Saturday, August 02, 2014

Today I'm Taking You To Saint Suliac

Wandering Around The Cottage - August 2014 Edition - 1


In my previou post, I told you I had visited a lovely village while I was at my parents. I'm taking you there with me today.

Dans mon dernier article, je vous avais dit que j'avais visité un charmant village lors de ma visite chez mes parents. Je vous y emmène aujourd'hui.

This is a fishermen's village, but it's not on the seaside as you would expect it. It's on river banks: the river is the Rance and you might remember me showing you an other village on the same river, Léhon, which you can see here if you haven't already.

C'est un village de pêcheur, situé non pas au bord de la mer, mais sur les rives de la Rance, cette rivière que je vous ai déjà montré lors de notre visite du village de Léhon. Vous pouvez y retourner en cliquant ici si vous avez manqué cette escapade.

Today's village is called Saint Suliac. You can see it on the red spot on the map below.



Aujourd'hui je vous emmène à Saint Suliac, le gros point rouge sur la carte ci-dessus.

Here's a closer map, so you can see it's located on the river, but not far from the sea.

Voici une carte plus détaillée, sur laquelle vous pouvez voir que le village est sur la rivière, mais non loin de la mer.


My first reason to visit this village was because it's famous for its adorable old cottages. So, do you want to walk with me through the narrow streets?

J'avais choisi de visiter ce village car il est célèbre pour ses adorables maisons de pêcheurs. Alors, prêt à arpenter les rues avec moi?


My father was kind enough to come with me that day. It was nice to be able to chat while taking pictures, but it does mean that some of them aren't perfectly straight... Patience is something the members of my family don't really know.



While we admire the houses, uttering "ahs" about the colour of the shutters and "ohs" about the windows surrounded by flowers, we'll chat like friends do when they walk together, shall we?

Pendant que nous admirons les maisons, nous exclamant sur la couleur des volets et les fenêtres entourées de fleurs, nous allons papoter comme le feraient des amis qui marchent ensemble, d'accord?


I  know you're all expecting my story about how my mother's sewing-machine caught on fire, but I have one more amazing story to tell you...  Yes, I know it never seems to stop and still, I don't write haf what's happening here!

Je sais vous attendez avec impatience l'histoire de la machine à coudre de ma maman qui prend feu, mais j'ai encore autre chose à vous raconter avant... Oui, il se passe toujours un truc bizarre ici et encore, je n'en écris que la moitié!


On July 11th, it was just the beginning of the summer holidays for me and so I spent the morning working on a project you'll see nothing of today because it's not ready yet. 

Le 11 juillet dernier, c'était le tout début des vacances pour moi. J'ai passé la matinée à travailler sur un projet dont vous n'avez encore le droit de rien voir.


I was really tired so at 1:30ish, when Shadow came back home after his morning spent hunting mice, we both decided to have a nap in the bedroom. We could hear nothing but birds and I could feel the warmth of the sun coming into the old (needs to be changed) roof window. You know something is coming right?

J'étais vraiment épuisée et quand mon chat est rentré vers 13h30 de sa chasse à la souris matinale, on a tous les deux décidé de faire une sieste dans la chambre. On n'entendait que le bruit des oiseaux dans le jardin et on sentait la chaleur du soleil qui passait à travers le vieux velux.... Vous vous doutez bien que quelque chose va arriver, non?


Suddenly, there was a very loud bang and the floor of the bedroom seemed to shake a little while all my china was making a tinkling noise. I thought the house was going to collapse: I took my cat in my arms and rushed outside in my underwear (I already noticed we're having an unusually warm summer for Brittany, didn't I?).

Soudain, une gros "boum", puis le sol de la chambre qui se met à trembler légèrement et ma vaisselle qui cliquète. J'ai cru que la maison s'écroulait. J'ai pris mon chat et je suis sortie en vitesse dans le jardin.


As soon as we were in the garden, it seemed that nothing had happened. I went back to put my pants on and went to see my closest neighbour. She had felt nothing. I was beginning to seriously question my sanity. Maybe I had been dreaming?

Là, plus rien. Je vais quand même voir la voisine qui me dit que si elle a bien entendu comme une explosion, elle n'a rien ressenti. Suis-je devenue folle? Est-ce que j'ai juste rêvé?


Later in the day, I was driving to the supermarket, listening to the BBC as usual and there the journalist was talking about an earthquake that had happened a little before 2 pm in Jersey. I can't tell you how relieved I was to know that I wasn't crazy and that what I had felt was explained!

