Tour de France 2011 going through Dinan!

Once again this year, the Tour de France is passing through our area.

On Thursday 7th July 2011, the cyclists will be departing from Dinan in Brittany on their way to Lisieux, 226 km further.

The 'Caravane' will start at 10am and the cyclists won't come til 11.45am. It is a long time to wait but don't worry the 'Caravane' will entertain you! The best place to stand is near the Post office in Dinan to see the cyclists closely or from the Jardin Anglais you will have a great view when they go over the viaduct.

Parking your car in Dinan that day will be a nightmare! It is best to go early or watch the Tour from another village ie St Helen!

If you have never seen the Tour de France, make sure you don't miss it this year. You have to see it once for real!

If you are looking for an accommodation in Brittany, visit this site here. Our gite is only 10 minutes away from Dinan.

If you are a keen cyclist, you can even cycle to Dinan from our gite in Evran using either the old rail way track or the canal path.

Record sunshine in Brittany

Spring temperature records were broken last week in Brittany. The temperature hit 26 degrees. It was very unusual for this time of the year.

I had a lot to catch up in the garden so I thoroughly enjoyed it! I planted my French beans, potatoes, runner beans, broad beans, shallots, onions, etc. Any excuse to be outside!

I caught up with the office work (translations) in the evening. I had to enjoy the weather while it lasted!

Plant exchange in St Carné

I have just picked up a leaflet showing various events around Dinan and i was surprised to see there is a plant exchange (Troc aux plantes) on 17th April from 2 to 6pm in St Carné. It must be their first one.

It will take place in the Salle des Fêtes.

St Carné is 5 min South of Dinan.

On the same day you will also find a Vide Grenier in Plesder, see my other post about it. Plesder is only a short drive away from St Carné.

Plesder car boot sale this Sunday

Plesder car boot sale (vide grenier) is on this Sunday (17th April 2011). It is usually a great car boot sale. You will find the usual: books, DVDs, furniture, cloths, etc.

I will no doubt pop in and see if I can something interesting there! I did buy a lot of DVDs last year - all in English and French - for 2 or 3 euros each.

The moles spent Christmas at our place...

When we came back from our Xmas break, we noticed moles (taupes in French) had returned.... The front garden looked like a mine field.

As it was their third visit, we knew exactly what to do. We had used all sorts but traps (trappe à taupes) were the best way.

Luckily, they had been and gone while we were away. We haven't notice any more activity. We just needed to rake the soil.

Here is a link of a great way to get rid of the moles... A bit cruel, but it does the job.

You can find mole traps from DIY shops or garden centres in France.

If you have any tricks to get rid of moles, please feel free to share them with us!

La Chandeleur - 2nd February

La Chandeleur, also known as Jour des crêpes (pancake day) is celebrated in France on 2nd February each year. It is 40 days after Christmas (Noël).

I am not religious but I do like home-made pancakes ! Being busy with work on 2nd February, I made my Crêpes the day after with free range eggs from our chickens and full fat milk from my neighbours cows.

You know La Chandeleur is coming as all supermarkets have special offers on frying pans in France about 10 days before!

In France, we often have pancake parties for La Chandeleur. We invite friends and eat pancakes together! We usually have jam or chocolate spread on them.


I can't really share my recipe with you because I don't measure anything! It is called 'au pifomètre' or 'au pif' when we just put ingredients together without measuring them.

For the 2 of us, I use 2 eggs, about 2 handfuls of flour, a pinch of salt and add milk until I get the right consistency. I don't put sugar in as jam has already enough sugar in it. If needed (if the pancake sticks to the pan) I put a bit of oil but the full fat milk from the farm replace the oil!

Enjoy!

Snow drops - the sign of nice weather on its way!!

It always cheers me up when I see the first snowdrops (Perce-neige in French) blooming in my garden! And yesterday was the day!!

If you don't have any snowdrops in your garden, plant a few bulbs this autumn. They are very easy to grow - you don't have to do anything and they keep coming back each year! That is what I call easy gardening....

Bulbs can be purchased from garden centres or supermarkets in France.