The Spirit of Bretagne

When you foreigners who aren't French think about France, what first comes to mind? Is it this?

....NO? You mean you don't think about an obviously very sexy French man rocking a pair of daisy dukes, who appears to be awkwardly drinking milk for no apparent reason other than to strengthen the curvature of his bulging Herculean buns?!?! 

Well then, I don't know what the heck is wrong with you. 

Because you're clearly not as worldly as I am, what I'm sure most of you think about when you immediately think of France is the arguably less majestic, only semi-godly and (questionably) harder structure in the background of this photo:

THE EIFFEL TOWER!!! 
Voilà!!!!!

The simple fact is that to most people, 

France = Paris,  and Paris = some combination of cheese + wine + accordions + berets + Eiffel Tower. 

And this is where I usually chime in and say:

Just stop. 

Just stop. 

JUST STOP. 

I am hear to tell y'all that France is SO. MUCH. MORE than Paris and the *@$*@&$ing Eiffel (*#%^ing TOWER. Paris is so overrun by tourists nowadays anyway that I want to kill myself every time I'm there. That is not an exaggeration, but a cold, hard fact. 

Also, according to every French person who lives outside of the City of Lights, Parisians are not French. It's just a lie they made up to make tourists think the French are assholes. 

Anywayssss, I'm hear to tell you today where you should actually go in France, and why exactly you should go there. That region, folks, is no other than the best, most beautiful, and most friendly region of France of all:

Bretagne.

*cue holy choir music*

Côte de Granit Rose, Bretagne. 

Dinan, Bretagne

LOOK AT THIS HOUSE. JUST LOOK AT IT. 

Lannion, Bretagne

....I actually have no idea if this is in Bretagne, but it's pretty, and I trust Google Image's capacities.

All right all right all right, maybe I am a bit biased, since I've been living in Rennes for a year and have seen a wide range of the Brittany coast, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But Bretagne truly is special, and let me give you  just a few reasons why.

• Bretagne is basically the French version of Ireland.

In fact, Bretagne is recognized as one of six historically Celtic nations, and the Breton people -- who originally spoke the language known as Breton, similar to Welsh and Cornish -- are descendants from Britain. The Breton people are predominantly Roman Catholic, much like their neighbors up north, and the entire region is a wildly diverse landscape of rock, shore, and sea, mirroring the greens and grays of the Irish wilderness.

Also, there's only a single season here in Bretagne...and it's the rainy one. As anyone who has traveled to Ireland may attest to, constant sunshine is a rare occurrence. 

But, just as the Irish do, Bretons seem to maintain a certain humor through the constant moisture, and their sense of spirit seems hardly dampened by it. 

• Bretons know the true meaning of caramel and butter. 

Essentially, if you're on a diet... just go home.

Caramel is in every dessert, be it a cookie, tart, pie, or cake. And butter... well, according to Julia Child, "Everything in moderation... including moderation." She did learn from the best chefs in the world, after all. 

The traditional "Kouign Amann" pastry.

Classic breton dessert: a caramel, apple, ice cream and almond crêpe, paired with a cup of cider. Can you say yumm-EH???

If it just so turns out that you don't like sweet things like tarts and things, my first suggestion would be to check yourself into an insane asylum. However, if this option seems implausible, my other suggestion would be to eat some fish or the classic Breton galette. Bretagne boasts the best seafood cuisine in France, and a warm dinner of galette complète paired with a cup of cider cannot get much better... unless it's followed by a crêpe for dessert. And then it's just heaven. 

• Bretagne is the home of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

....'Nuff said.

• The Bretons have a spirit just like their landscape: a bit cold and wet at first, but the sunshine always peaks through the clouds after a little while. 

The Bretons are generally a warm, hard-working, and fun group of people after they have a little time to get to know you. They are proud of their region, their culture, and their history, and they will be quick to tell you that they live in the best place on Earth, as indicated by the factually accurate demographic map pictured below. 

I, for one, am so happy with where I chose to study abroad, and my experience has been heavily marked by the spirit of Bretagne and its people. For six months now, my identity has encompassed that which it means to be Breton, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks Bretagne, for being so friggin' awesome that I had to buy a flag in your honor. 

Tomorrow, friends and family, I will be headed off on a ten-day solo backpacking trip to Amsterdam, Ghent, Bruges, Dinant, and Luxembourg City because... IT'S VACATION!!! Woohoo!!

Expect a new blog post (and lots of pictures!) from me when I return!

Gros bisous,

D