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A Day in Quimper, Bretagne, France
Locronan and Quimper have long been on my list of places to visit in Brittany; Locronan for its charm and Quimper for its faïence, shopping, and cultural activities. Last spring, we made a weekend getaway to Quimper and Locronan, staying the night just outside the charming village of Locronan. Two days was a perfect introduction to the Finistère department of Brittany and enough time to know that we want to revisit as soon as we can. Quimper, Brittany’s capital city, lies about 20 minutes from Locronan and a little over 2 1/2 hours by car from Rennes. Quimper is a large city for Brittany, with about 67,000 inhabitants (as of 2015).…
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A Visit to Saint Suliac, Bretagne, France
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Les Recettes: Pommes cuites caramel beurre salé Recipes: Cooked apples with salted caramel topping
Pour le dessert, il est très simple mais tellement bon. Today, from Isabelle’s kitchen, comes a dessert that is both simple and delicious. Il vous faut des pommes, les éplucher et les couper en petits morceaux For this dessert, you will need the kind of apples you like best or have on hand. Simply cut them in half then chop them into smaller pieces. Les mettre sur le feu avec un verre d eau, laisser cuire à fau doux. Put them on the stove with a glass of water and leave them cook until soft. Les pommes sont cuites, la cuisson dépend des pommes… Mais quand elles s’écrasent un peu….…
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Les Recettes: Truites à la crème et aux amandes Recipes: Trout with cream sauce and almonds
Le menu c’est truites à la crème et aux amandes et en dessert, pommes cuites caramel beurre salé … Today’s menu is trout with a creamy sauce and slivered almonds. For dessert, cooked apples topped with salted caramel. Pour faire les truites à la crème, il vous faut: Des truites, 1 oignon, De la moutarde, De la crème fraîche, Sel, poivre, Du vin blanc et Des amandes. To make the trout recipe, you need: 2 fresh trout, 1 onion, mustard, creme fraiche, salt, pepper, white wine, and slivered almonds. Dans un plat allant au four, je dispose des tranches d’oignons et je pose les truites dessus. Place a layer of…
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A Day in Dinan, Bretagne, France
Whenever I mention Dinan to people who have been there, they get this dreamy look in their eyes and …… I know. I know exactly what they’re thinking and feeling. This charming, medieval town has it all: half-timbered buildings, cobbled streets, almost 2 miles of ramparts, and even a castle. Dinan has the honor being classified as a Ville d’Art et d’Histoire, or Town of Art and History, so named because of its historic monuments, and is home to dozens of artists, sculptors, and merchants. Dinan is located in the northwestern part of France, in the Cotes d’armor department of Bretagne (Brittany). The walls surrounding the historic center date back…
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A Visit to Saint Suliac, Bretagne, France
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Recettes de Bretagne – le gateau aux pommes (apple cake)
Today, my dear friend Isabelle is teaching us how to prepare a delicious apple cake, the base of which can be used to make a dozen others – from pineapple to plum to coconut – you could easily make a different cake every day! gâteau aux pommes Pour faire ce gâteau, il vous faut: De la farine, Du sucre, De la levure, 3 oeufs, De l huile, 4 pommes For this recipe, you will need: flour, sugar, yeast, 3 eggs, vegetable oil, and 4 apples Avant de commencer, j allumé mon four a 200 degrés comme ça il sera à la bonne température quand le gâteau sera prêt Before I…
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A Visit to the Château de Fougères
About 29 km from Vitré, and 51 km from Rennes, lies the commune of Fougères. It is home to the exquisite Château de Fougères, the largest medieval fortified castle in Europe. Tens of thousands of visitors come to the château every year, and it is easy to see why. There are regular guided tours as well as informational displays throughout, making for an educational and entertaining day for people of all ages. Upon arrival, one is immediately struck by the castle’s beauty, with its impressive entrance and sprawling ramparts, the tall turrets and winding moat. Originally built in the 11th century, most of what we see today is thanks to…
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Recipes from Brittany: Les coquilles Saint Jacques de la baie de Saint Brieuc and un clafoutis aux prunes
Aujourd’hui… Une recette emblématique de la Bretagne…… Les coquilles Saint Jacques de la baie de Saint bieuc. Pour les accompagner un riz pilaf. Et pour finir, un clafoutis aux prunes.. Today, an emblematic recipe from Brittany: Scallops from the Bay Saint Brieuc with rice pilaf and a plum clafoutis. Avant de commencer, je place les noix de Saint Jacques dans un bol du lait et les mets a côté. Before starting the dessert, place the scallops in a bowl with milk and put to the side. Je commence par préparer le dessert car pendant la cuisson je pourrai préparer le repas…. Donc il va vous falloir: Du lait, De la…
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An Afternoon in Vitré
Imagine spending an afternoon visiting not one, but two castles, both under 30 km of each other. Such an opportunity exists in this magnificent region, as Brittany is home to well over a dozen magnificent châteaux. Last July, we spent a lovely afternoon visiting Vitré and Fougères, two communes that lie in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of central Brittany. While we visited both towns in one afternoon, I would recommend spending at least a few hours in each, allowing for long, leisurely strolls and taking in every bit of the charm that they have to offer. Today, I will highlight our visit to Vitré with an additional post coming soon about…
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Dessert Recipes from Brittany: Flan d’oeufs and Cake Nature
Many of us are spending much (or all) of our time indoors these days, and, while challenging, it forces us to reach into our refrigerators and cupboards and cook up more homemade meals. Not only are cooking and baking wonderful diversions from life’s stresses, the process leaves our homes filled with smells that remind us of happier times. In every culture, people come together around food, sharing stories and following cherished family recipes, following instructions on old cards, in handwriting that belonged to someone we loved. Those moments bring us comfort and joy in both good and difficult times. I asked my dear friend if she would send me a…
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On Keeping the Faith
I will admit, it’s been challenging putting words on paper the last few days. People everywhere are struggling with the many changes taking place and are trying to make sense of this new way of life. For me, what keeps things in perspective is that people have faced extraordinarily challenging times before, and that in those dark times, there was always light. And such is the case now. This will indeed pass, and once it does, we will realize just how very resilient and resourceful we were. Many people around the world are worried, not only about becoming ill, but also about the changes to their daily lives, and how…
