including  discovering fossils, how wind works, a great 3D show about the travels of a rain drop to the heart of a plant, a tree top (leg powered) ride in half a walnut shell and an amazing walk through Jurasic park complete with geysers, mist clouds, sound effects and a very sweet dinosaur.   We loved every minute and wished we’d bought the yearly ticket as I’m sure we’ll go again at different times of year.  

The park is open from April to October with September & October openings at weekends only, Es hat 2 restaurant areas, a huge shop and loads of interest for all ages.   More information can be found on their website: http://www.uk.terrabotanica.fr  – A truly great day out for all the family.

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On this occasion we took some friends to La Gacilly on the way from Rennes airport and found that a lot of changes have taken place.   The streets are still beautiful and cobbled with all the usual artisans doing their thing and the annual photographic exhibiton is in full swing with incredible photos lining the streets and walls of the town but the area around the bridge is undergoing a complete renovation.  

The Tourist Office is now in a new building, beautifully built mit stone and slate walls in keeping with the old buildings around it,  it has a new shop selling locally crafted items and a large exhibition floor above it which this year has a contemporary textiles display from 4th June to 26th September and then an exhibition of contemporary ceramics and earthenware design from 16th October to 31st December. 

Outside between the tourist office and the river there is a spectacular exhibit of African tribal people – very simply made but incredibly effective and just a bit spooky I think.   While we were there last Friday, there was a lot of activity constructing the new pedestrian bridge which will link the area outside the tourist office with what was the Vegetarium.  Now this wonderfully ivy covered building  which belongs to the Yves Rocher empire of natural cosmetics will house a café, a Yves Rocher shop and an exhibition space which this year will focus on celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary.   Yves Rocher have also opened an Eco-Hotel Spa in La Gacilly (not for the penny pinching) with 29 rooms, a restaurant, spa and a conference centre.   You can pamper yourself with treatments at their spa without having to stay at the hotel, prices start at 40€ for 30 mins to 115€ for a 2hr session.    There is also a Yves Rocher garden which can be visited for free just outside La gacilly on the road going through the town to Rennes.

Our last guests were so taken with La Gacilly that after visiting it alone, they then took their parents back for a look and stayed a whole day.   Kate is an avid quilter and you can read what she thought of it on her own blog.

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last Monday to see this tour for the first time.   It started in Rennes with the whole entourage of 1300 vehicles driving to Chateaulin on the 21st which must have been quite a sight and perhaps next year we’ll try to see this part of it.   Then in Chateaulin  650 vehicles went a northern route through Huelgoat, Plougonver, Lannion, Paimpol, St Quay Portieux, Yffiniac, Sables d’Or, Ploubalay, Dinan, St Domineu, Vignoc and back to Rennes.  The other 650 vehicles went south to Ergue-Gaberic, Concarneau, Guidel, Port-Louis, Pluvigner, Plumelec, Rochfort-en-Terre, Malestroit, St Nicholas de Redon, Grand-Fougeray and La Chapelle-Bouexic before joining up again in Rennes.

The tour consisted of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, vintage and classics, motor bikes, lorries and even caravans.  Some drivers dressed up for the era of their cars, others just  prayed they’d make it and unfortunately some didn’t as the  follow up car carrier  proved.   Our guests in La glycine decided to go to the rally on the Sunday night in Redon and thought it was a great turn out and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.  We went to Grand-Fougeray the following morning and found it a bit hot standing on the street waiting for the procession.   The brochure I had was also a bit misleading as it seemed to indicate that all the cars would amass at the race track in Grand-Fougeray and then depart at 11am for the next town.  What actually happened was that cars were still arriving from Redon at 10am while those that arrived earlier were already departing for Rennes.  Some just sailed through without stopping at all.  

Still we had a great time, saw some lovely old cars and I hope you enjoy my gallery of photos – sorry if there seem to be so many but it’s hard to decide which to leave out.   There are also 3 Video clips for a bit of action.   Clip 1 , Clip 2, Clip 3. 

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Well of course if you’re stopped from flying to Rennes by some vulcanic ash cloud as I was, the best thing to do is make the most of the situation by visiting a place I’ve always wanted to see which in this case was Fougére.   Somehow in the past we just drove straight down from St Malo via Rennes home to Guemene, the only places we’d stopped at in the past were Dinard (schön)  and Comburg which although lovely, the chateau was closed on Saturday and wouldn’t you know it that was the day we went.