Un peu plus tard, alors que je conduisais direction le supermarché, la BBC sur la radio de ma petite voiture parle d'un tremblement de terre qui a eu lieu un peu avant 14h à Jersey. Gros soulagement. Savoir enfin ce que j'avais ressenti était une libération car j'étais à deux doigts de me croire folle.


The earthquake happened at sea somewhere between Jersey island and my Cottage. I read that it was an earthquake of 4.2 to 4.9 magnitude: it must seem ridiculous to you if you live in California, but it was my first one and it was pretty terrifying!

Un tremblement de terre de magnitude 4.2 à 4.9 (chaque site ayant son chiffre) a eu lieu en mer entre l'île de Jersey et mon Cottage. Cela peut sembler un tout petit truc, mais c'était mon premier et j'ai eu bien peur!


So, now back to our walk. Did you enjoy those little cottages? Did you find some inspiration? Did you notice I didn't give you some historical info as usual? Well, come back for the next post: I'll have pictures of the beach, the church and more!

Bon, revenons à nos maisons! Avez-vous apprécié ces petits cottages? Vous ont-ils inspirés? Avez-vous remarqué que je ne vous avais pas donné mes petites anecdotes historiques habituelles? Revenez donc la prochaine fois: je vous montrerai la plage, l'église et même plus!

Please remember not to wear flip-flops for the newt post!

Merci de ne pas porter de tongs pour la suite de la visite!

See you soon,

A bientôt,



 PS1: I know so many things happen to me, you might not believe me, so here is a link in case you don't believe me. There's a time difference because for a reason unknown to me (well, not unknown but that a historical explanation for an other post), Brittany and Britain are not on the same time.

PS2: If you're new here (welcome, I noticed a few new followers during the summer), you can find some other episodes of the "Wandering Around The Cottage" series by clicking here. There won't be an earthquake in each episode.

PS3: I'm partying!

Travel Photo Monday     Dwellings-the Heart of You Home        By Stephanie Lynn                       

Lavender Garden Cottage                                  







34 comments:

  1. J'adore ces vieilles maisons de pierre... leurs volets colorés, les petites statues de Vierge, les roses trémiaires... et la vieille pompe à eau... Quel charme ! Ah, la Bretagne !!!

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  2. Such a beautiful village! Thank you for sharing it!

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  3. Each of those cottages is so beautiful, but my favorite is the forst one! How scary to have felt the earthquake. We have to worry about hurricanes here in Florida, and sinkholes (which terrify me). Natural disasters are so scary. Hope you have a lovely weekend. Oh...I have a reno project up on my blog if you want to check it out!

    Blessings, Vicky

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  4. Delightful narrative. Enjoyed the time spent with you on your walk and also the adventure re:earthquake!

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  5. I do live in California and earthquakes really are rare but they are scary when they happen. The only BIG earthquake I have been in was 1980 and I was in middle school. My teacher ran and laid on top of me as a huge ceiling light came crashing down on me. My hand was the only thing exposed and was cut by the glass. I was very lucky.

    The Madonna tucked in the side of that building is beautiful. I love that! I never see anything like it here.

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  6. I knew it was an earthquake before I finished reading your description. I take it that Brittany doesn't have many earthquakes? An earthquake of 4.9 is a decent sized quake especially in building not designed to handle the stresses. You probably felt it more than your neighbor because you were laying still. You can miss one of that size if you are moving about. The night my husband had his hip replacement surgery in LA we had a 5.1 quake. If I had been at home it would not have scared me but I was on the 16th floor of a hotel very close to the epicenter. The hotel was designed to move with the building, it has rollers built into the foundation of the building that lets the building sway instead of breaking up. I was totally surprised by the very loud groaning coming for the building as it swayed on the rollers. There were about 100 more smaller quakes during the next 24 hours. I found it very hard to get ready for bed much less fall asleep with an earthquake popping up ever 15 min. I started out by sleeping in my clothes and when I finally dressed for bed I made sure my shoes were near and my clothes were spread out for quick dressing
    But I survived the night... I am glad there was no damage to The Cottage.
    Traci

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  7. I love your travels to villages. I so want to visit France, but I am afraid that I'll never get there, due to age and medical problems, so I travel through your posts. If I was younger I would be moving there. The village is so lovely, all the beautiful flowers and lovely colors of the homes.
    I've lived in So CA 51 years and i never get used to earthquakes - very scary.
    Have a great weekend.
    Mary

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  8. Beautiful scenery and very nice atmosphere. Thank forthis tour.

