Newport U3A - Brittany Trip

In early September we went off on our travels to Brittany.

The crossing from Poole to Cherbourg was horrendous! We were delayed two hours leaving because of the weather and even so it was rough before we got out of the Solent and into the open Channel. One of our travellers spoke to me as we were preparing to disembark - with a great big smile, and such a sense of achievement, she said "I've been ever so sick - I filled 3 bags!" This, what shall I call it "pioneering spirit" was typical of the whole trip. Fortunately the weather improved dramatically, as one of the windscreen wipers on the bus came off before we even got to Poole, and we had sun for the rest of the trip, until we got back over the Severn Bridge on our way home.

St Malo was beautiful, busy enough to be interesting but not too crowded. After a very un-British scramble and shove to get on, many of us did the trip on the Little Train, which showed us where we wanted to go back and explore more thoroughly - including a shop that sold freshly-made Kougin Amman, and a lovely little restaurant and where we simply had explore the ice-creams.

Mt St Michel was a little busier, but there was room to move and breath, unlike June, July or August. Some intrepid travellers even made it to the top and had a tour of the Abbey, while others of us only made it half way up. It was quite steep and not for the hard of breathing and those with walking difficulties. One of our couples decided to try their French, and was told "your accent is ridiculous" which seemed a little unfair to me, at least they tried!

Thursday morning we went to Rochefort-en-Terre, a beautiful little medieval town, hysterical with flowers. It was a delight to wander along the streets and potter in and out of the soap-makers, arty-crafty shops and generally chill out and enjoy the sun. Some of us also enjoyed a crêpe, coffee and various other beverages and discovered the joys of the local cider ...

After this we went on to La Gacilly, but unfortunately the sat nav on the bus tried to take us along streets with a weight limit well below that of the bus so we were a bit too late for lunch - some of us managed well enough in various bars and cafes, but not all, and many met up in the ice-cream parlour attached to Yves Rocher's Végétarium.

When we got back to the hotel, some of the group decided to brave the Gourmet Wok just up the road instead of the hotel restaurant, although others enjoyed MacDonalds. I had the unnerving experience of asking a Chinese waiter what was the French word for a chopstick! Incidentally it is "une baguette" just like the long thin French loaf, or a magic wand.

Friday morning saw us in Dinan, on the river Rance. We started at Port de Dinan, where some went on the river trip, which was an absolute delight (run by a chap from Manchester, apparently!) then we explored the beautiful medieval city, with buildings dating from 12th Century. Again the Tourist Train was popular, (although personally I was pleased to sit on something that didn't move!) as were various eating establishments, ice-creams and pancakes.

After lunch we went on to the Cider Museum at Pleugeuneuc, where we enjoyed not only their home brewed cider, but also home-made crêpes, then generous servings of Calvados and Pommeau! Oh the joys of not driving!! I'm not sure whether someone fed some of the Calvados to the sat nav but once again it tried to take us down very narrow roads, some of which didn't even have a white line down the middle - I ask you, in a 61 seater coach!!

Saturday unfortunately we had to head homewards so we set off early and were in Caen by late morning and in time for a little retail therapy at a hypermarket. The range of goods on sale is astounding, everything from a fishing hook to car tyres, and at least two whole aisles of yoghurt. Prices were similar to those at home, mainly due I suspect to the exchange rate. I got back on the bus and realised I had forgotten to get garlic - but perhaps that was just as well, what with the stink from the toilet and various cheeses that people had bought, it probably wouldn't have been popular ... although thinking about it, it might not have been noticed!!

Before getting to the docks at Caen Ouistreham for our ferry home, we visited the Pegasus Bridge Museum. The guided tour took about 45 minutes and was fascinating, the Guide was of course very proud of the place and shared his pride and his knowledge without being condescending at all - and his accent was so cute! We were lucky enough to be there when the bridge swung up - and up - and up so that the box on top of the structure was at 90° to where it is in the photo. The few that didn't want to see the museum walked over the bridge and into the little village of Bénouville and sat in the sunshine outside the bar watching the people and boats go by.

The ferry back to Portsmouth was almost an anticlimax it was so calm, although not without its adventures. And so we returned to Newport, and the rain that was waiting for us as we crossed the Severn. The windscreen wiper still wasn't working, despite having been "fixed" once by a mechanic on the way out and about three times by the driver while we were away, and still gave out a dreadful "harrooogha" every time it crossed the screen - I still hear it in quiet moments!

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