So to Fougére we drove and it was really glorious, but – are we jinxed or something?  This was Monday and guess what?  The castle was closed on Mondays!   Even so, the town was really glorious and we wondered around the ancient streets and allyways blissfully happy to be there.   It’s a strange place though as most towns have their defences on a hillside to see any danger from a distance – not Fougére, its castle  is in a valley with the town grown around it. 

We explored the town and highly recommend a visit – probably better on a Tuesday or any other day of the week but Monday so the next time you dock at St Malo or even Cherbourg – consider it a worthwhile place to have a stop at. 

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Not the place that immediately comes to mind when thinking about a Tango but last Sunday together with some friends we went to a lovely bar in Roche Bernard and watched a local Argentine  Tango club strut its stuff.You could have been forgiven in thinking that you’d been wisked off to Buenas Aries as the couples started arriving at 5pm and after a quick change of shoes began to dance to haunting South American music.    We’d seen a notice at the café a couple of weeks ago and decided to come and see what it was all about.   Not really knowing what to expect, eine Demonstration oder vielleicht eine Klasse, Wir waren angenehm überrascht zu sehen, mindestens 30 Paare aller Altersgruppen und Fähigkeiten zu ergreifen, um den Boden. Es war entäuschend, dass es nicht eine Option auf das Lernen ein paar Schritte für die Zuschauer, aber mit meinem Rücken curent Problem konnte ich nicht wirklich teilgenommen haben sowi

Die Tänzer waren ganz in die Stimmung des Tangos, viele Frauen tanzen mit geschlossenen Augen und lehnte sich in ihren Partnern die Vollendung des Bildes mit diesen erstaunlichen Bein Flicks. Meine Freundin Patricia und ich unterhielten uns mit dabei, die besten ‘Killer Heels’ und verrücktesten Outfits, aber das Tanzen war definitiv die Sache zu watchhier auf youtube und wieder hier.

On the 20th September, we decided to revisit a garden show held annually in a small town called Saffré.  This is about a 20 minute drive south from us in the direction of Nantes.   The show is held in the grounds of an old chateau which although is too far gone for complete restoration (just too expensive, I think), the town did restore the roof, made the building safe and is using the grounds as a park for the local inhabitants. The whole project only started in 2000 but already the place has the feel of always being there as a public garden.  Most of the work was and continues to be, done by volunteers with great emphasis on children’s participation and ecology.

The garden festival is held over 2 days, has a few plant vendors, children’s shows every few hours, talks and lectures about gardening and ecology (in French of course), a bar and food outlet, and concerts with live bands on the Saturday night.

This year they also had a forge set up with displays of blacksmithing.   There were 2 blacksmiths demonstrating their craft, one an expert in tool making and the other an all rounder but with a penchant for decorative ironwork.   He told us that his last three pieces were based on Scottish Celtic knot designs which he had researched at the British museum in London.   The designs looked deceptively simple but taking into account that you are working with a  heavy metal bar around 4 meteres long, working out the sequence of overs and unders takes some doing.  In this case he explained that the work took him and his assistant 2 days but was 3 months in the planning.   He also undertakes a lot of restoration work locally, in Nantes and Paris.  We were very impressed with his album of previous work and wished we had the kind of cash it takes to commission a piece from him.

The show also had a local bakery using organic flour selling delicious breads and pastries, a book stall and a display of gates and fencing made from – guess what?  Old pallets!    Well, Ian shot off back to his car for the photos I’d taken of his chicken coop and play house and spent a happy time sharing pallet thoughts with the people on the stall.   They were well impressed.

It was a lovely return visit and we’ll probably go again next year but we had to finish this day out with our usual crépe/galette feast at Guenrouet.   Read more about the wonderful places within spitting distance from our gites on our Bereich page.

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Last Sunday (13th) after the obligatory car boot, we drove to a garden I’d long wanted to visit.  Les jardins de Brocéliande are situated just south of  Rennes and only about 40 minutes drive from us but somehow we hadn’t ventured there before.    We arrived around 2.30pm just in time to see all the French families finishing their picnics around the entrance to the gardens.   Sounds odd maybe, but the area between the car park and the gardens is lovely with trees, picnic tables, boules pitch, a cafeteria, a rentablehall and a loo block.   We decided to start our visit with a coffee and were surprised to see how little was on offer in the way of food and snacks – obviously the French visitors knew this and brought their own lunch but I did feel they weren’t making the most of a good commercial location – quelle surprise!   

