Last week, with Sile, my sister D,her husband Milo,
and our friend Mary Dorgan, was spent in Brittany.

Milo, Mary, Sile and D

We rented this lovely Breton house in the village of Plouezoch.

Despite my friend Isabel calling Brittany
“West Cork with Croissants” It has loads to offer.
If only it was a little warmer it would be perfect.
As often in France the beauty is in the tiny carefully preserved details.

Even the shutter stoppers were individual and original.

And in fairness to Brittany we were able to eat in the garden
…..sometimes.(well once actually!)

The garden had a superb Mimosa, the first one I had seen flowering
as it does this in the spring.

And magnificant Primroses, all over Brittany.

The local town in Plestin Les Greve had a terrific market.

Which was where I photographed this button stall.

The nearest large town was Morlaix.
This is dominated by the Victorian’s version of the
Pont de Garde

Viaduct Morlaix

The church of St. Mathieu had this wonderful Breton Saint
who is (of course) the Patron Saint of headaches

Nearer to us was the incredible , vast and mysterious
Tumulous of Barnanez.

And out in the bay the menacing prison Fortress of Taureau, or
Bulls Fortress (which only stopped being a prison 30 years ago)
Seeing a local Creperie called the fort’s Breton name ;
Castel de Tarv
reminded me how close Breton and Irish could be.
The Irish for bull is tarbh, pronounced tarv.

Brittany in spring is covered in Primroses.

And every church has its own Calvary.
Some quite sinister

Like this one in Plouezoch.

But the highlight of the trip was a trip to the village of Plougrescant.
This had a fabulous and wierd church.

The crooked spire was a later addition which for some
reason maintained its perpendicular against the subsidence
of the church.
We were taken around the church by a wonderful local lady,
hugely proud of its ceiling paintings, which had been
“painted over” at a couple of centuries ago
by a moralistic parish priest.

His efforts of giving all over body stockings of fig leaves
to Adam and Eve to hide his parishioners blushes were
strangely modern looking.

But this wonderful cottage nearby, propped up by huge boulders,
was the photo opportunity of Brittany.

And then back to Ireland on Brittany Ferries Pont Aven.
(A great trip, good food too!)

Coming back to Cork it was good to see Cobh doing its own
to promote the image of Ireland.
Wonderful vari-coloured houses.

Its always good to get home.
And the Amaryllis had produced its other two offspring
to welcome us back.