Think of all of the Celtic charm of rural western Ireland but with a gentler climate. Think of the quaint otherness of Cape Cod without the strip malls. Think of the magnificent craggy coastlines of the Pacific Northwest, but with smugglers' coves and ancient stone lighthouses. Think of what Newport RI must have been like in its heyday with its mansions and its ocean-going yachts and find it all intact still at Groix, la Trinité and the estuary of the Odet. Think of the best seafood you ever tasted at home but in Brittany, neither shrimp, nor oyster, nor mussel served raw on the half shell has ever, ever been rinsed under chlorinated tap water. Think of the most peaceful tranquil view you ever saw, then sit on the dock at the far end of Île Tudy at sunset and watch the tide go out. Think of the number of times you swore you would never eat fast food again, then discover the humble galette au blé noir (crispy buckwheat pancake) stuffed with ham and egg and a little Gruyère rapé. Think of the most enchanting, picture-book town that seems only to exist in Hollywood or in theme parks, then visit Auray or Vannes or Quimper. If all the houses look like they are made of stone, they are. It's local granite, not stucco or sheetrock. If a bolée de cidre brut (dry Breton cider) looks harmless and deliciously thirst-quenching, beware. Think seriously about a designated driver. And the Breton people in all this? Are they tourist-wise sophisticates servicing the annual stampede of 80 million foreign visitors to the world's number one tourist destination? Not really. To be honest, that stampede is mainly headed south. To the Midi, to the beaches of the Cote d'Azur, to the surfer's paradise of Biarritz, to Spain via the Pyrenees, to Italy via Menton. So come to Brittany and discover a whole new world within France!
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