We paid (€6) each and found a really charming garden inside, of course by September a lot of the herbacious beds are looking a little sad but the Dahlia maze was a riot of colour.   There is a little train which takes you all around the garden (although not quite all 24 hectares of it) - and not really a train but a tractor pulling pulling some wagons but it’s free and fun and a good way of orientating yourself in the garden.   There are some animals – a pig, horse, goats and donkey but the most original children’s attractions were a fantastic rope climb with crows nests at various heights, a mad saucer swing and a man made stream with various way of propelling the water manually.  All good fun and educational too.  

New this year is a path meandering through the garden made up of lots of different materials which you are supposed to walk along in bare feet – we got to the pebbles and thought better of it but loads of people were braving the entire route.   At one point the path was made of mud which got deeper towards the end and it was very amusing to see peoples’ faces as they suddenly realised they were ankle deep in the stuff.   That path ended by going through a shallow river so plenty of opportunity to wash those tootsies.   Although we didn’t participate ourselves, we could see how much others enjoyed it and how much thought went into creating it. There were sections of sand, coir, pebbles, pine cones, embedded glass bricks, astro turf, concrete with wild animal & bird prints, rubber shavings, mud, water, shingle, and loads more I’ve now forgotten. 

We spent a lovely 3 hours wondering around the various areas of the garden and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.   The garden has shows spotlighting different plants at different times of the year but it seems there’s something to see from  when it opens on 1st May to its closure on the 31st October.

Before we left, we visited their nursery and as before in the cafeteria, were disappointed at the lack of plants for sale.  They also had various varieties of chickens for sale and quite a lot of information about each breed.  One last stop for a final coffee and a chat witha very nice ‘young man’ revealed that the gardens are run as a training scheme for handicapped people and to sell their crafts.   People with all sorts of disabilities are given the opportunity of learning about business in the garden shop and café, gardening, animal husbandry and catering.  The scheme, he explained, hadn’t been running for long and as withall businesses in France is beset by problems with red-tape and beurocracy but it is getting there.   He apologised for the lack of food and said that it was due to a shortage of volunteers to help the disabled catering trainees, however he also said that his job satisfaction at the garden was 100% improved compared to his 5 years in British catering.  For more details about the gardens visit their Webseite.

On the way home we stopped at La gacilly, another beautiful location, with flower displays to die for, it’s also home to Yves Rocher – France’s answer to Bodyshop and as well as all things ecological, they sponsor a photographic exhibition every year with exhibits hung all over the buildings throughout the town.   There is usually a theme (open to interpretation) and the quality of the photos is breathtaking.  As well as that, the town is also home to cobbled streets filled with beautiful old traditional house and wall to wall artisans plying their crafts.   A charming village and always a pleasure to visit.     As we’re on the borders of Loire Atlantique, and Brittany there’s something to do and see in every direction.  Come and have fun in this lovely place by booking your holiday in one of our ‘home away from home’ gites soon.

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Even when we were snowed under with work und renovations, we always – well nearly always – took Sunday off and now is no exception.   With the sun shining and spirits high we set off to Nantes last Sunday to re-visit an annual  garden event at a lovely park and stately home called Blottereau.   Of course I just happened to find a car boot taking place just up the road as well so I was a really happy bunny  having my two favourite things on one day.  

The Vide Grenier was massive but spoiled by the distance from the car park to the stalls, rather put me off buying anything larger than pocket sized as neither of us fancied carting it back.   Another strange but seemingly true phenonemon is that the larger the car boot, the fewer things I find to buy.   It seems the ideal size is between 70 and 150 stalls yet you’d think the bigger the better.

After trudging around that, we headed for the park, got lost going on a motorway we shouldn’t have been on but eventually got there.   Then I cursed myself – the camera was still sitting on my table back home.   So apologies all round for no lovely pics but I hope the links help.   The gardens are huge and this year they added some live performances sited outside the chateau and a collection of stalls dedicated to equitable farming and produce.   The plan doesn’t really do it justice but might help to get the scale of the place.   There is no website for the park itself but by visiting the Nantes Parks site you can see photos of the 2008 festival and pretty soon I’m sure they’ll add the 2009 collection.     We dived into the plant stalls  after the best strawberry and vanilla ice cream ever, determined not to spend much money but of course couldn’t resist the temptation entirely.   Armed with a few grasses, perennials and a couple of tiny shrubs we called it a day.

