Cap Fréhel & St. Brieuc

For those of you who were reading last time: you can go to the next post, we've been here before.... but of course it didn't happen exactly the same way as two years ago....

Faithful to the same motto 'the journey is the destination' (you'll understand why later...), today I wanted to show the other food provider Cap Fréhel. The tour from Cap Fréhel to Fort La Latte is one of the most beautiful routes on the GR34. Even people with poor motor skills should not feel hiking as a hardship due to the view along the cliffs.

It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get from Perros-Guirec to the starting point. Once you reach the coast, there are beautiful viewpoints along the rest of the way.

As always, when you arrive at the cape, you must first park your car. This time I was lucky to know that 'autocars' here means buses and we didn't have to pay 15 €. However, the parking system has changed since 2018. This led to us standing in front of the now available parking meter, wondering how to get a ticket. The machine refused to provide any information in English (as always...) and asked us for a number. Behind us, the line kept getting longer. While we were racking our brains trying to figure out which number to enter, a woman behind us began to complain loudly. 'What is this? This wasn't here two years ago. What number do they want? My student ID number????!'. Relieved that we were not the only ones who didn't understand the machine, we started talking to the couple behind us. The line behind us kept getting longer and longer..... by now, in desperation, I tried entering my license plate number (I couldn't think of anything else...). The couple behind us saw what we were doing and immediately exclaimed 'Ahhhh Mönchengladbach!!! We're from Willich' (just around the corner) and then the couple behind them also chimed in 'What? Yes, we're from Willich too. If I may say and add my two cents'..... You drive a thousand kilometers to meet half of Mönchengladbach at a parking meter that we NRW'ers don't understand. ..clearly. The world is a small place... but enough about the start. Let's go into nature..... thought the Teewurst and put something somewhere it didn't belong. Next garbage can: I'm still looking for it. But now it really started!

Off to the starting point (be warned, today we will not skimp on pictures....):

From Cap Fréhel, the GR34 continues (supposedly 1 hour and 15 minutes according to signs and 45 minutes according to Google Maps) along the cliffs to Fort La Latte, as described above. The trail is a prime example (the nerd among the GR34 sections, so to speak) of diverse hiking trails. It has everything: heather, rocks, stairs, forest, cliffs, the obligatory fern, etc.

By now, the Teewurst knows not to behave like a mountain goat on a rope and stayed away from suicide this time.

Towards the end (2 hours....), the other food provider was struggling with the sun, but hey.... you don't get a tan without the sun (or we get even redder...). By now, we could already see the destination:

When we arrived at the fort, we skipped the waiting time at the cash register:

I still don't see a reason to pay to see this castle if there's no coffee there... so we went straight to the creperie. Two years ago, I had the most expensive scoop of ice cream there (it was delicious) and recovered for the way back to the car. The Teewurst was greeted there with a deluxe water bowl and extra treats. Update: now you have to wait a long time for a table, the water bowl looks like a trash can, there were no treats, and the ice cream is still just as expensive.... but oh well!

The ice cream was delicious and you need fluids for the return journey! This time, it took us 45 minutes along the expressway, just like last time, but we were prepared for that.

From Cap, we continued to St. Brieuc. The city is directly on the way back and is therefore perfect for a dinner stop. Plus, in 2018 I didn't take any photos, so that had to be made up for. We also had plenty of time to stroll around before dinner.

We were doing well on time. The only question was: where to eat? The internet recommended the restaurant 'L'horizont'. Alright, let's take it. So we booked a table (without taking a closer look....) and off we went into the city.

After we had walked enough at some point, we took a short break with cider and Orangina to pass the time before heading to the restaurant. During this break, I tried (internet wasn't cooperating) to look at some pictures of the restaurant, but everything my phone managed to load made me prefer going to McDonald's. But a booking is a booking!

When we arrived there (found a parking spot right away!), we entered the most colorful ambience I had ever seen. Colorful and crowded. The place resembles more of a flea market where you can also get something to eat. Not a single board is painted the same color, the walls and ceilings are covered with everything imaginable, and hats, wigs, or other materials for dressing up are scattered everywhere.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by an enthusiastic Frenchman who couldn't understand why we wanted to sit outside (there it was colorful and not cluttered). Once outside, said Frenchman immediately set our table (colorful) and handed us the menus. After some attempts at translation, we told him our choices and waited for what was still to come..... by now, the place inside was also filling up nicely. Before the food arrived, a bright pink JBL speaker was placed on the roof so that we could be entertained outside with French cover songs.

Fortunately, the food was served quickly (not only Teewurst's stomach was growling....). And by 'served', I mean that the chef maneuvered through the outdoor furniture with overloaded trays and almost spilled everything for Teewurst more than once... meanwhile, Teewurst had spotted a cat in the courtyard and tried to get it to the street through the veranda railing....the classic....the cats.... but back to our food:

Greetings from the slalom chef:

Appetizers:

Main courses:

Desserts:

In retrospect, I can understand why this restaurant is a hidden gem. The two men run the place completely on their own and with a lot of passion. The prices are absolutely reasonable and the food tastes like it was cooked by grandma (the Breton grandma). All dishes are prepared with local produce and give you a very cozy feeling.

If you get bored during the meal, the owner will bring cardboard figures, sunglasses, wigs, and everything imaginable for party photos to your table (requested by the group next to us). Now that's what I call service!

We managed the one-hour drive back on a full stomach just in time before we wandered off to bed.

Tomorrow, we're going to the market. I found a great one!

Until then!