Brittany

Land of the Breton

This was not our first trip to Brittany with the children. However it was our first trip with matching HOPE clothing, Breton style. You see, horizontal stripes are the “thing” in Bretagne. I suppose it’s a when in Rome deal. So as you know, when it comes to fashion, I like to join the heaps, just a bit differently. So the Hope family debuted VERTICAL stripes, Breton style.

Another when in Rome deal is the fabulous crepes and gallettes which are famous in Brittany. Once you’ve had one here, the others just don’t pan out – even in France. We wanted to fit in so we ate lots of them. Kai and my favorite crepe was mint chocolate chip gelato wrapped in a crepe with chocolate sauce. Second is stewed apples and vanilla gelato wrapped in a crepe with caramel sauce. As for gallettes, which are the savory form of a crepe, gruyere, tomato, mushroom and onion take the cake (pan) for me. The proper way to eat crepes and gallettes is to wash them down with a bowl of cider. I didn’t want to get it wrong so I traded in my red wine for cider and kept it handy at all times.

Aside from creperies on every street corner, there are many other significant cultural differences between Brittany and the rest of France. Of course there is the language, with its Celtic roots and the playing of the biniou koz which is very similar to the bagpipes but with only one pipe. However what I am most fascinated with (surprise, surprise) is the traditional clothing. Especially the women’s dress. The women wear these very interesting white lace headdresses. Different regions wear different headdresses, similar to the Scots and their kilts. The traditional clothing of both the women and men is strikingly similar to those of the pilgrims. At times I felt like I was at a Thanksgiving Pageant. I kept waiting for the Native Americans to show up so we could bust out the corn. Now just look at the photos and imagine if I’d thrown in a few pumpkins, eh? I’d have had you fooled, wouldn’t I have??

As I mentioned, we’d visited Brittany about four years ago. During our last visit I found this fabulous tableware designer. You see, Brittany is famous for the coffee and hot chocolate bowls that I’ve mentioned in previous blogs. Yes, Brittany is where you buy the personalized bowls with the little handles on the sides. I walked the streets of several towns on our last visit (and like I said, I like to join the heaps, but with a bit of character!) and every store, and I mean EVERY store had the SAME bowls. And they weren’t that great. But then I found the most enterprising Breton woman in the whole of Brittany and she had an entire shop of her own designs which were ultra cool. Thank Goodness because I was really getting depressed. Anyway on this trip I was SO annoyed to find that we were staying miles away from the little town where her shop is located. But to my extreme excitement she’s started wholesaling and I found some of her items in another shop. (they didn’t have the whole collection, though) But what I really wondered was what was wrong with all of the shops in all of the towns that I’d visited this trip? Out of them all, only one shop carried the newest, hippest, freshest Breton designs in Brittany. The newest, hippest, freshest designs in about ooooh probably 50 years. You REALLY have to wonder, don’t you? I honestly find it unfathomable.

Did I mention the weather in Brittany? It’s a bit annoying. Just like England. You never know where it’s going. However on a great day, you can’t beat it, just like San Francisco. And the beaches were loads of fun, too. The kids had a blast swimming and rock pooling. However you’ll never find me submerged in THAT water. I’ve become a tropical girl. That’s a polite way of saying WHIMP!

Cheers & Ciao for Now,

Gina