Considering the place was heaving with people buying loads of plants, it’s amazing that the message hasn’t got across to French garden centres that they would probably double their turnover if they opened on Sundays.

One thing you can be sure of – from now on my camera will be chained to my bag.    There’s so much to see and visit in this region, have a great holiday in Gites Loire Atlantique soon

There is certainly no shortage of festivals  to enjoy in France, some definitely better than others.  In the nicest way, it never ceases to amaze me how little it takes to make the French happy.   Whereas we go to some country fairs and think,  ’is that it?’  All around us we see milling crowds of several generations of contented French families just chatting to each other and munching on the obligatory gallette saucisse.  It seems a shame that we expect more to entertain us than simple socialising.   

In search of yet another car boot a couple of weeks ago, we ended up in the very pretty coastal town of St Molf and found a ‘Battage’ festival as well.   This is a celebration of old customs, Breton dance and any other regional specialities.  In St Molf they had erected  a stage for the dance demonstrations, had an arena dedicated to old traditional games, a demonstration of old harvesting methods and enough food and drinks to feed several armies as well as a 200 stall car boot.

It was a lovely event, well organised and with a great atmosphere but at which,  by UK expectations, not a lot  happened but everyone had a lovely time.

In Loire Atlantique and in direct contrast, another Rendez-Vous sur Erdre was held last weekend.   All along the river from ‘Motte Rouge’ to ’50 Otages’ on the tramway route in Nantes, groups vied with each other for noise supremacy.   It was an exciting, vibrant and throughly enjoyable experience as always (3rd year for me).   Each venue hosts a different style of music from trad jazz to head bangers with just enough distance between them to enjoy your favourite without the others intruding.    Also along the river in swathes were food stalls selling everything from the usual moules frites and gallettes to exotic Afro-Caribbean, Chinese,  Indian, Arabic and African dishes.  A great opportunity to try something new.   Interspersed between music venues and food outlets were street entertainers and traditional seafaring craft exhibitions.  Truly a great day out for all the family, made even more so by the good humoured demeanour of the crowds;  no drunken yobs, pushing and shoving teen brats or other anti social behaviour spoiled the atmosphere.

I must go again next year but I’ll do a little research first to see who is playing and where, as going blind as I have till now, meant more often than not arriving at interesting sounding gigs just as they play their last notes.  If you’d like to enjoy this wonderful music festival, book your gite with us soon to avoid disappointment.

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Einer der Prämien über mit Freunden zu uns kommen in Loire Atlantique sehen, ist unter dem Vorwand, an Orte, die wir lieben zu überdenken. Vor ein paar Wochen hatten wir eine solche Gelegenheit und sicher gemacht das Beste daraus.

Wir begannen den Ball ins Rollen mit einem Ausflug in die wunderschöne Ton-und Lichtshow auf jedes Jahr im August setzen auf Martigné-Ferchaud sehen.Sparks Marine ist eine wirklich spektakuläre Show auf über setzen 3 Übernachtungen von der lokalen Bevölkerung locker über die vielen Mythen und Legenden Breton Basis, Feen und Kobolde und durch die Nähe von La Roche aux Fées inspiriert (Die Fee rock). Der Veranstaltungsort befindet sich in einem natürlichen Amphitheater umgeben See, Tickets können bei der Ankunft oder im Voraus und die Sitzgelegenheiten auf Holzbänken eine gute Versorgung von Kissen ist ein Muss gekauft werden. Auch der Ankunft ein paar Stunden vor der Show eine gute Plätze zu bekommen ist nicht langweilig, denn die ,Kuchen, Risse, Kaffee-und Vertriebsmitarbeiter arbeiten ihren Weg durch die Reihen der Menschen mit Chips, sausages and other cold drinks available from stalls nearby.

Die Show beginnt bei Sonnenuntergang und dauert 1 Stunden 30 mins, so lohnt es sich zu bringen warme Kleidung oder eine Decke wie die Nacht kühl werden kann. Jedes Jahr etwas Neues hinzugefügt wird, um diese eine Veranstaltung im Wert von dort zurückkehren. Die Besetzung reicht im Alter von 6 nach oben und Zahlen rund um 260 mit 900 local volunteers helping out behind the scenes.   With wonderful music, special effects and spectacular fireworks the show is a magical experience for all ages.

