Our friend Pebbles discovers fabulous French holiday apartments, crabs and goats!

Dear Dizzy and Creative,

I hope you're both keeping well and steering clear of these nasty cold bugs that seem to be going the rounds again?  Also that you're keeping out of mischief, but I hold out little hope on that score.

View from my bedroom window -
with garden boat and flags!

I promised to share a few of my holiday experiences with you, so here goes - I do hope they come across well, as there's nothing worse than someone else's holiday snaps without the personal context or emotional links forged through actually being there. I'm sending this in two parts, as so much happened, even though I was only away a short time.

I stayed with my French friend Danielle, who has a house down on the Quiberon peninsular in Southern Brittany. It's a fabulous location with an enormous amount of fascinating things to do and see, all within incredibly easy reach. Danielle's house is just 50 metres from the sea, in a little fishing village called Portivy. The house is divided into self catering apartments, so anyone can share this adventure, and to demonstrate the link to the sea, there's an old fishing boat sitting in the garden!

Portivy

Boat in the garden

Danielle flew the Devon flag and the Union Jack in honour of my residence. 

The whole area abounds with everything to make a wonderful holiday - fabulous beaches with two distinct coastlines so there's everything from surfing or canoeing to swimming and fishing. There's a vibrant artistic community and a wealth of inspiration for all kinds of creative medium. The food and drink are a gastronomic delight and the history breathtaking. You can walk or cycle everywhere with ease, or take the local bus or train - who could want for more?!

Rockpool colours and shapes

St-Pierre Quiberon (from the bar)

Every day was sunny and warm, so I could explore the rock pools and walk around the area to my heart's content. Just a kilometre or so across the width of the peninsular is the little town of St-Pierre Quiberon and as there's only a small supermarket in Portivy, I walked to S-PQ in the morning to fetch fresh croissants and bread from the patisserie, together with Danielle's newspaper. If I was in good time, I could sit on the sea front with a coffee and watch the beach getting up and ready for the day, or even visit the 'petit ferme' down a narrow lane. This is where a local smallholder keeps a

Inquisitive goats

startling mix of small animals, including goats, pigs and poultry of every description, all running side by side in one huge enclosure. The hedges were laden with great fat, ripe sloes (the French don't appear to consider sloe gin!) and so I picked some and fed to the animals. I had to be careful of the turkeys though, who became extremely viscous at the sight of a sloe, and were inclined to peck!

Dolmen used as a playhouse

The village children play house in an ancient Dolmen, tucked in a corner amid a jumble of cottages. I can just see Heritage England allowing such close liberty, and I'm enchanted to see the juxtaposition of the human effect in the region. 

Danielle's husband Michel took me out on his fishing boat - a little adventure in itself - and we caught a potful of crabs which we brought home and cooked straight away with lots of bay, seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Michel fishing for crabs

Eating our endeavours - yum!

We  ate our catch with great relish. The crabs were preceded by fresh ripe melon, accompanied with sparkling wine and fresh bread, and eaten in the company of good friends whilst watching the most glorious sunsets - I just didn't want to be anywhere else! How you two would have loved these evenings, it's such a shame you couldn't spare the time to come with me.

Sunset - our view from the dining table

For anyone wanting to book a holiday - www.homelidays.com 
Then follow the pathway of clicks - Monde Entier - Europe - France - Bretagne - Morbihan - Pays d'Auray, Location vacances - Saint-Pierre Quiberon - Location 6098650 (6 people) / Location 6098640 (4 people).   It's worth the effort!   

That's all for now, girls - more to follow soon,
Lots of Love,
Pebbles   xxxx

© Jay Hooper and Carol Kennedy July 2013 all rights reserved