May 31st. Douarnenez
The ship anchored off Douarnenez and we went to Locronan from there on a 3 hour tour. this was a really picturesque medieval town, with no other tourists at that early hour of the morning. After a short guided tour, including an imposing church, we had an hour to explore by ourselves.
We also had a voucher for their famous fatty cake, which had oodles of butter in it.. Chris was not so keen on it!
Once back in Douarnenez we chatted to a TV crew who were covering the protest against cruise passengers and wandered around before having a crepe complet in a Creperie overlooking the sea.
click on a thumbnail to get a bigger photo
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Locronan.
Locronan is a small town built at the foot of a hill. It was granted town status in 1505 by Anne of Brittany, who went there on a pilgrimage. Since the 15th century, hemp has naturally grown in the area (see Hemp in France). It was cultivated and processed in a hemp industry in the town at the time, and it was widely used. The town was quite prosperous. Its hemp was exported internationally, as it was used for rigging the ships, both commercial and military, that operated from Brittany's many ports. The Saint Ronan church was built in this period, as well as the small chapel of Penity.
It has a population of about 800
The whole centre of Locronan is extremely well preserved and quite extensive, and largely built in the distinctive local granite. The solid houses with traditional slate roofs are interspersed with plenty of greenery, making for a very attractive village.here are a traditional granite houses and a few restaurants and shops along the main street and the village church is straight ahead of you. You quickly reach the cobbled Place de l'Eglise: from this square you can easily reach all the highlights in the village and explore the surrounding streets.
The Place de l'Eglise is a large, attractive square entirely paved and surrounded on all sides by very well preserved ancient buildings, with the substantial vaulted church the most imposing among them. Almost all the houses date from the 17th and 18th centuries and are different heights and have small architectural highlights and characterful roofs that make them interesting, and there is an ancient well in the centre of the square.
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The zodiac ride back to the ship was not as wet as we feared. Then a siesta for Chris, a read on the back deck, Trivia and a Briefing. Due to the continues storm system, we were told that we would be going to Cherbourg rather then Roscoff. We skipped the Venetian Society party, but dined with Leslie and four Australians