Unser nächster Ausflug selbst nachsichtig war, Vannes, einer der schönsten Städte, die wir haben, und als klarer Favorit gewesen. Der Markt hat es am Mittwoch Morgen ist riesig und alles, was Sie sich vorstellen, ein Französisch-Markt sollte; pulsierenden, beschäftigt, interessant, preisgünstig und mit einer Vielzahl von Waren zum Verkauf. Die Hauptstraße ist für den Verkehr gesperrt und enthält Kleidung, Taschen & Körbe, Blumen, und andere nicht verderbliche Waren, während Fleisch, Fisch und Gemüse haben ihre eigenen Sporen von der Hauptstraße. Es gibt auch einen Indoor-Bereich Wurstwaren und Schalentiere gewidmet. Wir verbrachten eine glückliche 2 hours wondering around absorbing the atmosphere until our rumbling tums directed us towards the restaurants.

In Vannes sind Sie wirklich die Qual der Wahl, wenn es irgendwo zu finden, zu essen, kommt, aber wir einigten uns auf ein Restaurant mit Blick auf den frisch renovierten Kai und hatte einen schönen Mittagessen moules Fritten. Das Gebiet rund um den Kai hat gerade erst abgeschlossen, Es ist jetzt eine breite gepflasterte Gehweg mit einer engagierten Freigelände und es gab eine Töpferei zu vermarkten, während wir dort waren. Die anderen neuen Anlage gibt es eine riesige, sehr preisgünstig, underground car park.

At 2pm, sobald die Straßen waren geräumt Standinhaber, derLittle Train mit uns verrechnet an Bord (Wir sind Kinder am Herzen), a lovely experience for all ages with commentary in English as well as French.  How the driver manoeuvres the train through the tiny cobbled street, nooks and crannies is amazing and must take some practice.

The other lovely thing about Vannes is the Golf du Morbihan, mitBootsfahrten around it and to the islands it’s a great way to spend the afternoon, although if you want a tour of the golf,  it’s best get to the docks just after lunch as there isn’t another boat scheduled until 5pm after that.   By the time we got there, we had to settle for a short ride to the nearest island – Ile d’Arz on what is really a water bus but it was a lovely way to end a super day out.

Next on our schedule was the annual Wild West festival in Bain-de-Bretagne held over 3 days in August, West Country has entertainment for all the family.   A large market selling all things western from hats & boots to full Indian regalia, a rodeo, Indian village with very authentic looking (Französisch) Indians, line dancing for all abilities, and new for this year were a bird of prey show, log felling and chainsaw sculpture and hot air ballooning.   There are also concerts held in the evenings into the early hours.   We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves although the weather was just a bit too hot for comfort while we sat watching the Rodeo.   We didn’t know that the show was in 2 parts and when the intermission was announced we decided to start for home and it wasn’t until I heard the show re-commmence in the distance that we realised it wasn’t over but by that time we were too hot and tired to trudge back.   Still we did see some great horsemanship, rounding up skills, quite annoyed bulls trying to ditch their riders and bucking broncos.   We were very impressed with the dedication of those taking part in making the whole thing as authentic as is possible in the wilds of France rather than the West, the costumes, tipees, skills and atmosphere were brilliant.   The Indians even sporting mohawks on their heads which must be quite difficult to live with when out of costume in every day French life.

Our final afternoon out was a new experience for all of us, we drove down to the dam and lock at Arzal on the Villaine and took the boat trip to Roche Bernard.  A 90 minute round trip with a 20 min stop (just long enough to buy ice creams), it was very enjoyable but as the boat now only operates in the afternoons, we felt it was a shame that the opportunity to explore Roche Bernard was no longer possible.  We are often puzzled by what we perceive as the French distain for commercial opportunity,  as in this case – if the boat ran regularly in the mornings as well,  the businesses of Roche Bernard would surely benefit from extra tourism.  Lovely lakeside and river locations with no boating facilities,  gardens open to the public with no refreshments, even my favourite – the Nantes elephant which only does 6 circuits a day finishing at 5.30 pm at the height of summer when it’s light to 11pm.  Surely he doesn’t belong to a union?   Want to experience these for yourself, then book a great holiday in one of our lovely gites.

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