Mussels... How do you prefer them?

The beaches are often full of mussel gathers..

Mussels are the most popular shellfish in Brittany... and as luck would have it, they are the cheapest!.

Many French adore foraging for oysters and mussels along the coastline. They have little hammers, just perfect to prise these mollusca from the rocks to which they cling. Within an hour or so a bucket can be full of shellfish.

Cultivated mussels are grown directly on the seabed, on ropes or stakes, called bouchots. Bouchot mussels are thought to be of superior gastronomic quality.

But how to cook these little beauties... this is where the true debate begins..

Mariners prefer them simply cooked in a little water with lots of onion and garlic and possible a bouquet garni. Others prefer them cooked in white wine. I have also eaten them on a kebab, in an omlette and in a soup...

However you like them they are really really good for you, full of iron and calcium and deliciously low in calories (apart from if they are cooked in cream... which happens to be one of my favourite mussel receipes...)

Do the French struggle with the bureaucracy as much as we do?

Excellent... dossier complete for our cartes d'identite. I have photos, extracts of our birth certificates, proof of our French nationality and proof of address.

For the second time I go to the mayors office with all my papers in a neat plastic wallet.

'Bien Nicole,' says the mayors' secretary. 'Now, you need to fill in these forms', she passes me four HUGE forms each four pages long,' and then you need to go the Mayors' office in Malestroit for another document. When you have all of these papers come back and we will go through it together.'

This is French bureaucracy at its best, there is ALWAYS one more piece of paper required!. At this rate I am in serious danger of the birth certificate extracts expiring, they only have a three month validity and I'll have to start all over again....

Just one more form....

Good French wine from a tin can --- Impossible

Wine in a can… will it catch on?

The French can be a bit snobby about wine, it must be sold in a bottle with a proper cork.

 

A new company has been set up with a new idea, to sell wine in tin cans....they hope  to revolutionise wine consumption in France by selling produce from quality-assured vineyards – in tin cans.

 

While tinned wine is nothing new – there is a roaring trade of canned Australian wine in Japan, while in Germany some 60 million units are sold every year – but this is a pretty risky business venture, trying to convince the French to drink wine from cans.

Only a tiny fraction of French wine (less than 1 percent of the domestic market) is currently sold in tins. None of these products carry the prestigious AOC  (Appelation d’Origine Controlée, or Controlled Designation of Origin) label.

Wines are only designated AOC – a label that is internationally-recognised – if they are conform to the most rigorous standards.

It is hoped that this quality assurance will convince domestic consumers, and especially the young, to move away from the convenience of beer and spirits, which have been eroding wine consumption in France.

However, wine marketing specialists are was not convinced that the French will  turn away from their traditional corked bottles. They believe that cans may work in some cases, such as for picnics or in train buffet cars, but mostly this is just a gimmick.

Walking in France

Walks are very mell signposted

Brittany has more waymarked walking trails than any other part of France and provides an extraordinary variety of landscape and history to enjoy en route. The exceptional coastal path is well-known, but walking the wild interior can be just as dramatic, and there are also many interesting towns to explore on foot.

The main footpaths are designated Grandes Randonées (GRs), shown by red on white waymarks (balisage) and these are long linear routes, passing sites of major interest. Shorter and usually circular routes of up to 6 hours walking are Promenades et Randonées (PRs) and the signage is yellow, but other locally marked walks may be shown in green, red or blue. The quality and consistency of the directions is very variable, from excellent to absent, and it might be wise to carry one of the detailed maps (1:25,000) from the IGN Série Bleue, which are readily available and currently being updated.

It is possible to walk fairly freely in the countryside as most tracks are still communal land (having been the old routes of communication for rural outposts) and the private property issues so well-known to walkers in England are rarely a problem here.

Coastal Path walks...

Nowhere in Brittany is too far from the coast, and its earliest name was Ar-mor, the land of the sea. The GR34 is the coastal path going right round the region, a distance of over 1000kms, providing spectacular views of sea, estuaries, islands, lighthouses and sea-going vessels.We have often walked alone small sections of this coastal path around the Gulf of Morbihan with its 365 islands and Neolithic remains.

The interior of Brittany was originally truly a land of the forest (Ar-goat), but much of the ancient woodland has been cleared for ship-building and agriculture over the centuries. Fine forest walking still remains, however, and such routes are usually good choices for family outings, with well-made tracks and clear signage. The forest walks at Monteneuf are fantastic, varying in length from a couple of kilometers to 10km. The fairy walk is magical... particularly for small children..

Forest Walks...always good

Town trails are a good way to actively find out more about the history and architecture of Brittany. This is obviously so in large places like Rennes, Vannes and Quimper, but there is also much of visual interest in, for example, Malestoit, Josselin and Redon.

Saint Congard Coastal Path

This part of Brittany also has a huge network of canal paths and 'voie vertes'... These are disused railway lines that have been resurfaced. Fantastic for getting into the very heart of the country away from cars, noise and everybody else !!.. Also brilliant for children.. they can run and cycle without any concerns of traffic.

Use the Voie vert to get into the heart of Brittany

La Maison Rose, now we have water, sheer luxury

Water tank safely installed

We now have water and electricity!..

The water tank was squeezed through a tiny hole in the kitchen ceiling between two huge beams... I just hope that we never need to replace it...