Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [237]
I asked Greenside to share some of what he loves most about Brittany, and what follows is his short list:
• The light. The light is just extraordinary here. It’s that famous, northern, shimmering, glittering light, and even when it’s overcast it’s illuminating. It’s truly why all the Impressionist painters, every single one of them, came to Brittany. Along the whole coast the light is just magnificent. In the summertime, you have a long dusk because it doesn’t get fully dark until midnight. Brittany is known for its horrible weather, which is one reason why there aren’t a lot of tourists. But the weather changes dramatically all the time.
• The coastline, which is fantastic and is a lot like the coast of Mendocino, California. Some of the largest tides in the world are right here, and every year you hear about people drowning at Mont-Saint-Michel. The difference betweeen high tide and low tide is 1,500 meters. At low tide the beaches are endless.
• A crêpe. My first crêpe was the simplest of all crêpes, with just butter and sugar, and every time I think of it my mouth waters.
• Oysters. The Belon huîtres (oysters) are among the best in the world and I can get them an hour and a half south from my house. They’re best in the winter. One afternoon I got sixty oysters and went over to a friend’s house and we just shucked and ate them. The price is very affordable. There is oyster farming all around southern Brittany and there’s a fresh catch every day.
• Cochon grillé (grilled pig). Every village has its own summer fête—it can be a religious day or a civil day and there is dancing, food, and music. As Brittany was home to several Celtic tribes by the time Caesar came to Gaul, you’ll see more Irish flags than you will French flags. And there will always be a huge meal. In my village the fête is known for salmon, but in other villages it’s cochon grillé. It’s delicious. I always look forward to my first cochon grillé of the season.
• The strawberries of Plougastel. These are the sweetest, juiciest strawberries I’ve ever tasted. They are unbelievable and this village has adopted the strawberry as its mascot. There’s even a strawberry museum! At the Fête des Fraises (Strawberry Festival) everyone wears costumes and all these kids run around dressed as strawberries.
• Three generations of entire families, often hand in hand. I’m constantly amazed at seeing families together and enjoying one another. Even the teenagers are enjoying themselves, and not just on fête days. Sunday family dinner is still a tradition, and the basic social unit is still the family. It’s just amazing.
• Time, and everyone’s relationship to time. In the States, I’m very much of a control freak, type double-A: I control my life and I control my environment, I get from point A to point B, if I need help I know where to get it, and I know how to accomplish things. In France I am 100 percent dependent—there I am used to standing in line and used to understanding that this is the way you do it, this is how it works. My American friends don’t even recognize me when they come and visit and see how I am in France. In America I want everything quick, fast, direct, and to the point, and I want to do everything I can for myself. In my village, it’s okay if you spend a few minutes chatting with the proprietor of the boulangerie when there’s ten people behind you.
• War monuments. Brittany was occupied during both world wars, so every village has its World War I memorial—it’s staggering—and you’ll also find De Gaulle monuments for World War II. Plaques with De Gaulle’s famous speech imprinted on them are mounted on many of the Breton ports, and from what I understand, more people from Brittany joined up with the Free French and the Resistance than anyone