Carnac Alignments (Carnac, France)

I found out about the Carnac alignments whilst browsing my Lonely Planet in the hotel room in Bretagne. They looked really fascinating so we decided to drive across Bretagne to see them.

It took us a couple of hours to drive down from Plougrescant, as we made several detours to see the famous Pink Granite Coast of Britanny. We didn’t really know what to expect in Carnac, but whatever it was we were expecting, it was not this.

Imagine Stonehenge. Then imagine Stonehenge stretching for miles and miles. And imagine million more stones. That’s the Carnac Alignments.

There are more than 3,000 stones, each weighing a ton. To quote Wikipedia:

“The more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany, and are the largest such collection in the world…. The stones were erected.. probably around 3300 BC, but some may date to as old as 4500 BC....

..Modern myths were formed… a Christian myth.. held that they were pagan soldiers in pursuit of Pope Cornelius when he turned them to stone. Brittany..  local tradition claims that the reason they stand in such perfectly straight lines is that they are a Roman legion turned to stone by Merlin.”

At times like this, I really wished I were a millionaire so I could hire a helicopter to take aerial shots.

There is also a tumulus at the top of a nearby hill which is a must visit. 

House between the rocks (Plougrescant, France)

We did our second road trip to Bretagne specifically to see the house.

This house wins the ‘coolest house in the world’ competition hands down. The house is exactly what it says it is, a house between the rocks.

So: [ROCK]house[ROCK].

The house is called Castel Meur, and is off the coast of Plougrescant, Bretagne. It’s a private residence, so you won’t find signposts with little drawings telling you where it is. You just have to peer around every corner and sooner or later you will come across it.

You can actually drive up quite close to the house (a field away), and get a great view. Aim for “Le Site Naturel du Gouffre” on Google Maps.

There is a succinct history of the house on this site. It’s in French, but that’s what google translate is for.

Excuse my picture, my camera battery had died and it was Blackberry to the rescue (no wonder they are going bankrupt).

Le Palais idéal (Hauterives, France)

There is nothing ideal about the palace of Ferdinand Cheval. That doesn't stop it from being utterly magnificent.

Ferdinand ol' chap took 33 years to build this palace, using rocks and stones he picked up during his day job as a mail man. He started off with stuffing the stones in his pocket, then upgraded to a basket, and when that wasn't doing the job, he invested in a wheelbarrow.

Clearly the wheelbarrow worked, because the palais, whilst no Buckingham, is huge. It incorporates different ideologies and faiths. It has, amongst other forms of architecture, a hindu temple and an islamic church.

I realised after that i was so fascinated by the construction of the palais that i had clean forgotten to get a picture of the palais in its entirety. Of course, that's what google images is for. For now, my paltry pictures below will have to do.

Mont St Michel, France

I would venture to say that A and I were the only two people in Europe who did not know about Mont St Michel. 

We were on a road trip (ROAD TRIP!!) to Bretagne (for all non French/ non toffs, thats Brittany) via Normandy, and our end destination was the walled city of St Malo. Whilst on our way to St Malo, we saw that the map had a tiny dot saying "Mont St Michel" with a tinier squiggle next to it representing "tourist attractions". After 2 minutes of contemplation, we decided to skip it and head straight to the big kahuna, St Malo.

As we drove along the sea route, suddenly in the distance, there was a mound. There is no other way to describe it really. A mound with a stick sticking out at the top, as sticks tend to do. We peered and peered and then, giving in to curiosity, swerved the car around.

As we got closer to what we now realise is Mont St Michel, awe took over. Safe to say our jaws dropped to the ground. It looks like a cross between a bigature (Lord of the Rings reference), a hollywood movie set, and Mont St Michel (because there really isn't anything like it!). 

Whilst walking around the city itself, the (extremely) narrow roads are lined with pubs, cafes and shops, all run by its 44 inhabitants. There is a lovely abbey right at the summit, with spectacular views over the water. 

The Island's history is very interesting, almost disproportionately so for such a small place, and i would strongly recommend a visit both to Mont St Michel as well as its wikipedia page.