Auray-Saint-Goustan

Our second destination with ‘Er was Auray-Saint-Goustan, a very quaint village nestled on the estuary of the River Loc’h winding its way into the Golfe of Morbihan.

We saw a bar dedicated to our Essex friends

Oh no, that was BENJAMIN Franklin who landed here in 1776 to negotiate the first alliance between France and America during the War of Independence.  

The town is a network of cobbled streets…

…steep passages and half-timbered houses.

The church of Saint Sauveur…

…and its old rectory alongside.

Back down the cobbles…

…to the beautiful bridge (and a stop for a glass of rosé if I remember correctly).

Écomusée de St-Dégan

Instead of heading straight back to La Tranche on our return to Nantes airport we headed north to Morbihan for a couple of days to catch up with 'Er from Brittany after her recent UK visit.

Look where we flew over on our way: La Rochelle and l'Île de Ré. We could have parachuted down to chez nous!

'Er took us to visit the Écomusée at Brech.

Quote from La Golfe de Morbihan Vannes Tourism site: In the heart of a village of thatched cottages, the Écomusée de St-Dégan retraces the life of the peasants of the Pays d'Auray between 1850 and 1950. It offers a look into the past and offers keys to understanding the world today.

The main living space in one of the cottages

Up the stairs...

...to the schoolroom.

Outside, the water supply...

...and evidence of previous occupations.

A very short bed in another cottage

More stairs...

...perhaps where crops were dried.

Another cottage with more very short beds...

...and a dining table that would be appreciated nowadays.

More evidence of activities in the hamlet

Nowadays we'd think of this as a pizza oven. Imagine the smell when the bread was baking!

Finally a barn for storage and no doubt where animals were kept in the cold weather

Best of the rest!

To finish recounting our adventures in Tavira, an assortment of photos

Firstly, a few of the great buildings, this one just opposite our Airbnb

And how's about Dave's bar...

...where we were forced to have a drink one day!

Even the 'ordinary' homes had a special feel to them

Just the front left on this building, a new hotel being constructed behind

Someone's had a fun Saturday night, scaling the statue to instal a Covid mask!

Portuguese football cow? Her cousin lives in front of the butchers in La Tranche!

Mo showing how deep the flood-waters got to in 1989 and 2000

And finally, I can't resist sharing these sunset photos

Happy memories!

Palm Sunday

In a strong catholic nation like Portugal you would expect Palm Sunday to be a special day, and we weren’t disappointed.

The old bridge was covered in very sweet smelling rosemary branches

The bells at Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)…

…where the procession started on a very hot day

There were many ‘floats’ all carried by volunteers

This special sunflower float was carried by Ukrainians living in the area

Once the procession had left we got the chance to visit the church, and how impressive it was…

…but sometimes the simplest displays can be equally impressive.