I lifted the latch of the heavy oak door and slipped out into the cool morning.
Everyone was still asleep and I was off on my usual walk. I paused for a moment under the large poplar tree to listen to the turtle doves and wondered why their cooing in France sounded different to the cooing back home.
I continued my journey out of the village and up through the wheat fields, enjoying the smell of the damp earth after the previous day's rain.Behind me, the gravel crunched and I turned to see a worker on his bicycle pedalling to work on the neighbouring farm.
"Bonjour" he called as he turned into the driveway past the bales of hay, resembling giant Catherine wheels lying in the field.It was close to the St Malo ferry port for two of our party, who were travelling on to Jersey, and also to Rennes Airport, for those of us who were flying to the UK.
We hired a car at Rennes station and, despite the initial trepidation about driving on the right-hand side of the road and a few wrong turns during our travels, we experienced no major problems.We visited it often and enjoyed eating crêpes from a roadside bistro, drinking cider out of a bowl, cruising on the River Rance and walking in the cobbled streets.
We visited several other small towns and villages, Erquy being a favourite, where we ate at a charming seafood restaurant with a great view of the red-and-white lighthouse and yachts in the bay.Scallops, sardines and seafood salads were the meals of choice and all looked as if they had come straight out of a Breton recipe book. Life doesn't get much better than this.
Another special Breton town is Combourg, with its pretty centre and beautiful Château de Combourg. It was built around 1025 and, from 1761, was the home of renowned politician and writer Francois-René de Chateaubriand.
We were too late for the guided tour but enjoyed strolling around the castle grounds and viewing it from every vantage point.All too soon, our week was at an end and we sadly said goodbye to our landlord Mike, his family and our beautiful Breton farmhouse. Brittany had been a revelation and had certainly exceeded all our expectations.Share your travel experiences with us in 'Readers' World' and you could win R1,000
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