A grey morning greeted us as we set off for a patisserie to get our
bread for breakfast - just like the rest of the French population. A
few croissants, pain au chocolat and baguettes later we were
sufficiently full enough to drive through the rain for a couple of
hours around Nantes, and north towards Brittany.
A symbol of a castle on our map meant we took a stop at the village of
Missillac, where we found the stunning setting of Chateau de la
Bretesche - sitting on the side of a lake with neatly manicured lawns
and trees guarding it. Ignoring the 'guests only' signs, we drove on
in and took a stroll around the area - only getting told off when we
entered to the Chateau's courtyard. Oh well, we to close enough for a
look.
A bit of lunch and onwards into Brittany and The Megaliths of Carnac.
This was an area of several kilometres long where about 4000 menhir's
(meaning long stones in the local Celtic language of Briton) have been
set into the ground in long parallel rows. It is thought these were
placed here during the Neolithic period (5000 - 2000 BC) and are
linked with burial rituals.
Of course, with these impressive stones being here for such a long
time, a number of legends have evolved - including the one about Saint
Cornelius who was pursued by pagan soldiers, which he then turned
around and transformed them all into stone.
But Dave and I worked out the best theory - as we are in the heart of
Asterix and Obelix country, and Obelix always carried round a menhir -
it must have been him who put them all here. Surely he would be the
only one strong enough??
A quick walk around the rows of menhir's, then a visit to the museum -
where we even found Asterix books for sale!! Then we were off down
the very narrow Quiberon Peninsula to our camping spot near the
seaside town of Quiberon. We finished the day with a walk along the
rocky coast followed by a very red sunset from the comfort of the
van!!
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