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  9. I love shutters on windows, and I simply adore high roses for they country-feel ! My home does not have shutters, but luckily, I planted plenty of high stem roses ! So delightful ! Glad you are safe and hope the earth will calm down a bit ! Marcy

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    1. My shutters are in a pitiful states, so I looked closely at the ones I saw in this village for inspiration. High roses are all over Britttany and I'll try to put some in my garden when I remodel it.

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  10. Love those houses. I'd love to see them in person one day. That would have scared me too. I have things happen to me that people have a hard time believing.

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  11. I love it when you take us on field trips! My, the houses are so quaint and charming with the beautiful flowers and unique details. I'd love to live there.
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  12. C'est vraiment beau le coin que tu habites, ces maisons me font rêver, elles sont tellement différentes de celles de ma région.
    Passe un excellent dimanche. Bises. Babette

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  13. I love all those stone houses with the very interesting portals, doors and shutters, these are so much fun, thanks for the tour of this beautiful place!

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  14. I heard about the earthquake on the news, so worrying when it is happening. We had one here in Lincolnshire a few years back during the night and it sounded like a tube train below us! The cottages are beautiful, I love the shutters and the fresh paint colours. Take care x

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  15. The earth moves regularly here in the Pacific Northwest, but it is always noteworthy!
    I thoroughly enjoyed the little tour that accompanied your words, and found inspiration for the yet-to-be-found new house.

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  16. That sounds pretty scary, but it was so interesting to read the other commenters and their experiences with earthquakes. Fortunately it's something I know nothing about.
    How gorgeous is that village, so many picture perfect cottages. Thank you for the tour.

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  17. Un tremblement de terre, quelle peur j'aurais eu. Ca vaut bien un énorme orage. Sauf que c'est plus rapide...
    Jolies maisons.

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  18. Such a beautiful place Magali! Loved the tour. That would have scared the bajeebers out of me! I am glad that you are okay!

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  19. Oh, my goodness! I know about earthquakes and how scary they are! It is a little amusing that you ran outside in your underwear, though :) Your cottage tour is wonderfully charming - I had to go back and look at them a few times to catch all the details. I hope you don't have any more shaking and glad you and your house are o.k. xo Karen

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    1. I knew there were earthquakes in Brittany, but up until last month, none were noticeable, so when the house began shaking I had no idea what was happening and all I thought was "if the roof is collapsing, I'd rather be alive outside in my underwear that buried fully clothed!"

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  20. Hi Magali,

    Earthquakes...hmm...been there, done that, MANY times, and thankfully, nobody has ever been hurt, nor have the places in which I've lived, been damaged. BUT, they can be scary and I still get 'shaky' when I start to see the chandelier starting to swing to and fro! Sometimes, it's just me and my dizzy spells, though!

    I am in love with the charming houses of Saint Suliac!! They are all so very quaint and adorable. Your tour has convinced me to visit this most magical place! Thank you for sharing.

    Poppy

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  21. I enjoyed the trip to such a lovely village. So glad that you are safe and it seems the earthquake did not do much damage!

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    1. I'm glad you loved your time in this adorable village! Thanks for visiting!

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  22. These cottages are just delightful. Yes the shutters and flowers are beautiful, but so is the stone, the lanterns, the doorways and windows and the way they are set on the street. I love little European villages like this! Btw, I too once had a similar earthquake experience where I thought I had dreamed it. I live in the New York area, so we don't experience earthquakes very often. It was early morning and I hadn't really awoken yet, so I thought I dreamt it until I, too, heard about it on the car radio later in the day!!

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    1. Everything is lovely in this village and it's difficult to know what to look at. I was drawn to shutters because mine are in a dreadful state and I was looking for inspiration.
      I had no idea there were earthquakes in New York.

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  23. Your first earthquake is always a surprise. I assume nothing broke.

    I loved my tour os Suliac

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  24. I remember waking up from an earthquake in NYC. I had never experienced one before, but I just knew what it was, and for some crazy reason, I didn't care and went back to sleep. When I got up in the morning, I remembered it and thought I must have dreamt it until I heard about it on the news. I always enjoy walking around with you in your beautiful country. The first cottage is my favorite!

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  25. I have not had much visiting time and I have missed reading your wonderful posts! Love, love the cottage! Especially the ones with red windows, doors, and those with white shutters! Glad to hear that your not crazy, but not happy to hear that you actually had an earthquake.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  26. I <3 your little sea house and tour:) Pinning

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  27. Love it all, wish I could go visit someday!

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