Brittany

Brittany, France

A senseless incident happened in Toulouse, southern France recently, world condemnation followed. I have passed that way a few years ago on my way to Sete in the Mediterranean coast. Toulouse is at the center of European Aerospace Industry being home to the aircraft manufacturing giant Airbus, the European satellite navigation system Galileo, and the Toulouse Space Center.

Toulouse reminded me of Laurianne and Fiso. They are from Brittany (french Bretagne) in the northern part of France, and like some present day Bretons, they speak an ancient Celtic language called Breton. We were surfing in La Union, Philippines in January this year. Early in the day both were preparing crepe, which they claimed to have originated in Brittany, where the best crepes in the world are cooked. But crepes were first made in TOULOUSE, I said as a matter of fact (I made it up). NO! It’s in Brittany, our place! They burst out together in indignation as if I just blasphemed the Holy Grail.

Brittany is a region northwest of France. It’s a peninsula jutting out westward to the Atlantic Ocean. St Malo, is its most visited city, made famous by its adventurers and pirates, who for centuries have been preying on ships that round the western tip of France. Not to miss in St Malo is Cape Horn Museum they said. It’s dedicated to sea explorers and yes, to its notorious pirates.

Through Brittany, you can access Mont Saint-Michel, located right at the border between Brittany and Normandy. It’s a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey erected on a rocky outcrop right in the middle of the sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the most visited tourist attraction in France next to Paris.

Hey Laurianne, when I come to Brittany will I find some crepes there? I teased. Yes of course! she said, and I hate you, go away! I laughed out loud then grabbed my surfboard and headed to the beach….
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An alternative way to travel or part of your travel itinerary is joining a workcamp from a few days to three weeks depending on the project duration and description. It’s a fun way to know a place and it’s people (anywhere in the world) and it doesn’t cost much. For workcamps in France contact SJ France. Book a cheap flight to France and remember to always travel light.