Brittany Christmas Markets, 5 December 2025

La-Riviere-Saint-Sauveur, 5 December 2025

How is it Friday already?  This week has gone so fast, and tomorrow is our last full day!

This morning, the Swan Whisperer went and bought croissants and a baguette for our breakfasts, and after it he went for a short walk round the town. I, for some reason, fell asleep!

We weren't quite sure what we wanted to do today, but eventually decided to go to Camembert and see if we could buy some artisanal cheese from a dairy there. Then we would see, but probably end up in Falaise, as I needed to shop and we needed to buy gas.  As it happened, we drove past a supermarket where we could do both those two things not very long after we had set off, so we went straight to Camembert - only to find that the dairy had closed for the weekend at 12:30, and wasn't going to open again until Tuesday morning!  Bummer! Oh well.  So we ate our lunch in its car park, and then decided to drive at least as far as here - La Riviere-Saint-Sauveur - today, and then see whether we wanted to add an extra hour's drive to where I had originally intended for us to spend the night.  We decided we would rather stay here - there is a nice walk to go on in the morning, although it will be a very long drive from just south of Le Havre to Calais, and it would be nice to visit the Christmas Market in Blériot-Plage if there is time.  At that, there is one here this weekend, not at all far from the Camping-Car park, so maybe we could do that instead?  We'll see.

Meanwhile, I haven't taken any photographs today, supermarkets not being very photogenic affairs, but here is a photo of my eye drops bottle - as tonight is the VERY LAST drop to put in.  This journey started on 29 August - well, before that really, when I was first referred to Tommy's - and now, 5 December, it is finally OVER!  And I can see really well, especially when wearing my glasses, but I can also see well enough to read in bed without them, if I want to!

Brittany Christmas Markets, 4 December 2025

Condé-sur-Vire, Normandy, France

We are headed north again now, and, rather disappointingly, ended up going back up the same motorway we came down. We should have asked the Satnav to find us a different route.  However, that was later.

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, and after breakfast, I went for a walk round the lakes - it is supposed to be 3k, but my smartwatch only registered 2.2k.  I think it is a bit slow! 

Anyway, I made sure of getting my heart rate up by playing martial music on my phone to walk to, which really does make such a difference - I am not good at walking fast without some sort of help!   And yes, I went the whole of the red route!

Our first port of call was supposed to be the local Carrefour, but we couldn't find anywhere to park, so while the SW was getting diesel, I decided to programme the Satnav to our destination for this evening, and added in a supermarket while we were at it.  We decided not to go to the aire I'd originally thought of, but to a Camping-Car Park in a nearby town, as that would have electricity and services, and the one I had chosen may well have locked its services out of use for the winter.  And we were really rather low on water, not having been able to get any yesterday.  The SW has topped up the tank with the 11 litre watering-can we keep for just such emergencies, and we will do a proper "vidanges" in the morning.

It had been a lovely sunny morning, but just as we got to the outskirts of Condé-sur-Vire, the heavens opened and there was a serious rainstorm, and it has rained on and off ever since.  We arrived here in time for a late lunch, and it really wasn't worth going much further today.   The SW did do a short leg-stretch in the rain, but I have stayed in the WoMo all afternoon!

Brittany Christmas Markets, 3 December 2025

Cesson-Sevigné, near Rennes, France

Very tired today, for some reason, so have done nothing except reading and knitting. We were unable to get water this morning as it appears to have been cut off due to road works outside the winery, but we think we have enough to do us. 

It was not a long drive today, so we decided to go via Châteaubriant, where there is a beautiful castle 

 The Swan Whisperer walked round it, and after lunch we drove up here, where we have been several times before, and he went for a hike. Tomorrow I shall walk round the lake here, such a lovely walk!

We have just had our Advent Bible Study, which was good, and are now about to have our final cup of tea! 

Brittany Christmas Markets, 2 December 2025

Vertou, near Nantes, France

After the storm, it was sort of a lovely morning, so after breakfast we went on another walk around Port-Louis, this time going along by the sea and the river, and then back through the town, by which time it was raining again! Today has definitely been sunshine and showers, either clear blue sky or else pouring with rain, but very little in between! 

After coffee, we used the services and headed off, stopping at an Intermarché to shop. The Swan Whisperer suggested we could go via Carnac, as it wasn't too far out of our way, so we did, and had our lunch parked up by one of the fields of menhirs, which you have to pay to actually go in, but can see from outside (just as well, really, when you come to think about it, otherwise you would get gangs of youths with cans of spray paint!). 

After lunch, we drove on to this place, which is a wine growers not far from Nantes. It is France Passion, but as well as parking, you get services and electricity in exchange for a wine tasting. A very copious wine tasting, I should add! Both of us are a tad light-headed now. Anyway, we have bought two bottles of a very nice, very dry white wine, a 5l box of rosé and two 3l boxes of grape juice, also very nice! The latter will be donated to the Church Christmas party on the 13th. There were several other kinds of red, white and rosé, including sparkling, but this were our favourites. 

