At the end of July/beginning of August, I visited my friend
Emilie in Bretagne (that's the French name; I think it is
Brittany in English).  It is a distinct region in France
with its own language and a proud history.  It has
Celtic origins, obelisks, great cider, and a people known
for their stubbornness and their fondness of partying.

We stayed in a campground, in a lovely rural area
next to the Canal From Nantes To Brest.

This is how it looked early one morning.  I love the fog.

Emilie just got a new puppie, and named it Charly!
Charly was born one of seven on the 27th of June.
Emilie says i'm the papa, but i really don't see the
resemblance.

A big highlight was our visit to Yves in the town of Nantes:

This is Yves, using a saber to open a bottle of champagne.
The saber is slid along the glass, and when it hits the lip,
it knocks of a chuck of glass (and releases the cork),
leaving a rather clean break.

Our dinner that evening featured fresh mackeral which were
cooked over a barbq.  Absolutely delicious.

Clockwise from Yves (standing), Emilie, Gerard,
Guillonne, Jean, and Christine. [Saturday, 31-07-1999]

The Cathedral of Nantes is spectacular, and phenomenally
high (the ceiling is way up there).  It also features the tomb
of Francois II, the last Duke of Brittany.  This tomb features
some fascinating scuptures, including this one showing
an exorcism -- a dragon being pulled from a tower,
perhaps symbolizing virtue exorcizing vice, or
truth exorcizing falsehood, or
good exorcizing evil, or ...

Of course those who love dragons may find the above
symbolism perverted.

We visited the Tower of Oudon, and were given a
wonderful tour by our guide Dominique, seen here
in front of one of the giant hearths within the tower.

Outside the tower, this sculptor was working on this giant piece of
sequoia.  I wondered what would become of this
magnificent wood, and asking, found that he was
sculpting a forest, and was indeed hoping that his work
would make people think about our relationship with nature -- poignant!

A lovely view of the Loire and Emilie.

Relaxing in the garden of Yves.

Erwan, who was very funny, dropped by for a visit

Emilie saw all the other photos of me kissing other
women, and wanted one of me kissing her.
But we were all laughing too much [i think it was Erwan's humor],
and this is the best we got.

Thanks for visiting.   Send me email    Return to home