What can be better than a summer holiday in France? A summer holiday in a gorgeously beautiful part of France that you have never visited before.
Drove 400 miles from Paris to the northwestern tip of France. Into Brittany, though I prefer the euphonious French name of Bretagne. Brittany, a giant province, vaunts its distinct culture. It wasn’t even a part of France – it was an independent duchy with two Celtic languages – until the late 15th century when the Duchess Anne of Brittany married the French king Charles VIII (no matter that she had earlier wed by proxy Maximilian I of Austria, since Pope Innocent VIII blessed it anyway).
Audierne is a tiny community, barely a square mile in area, located picturesquely at the mouth of the Goyen river. For centuries it was a fishing village that exported fish and cereal in exchange of wood and iron. Now it is a charmer of a town, with bustling quays and narrow streets, and a long, sandy Trescadec beach.
The heart of the place is the alluring town center, with its shops and hotels, bars and restaurants. I walked the streets, right up to the edge of the turquoise water, and sipped Campari at An Teuzar and Picon at L’Iroise on Quai Camille. The baffling variety of crepes, sweet and salty, bear the hallmark of the Breton tradition.
Audierne is a tiny community, barely a square mile in area, located picturesquely at the mouth of the Goyen river. For centuries it was a fishing village that exported fish and cereal in exchange of wood and iron. Now it is a charmer of a town, with bustling quays and narrow streets, and a long, sandy Trescadec beach.
The heart of the place is the alluring town center, with its shops and hotels, bars and restaurants. I walked the streets, right up to the edge of the turquoise water, and sipped Campari at An Teuzar and Picon at L’Iroise on Quai Camille. The baffling variety of crepes, sweet and salty, bear the hallmark of the Breton tradition.
You can drive a few miles to Plogoff and traipse to the Pointe du Raz for a stunning view of the sea, or you can drive a few more miles to Quimper and see the 12th century cathedral with its incredible stained-glass windows. Or you can simply sit back and enjoy Audierne.
We have become so used to a frenetic work life that, on a vacation, we schedule a frenetic tour schedule, trying to cover all that there is to see. The transition from Paris to Audierne let me see another meaning of vacation: to vacate your itinerary and your schedule, empty your mind and fill your eyes.
A is for Audierne, the city that is also a port, where the sky is blue, the water is bluer, the air is crisp and cool, the people are warm, the crepes are warmer and better, a town that is -- in more senses than one -- a true harbor. 400 miles to a town of tranquility.
We have become so used to a frenetic work life that, on a vacation, we schedule a frenetic tour schedule, trying to cover all that there is to see. The transition from Paris to Audierne let me see another meaning of vacation: to vacate your itinerary and your schedule, empty your mind and fill your eyes.
A is for Audierne, the city that is also a port, where the sky is blue, the water is bluer, the air is crisp and cool, the people are warm, the crepes are warmer and better, a town that is -- in more senses than one -- a true harbor. 400 miles to a town of tranquility.
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