Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Today, we are back in France and instead of visiting a large city, our plan was to spend a few hours in the countryside and a small town with another HAL tour. It’s another sunny day in the 70’s.
Name of the tour: CIDER IS THE NEW WINE
HAL tour description: To learn more about cider and Breton culture, you’ll head to Le Faou — the gateway to the Crozon Peninsula. Le Faou is a town of immense character, widely recognized as one of the most beautiful villages in France.
As you travel, your guide will tell you about this village that dates back to the 11th century, and (s)he will point out the traditional timbered houses in the center. You will also discover Saint Sauveur Church, facing the port. It is made of Logonna stone from Logonna-Daoulas — a small village nearby.
At the Living Museum of Old Crafts & Trades, meet a team of volunteers whose passion is keeping the crafts and trades of yesteryear alive. The fifteen workshops house a potter, linen- and wool-spinners, embroiders, a lace-maker, a clog-maker, a blacksmith, sea-based trades, a basket-weaver, a chandler (rope-maker), and a wood-turner. Your visit focuses on the traditional aspect of cider-making, from the apple to the beverage. At the end of your visit, taste the cider and enjoy a delicious crepe with it.
Back on the coach, you’ll drive to the Terenez Bridge. This curved cable-stay bridge, designed by architect Charles Lavigne, crosses the Aulne River to link the Breton cities of Argol and Rosnoën. Take in the view over Armorique National Park, and take note of the bridge’s architecture, as it won the World Infrastructure Award in 2013.
Our guide was from this Brittany Region, and she had a lot of information about how the Brittany Region is different from the more well-known Normandy Region. This region is very well known for their cider and crepes. We also had a female bus driver. I believe this is the first time we’ve ever had a female bus driver in all of the tours we’ve ever taken.
Our first stop was the Terenez Bridge. It really was unusual.
Our next stop and the one we spent the most time at was the Living Museum of Old Crafts and Trades. We didn’t get to see all of the areas of the indoor/outdoor museum as the docent seemed compelled to pick up and describe every item in each of the sections that she did cover.
Before we left, another docent demonstrated the cider-making process, and our guide translated her French to English. Every time she translated something, the docent said “Voilla!” Our guide explained that many people from this region and others end sentences with Voilla or Ooh la la. I thought she was exaggerating but this docent did it every time.
The cider they served us was very good. I thought it tasted like my favorite Angry Orchard. We were also served a crepe right off the griddle. It was good but I think it would have been better if it had some sort of topping.
The next stop was a pretty village named La Faou. Our guide took us on a “petite promenade” – a short walk through it and talked about life in a small village.
I especially liked the Saint Sauveur Church.
Once we made it back to the ship, we spent the evening listening to the Ocean Bar band, eating in the Lido, and then went to the magician and comedian Tom Crosbie’s show. He billed himself as a nerd. He had an uncanny memory and was able to quote direct passages of the works of Shakespeare just by someone giving him the page and verse number of a play, and he could solve a Rubik’s cube in all sorts of manners including being blindfolded. As someone who once took a hammer to a Rubik’s cube, I was impressed with his skill.
Travel Trivia
Brest, France
The meaning of the coat of arms of Brest is half France (the three fleurs-de-lis of the former kingdom of France), half Brittany (semé d’hermine of Brittany). These arms were used for the first time in a register of deliberations of the city council dated the 15 July 1683.
The city of Brest does not have much remaining historical architecture, apart from a few select monuments such as the castle and the Tanguy tower. This is due to heavy bombing by the Allies during World War II, in an attempt to destroy the submarine base the Germans had built in the harbor.
Brest claims to be the largest European center for sciences and techniques linked to the sea: 60% of the French research in the maritime field is based in Brest.
Brittany’s most famous local delicacy, the Breton crêpe, is the main culinary feature apart from seafood. There are many crêpe restaurants (called crêperies). Breton apple cider is often featured. Traditional biscuits include Traou Mad, which is a full-fat butter biscuit similar to Scottish shortbread.
A strong Celtic background distinguishes Brittany from other parts of France. The Celts were the first historically identifiable inhabitants of Brittany, but they probably intermingled with the earlier peoples who built the great stone monuments, the menhirs and dolmens, that still stand.
