Boiler room - work in progress!

The last room in our cottage in Brittany that needs renovation: the boiler room.

Chris has just started work: insulation, plasterboard, new lights, cupboards and everything will be tidy. This is where I store all the bed linen for our gite in Brittany.

I can’t wait to see the room finished. In the meantime, I have to put up with the noise and dust but I know it will be worth it!

Pleugueneuc garden centre

After the stock car racing yesterday, I visited the nursery in Pleugueneuc / Plesder (Jardin de beau soleil). I needed a few plants for my hanging baskets.

I can recommend this place for plants. I find they are a bit cheaper than in any other garden centers around Dinan and a lot healthier. The choice of annuals is unbelievable! I tend to get carried away in garden centres but I behaved yesterday. I only bought what I needed!!

As it was Mother’s day, my friend and I got 10 pink geraniums each for free! Getting free plants from a garden centre, you can’t go wrong! ;o)

Pleugueneuc is in Brittany, 20 min from Dinan, between St Malo and Rennes.

Dinan port on a sunny day!

I can’t help taking pictures of Dinan port (Brittany)! I try not to drive through Dinan port as the traffic can be terrible once the summer season has started but the scenery is beautiful on a sunny day.

Enjoy the photo!

Stock car racing Near Dinan

A few days ago I noticed a sign for stock car racing (course de voitures à pédales) in Les Champs Géraux, 10 minutes South of Dinan in Brittany for Sunday 30^th May.

Living in Evran, only a couple of miles away, I decided to go with a friend and see what this was all about!

The race was organized by local people for the second year and 26 cars took part. It was fun to see them all. I recognized a few: Spiderman, Marsipulami, Calimero, Batman, a witch, etc.

The race started about 2.30pm and carried on until 5pm. I guess they were all exhausted after 2 hours of pedaling!

Rophémel Dam in Guitté/Guenroc

I am always looking for something interesting to do on a bank holiday! On Monday 24^thMay, I organised a walk in the area with a few friends. As it was extremely hot (already 20 degrees at 10am and over 30 in the afternoon!!) I had to review my choice of walk. I picked one which was in woodland so we were not too hot. Starting from the centre of Guitté in Brittany, (about 15 minutes South of Dinan), we walked along the dam (barrage de Rophémel) and back to the car.

I would recommend this walk. It was very enjoyable and the scenery was beautiful. See the photo!

It took us just under 3 hours and it was about 9 km long.

I have a book called ‘le pays de Dinan à pied”. It gives you a choice of 39 different walks all around Dinan in Brittany. Some are short, easy or a bit longer and harder!

If you come to Brittany for a walking holiday, I do recommend this book. You should easily find it in supermarkets, bookshops and sport shops in Brittany. If you are looking for a place to stay, see this link.

Whilst there you could visit the Château de Couellan and if you have children, the play area of Guitté will keep them amused for a while!

European Health Insurance Card - new EU regulations from 1st May 2010

If you live in Brittany or anywhere else in France, you must have received a letter from the NHS explaining the new European Union regulations concerning the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

As from 1st May 2010, the United Kingdom is now responsible for the issue of your EHIC instead of the member state where you live (CPAM). You should use your UK EHIC, and not the EHIC issued by the French Health System anymore.

This only applies to people who have registered the E121 or E106 forms issued by the NHS in the UK when they moved to France.

If you haven’t received the application form, along with an explanatory letter, or if you have any queries, you can call the NHS Overseas Healthcare Team on 0191 218 1999 (dialing from France: 0044 191 218 1999) or visit the web site here.


You can also read a previous post about the EHIC here.

To find out how to register with the French health system, see this post here!

Adopting a cat or a dog in France

If you are looking to adopt a pet in France, you could start with visiting your local SPA (Société Protectrice des Animaux). It is the equivalent to the UK RSPCA.

Look for « Société Protectrice des Animaux » in the French Yellow Pages.

In Brittany you will find one in St Malo, Rennes, Léon, Pontivy, Larmor Plage, Vitré, Pommerite, Bréhand, St Brieuc, Iffendic, Quimper, Betton, Concarneau, Vannes, Plérin.

The adoption costs around €120 to €140 for a cat and between €160t to €200 for a dog (Info from Rennes SPA). All animals are up-to-date with tattoos and jabs.

Job opportunity…. Why not volunteer for the SPA?

Volunteering for the SPA is one enjoyable way of helping animal welfare and can be very rewarding.

If you are retiring in France, it could be a great way to keep busy and meet French people if you are a pet lover. The SPA has a wide range of volunteering roles available so there is bound to be a suitable opportunity near you.

Contact them today!