Brittany Christmas Markets, 1 December 2025

Port-Louis, Brittany

There was nobody about at the cactus farm this morning, either, so we softly and silently vanished away once we had had breakfast (boiled eggs this morning) and cleared up. As it is 1 December, I broke out my Christmas socks for the first time this year. 

Our first port of call was going to be an Intermarché, but the Lidl was nearer, so I went there - no real coupons, like they have in the UK, but plenty of offers if you had the app. They also do on-line shopping, as they do in Germany, but that hasn't made it to the UK as yet. 

However, the Swan Whisperer needed milk, and Lidl in France only sells UHT, which is fine for yoghurt, but he won't touch it in his tea or coffee. So we did go to the Intermarché, and I finally found my favourite black pepper Boursin, which I have been looking for ever since I got to France. Also some Kouign Amann, which is kind of the local equivalent of lardy cake, and very good it is, too! 

We then set off towards Port-Louis, stopping for an early, and light, lunch as the SW felt rather sleepy. When we got here, we had real trouble finding the aire, but finally found the local campsite, which has now been taken over by Camping-Car Park's ever-expanding empire. It is actually next door to the CCP we had been meaning to go to, but it's fine. The only difference is that it isn't hard-standing, and as it is rather wet, the SW is worried that we will stick.... I don't expect we will. 

We had a cup of tea, and some more kouign amann, and then set off for a walk round the town, which was rather wet and extremely windy! I don't think there is a named storm going on, but it is nearly as windy as if there were! So we didn't stay out all that long, as although it was exhilarating, it was very tiring to walk against it! So back to the WoMo and snugged in for the night! I am making a sort of chicken curry/casserole for our supper, and then there will be fruit and maybe a tub of café liégeoise for pudding. 

Brittany Christmas Markets, 30 November

Guipavas, Brittany, France

It has been lovely and sunny all day. We had a leisurely morning, and at about 10:30 we used the services and set off to the local P&R, which was really nice, and positively welcomed motorhome! You took a ticket to enter, and this also entitled you to 24 hours' free travel on local buses in Saint-Malo. The bus timetable was easily available on-line, and we had about 20 minutes, so the Swan Whisperer had a quick cup of coffee, and we arrived at the bus stop just as the bus did. 

The bus terminus at the other end of the line was just by the Old Town and the Christmas markets, and we spent a lovely morning walking around both. We explored the Old Town first, which is sort of within a walled fortress, and then walked back down to the harbour where the Christmas Market was. By then it was pretty much lunchtime, so we treated ourselves to a galette and mulled cider from a stall, and very good it was, too. Not quite as good as the one we had in Caen two days ago, but not bad! 

When we had finished eating, it was nearly time for the next bus back to the P&R, so we caught that, and ate ice-cream for our pudding before we used the services and set off to drive here, which is near Brest. It is a France Passion place, but there was nobody around, so we have parked up and will introduce ourselves in the morning. They grow cacti, of all things, and I gather one can have a guided tour of the greenhouses. We shall see. 

There has just been a sharp shower of rain, and I am not sure what the forecast for the next few days is. I hope we will have as much sunshine as we did today, which was really lovely, and not too cold, considering we had both forgotten to put on our hats! Photos on Facebook, as usual. 

Brittany Christmas Markets, 29 November

Les Ilots, St-Malo, Brittany

There was a huge band of rain crossing Northern France and Southern England this morning - I gather it scuppered our usual tai chi class in the park, and it certainly made our morning rather unpleasant.  First we couldn't get out of the Camping-Car park, but when I entered the code the person on the phone gave me, the barrier suddenly stopped sulking and worked, although the person behind was obviously still having trouble by the time we had used the services (outside the barrier) and were ready to leave.  When we had arrived the previous day, the barrier had been completely broken off, probably by someone who had got fed up of it, but by the time we got back from our visit to the town, someone had put it back.

Our first port of call was a local supermarket, where I did some shopping and the Swan Whisperer tried to get gas, but they didn't have the kind we used; however, we called in at an Intermarché in Villedieu-les-Poeles en route and were able to get some there.  We had to wait, though, as the kiosk was closed until 14:00, so we had some lunch while we waited, and then there was no problem except for the rain!

We asked the Satnav to take us on a more scenic route to Les Ilots, despite the rain, and it was very pleasant driving along the coast, although rather slow, as it was village after village, so 50 kph, with random blasts of 30 kph, all the way.  However, we eventually arrived at this motorhome park, which is not a Camping-Car park, although about the same price and with the same amenities.  There is, however, a staffed reception, which is nice.  And the band of rain had passed over, so I am hoping that tomorrow's weather will be better.  The forecast is for it to be colder, though.

The original plan was to have been to get a bus to Saint-Malo to their Christmas Market, but when push came to shove, I felt really tired and slightly unwell, so the Swan Whisperer went for a long walk - and took some lovely photos, two of which are reproduced below - while I knitted and then rested on the bed while he got our usual Saturday sausages and mash!