We have been based in the tiny village of Mahon, Brittany, France for the past 5 weeks. Mahon is 15 minutes drive from the bigger town of Josselin. The sit has been the longest one so far. This has given us a chance to relax, read books, catch up on lots of blog writing, plan the next steps and explore the area. Adu has managed to do lots of geocaching and I have taught English classes three days a week. We also had Kyle staying with us for the first 10 days, which was wonderful.
Our responsibilities were two cats and a dog. Misha the five-year-old Doberman has needed a daily hour walk which we have normally done by the canal in the town of Josselin. This canal runs all the way to Nantes.
Josselin has a well known chateau and cathedral, and several restaurants.
Misha is a very loving dog who has a very friendly relationship with the two cats Claude and Rosie. In fact they think Misha is their mother and often they will groom her or vice versa. Misha pulls a lot, on her walks, hence the harness that you can see in the photos, but apart from this is a lovely dog to look after. Claude and Rosie often lie with us in the evenings. Misha has her blanket and spot on the couch.
It is winter so a number of places have been closed. Restaurants are also quite erratic with their opening hours but we have been to La Belle Etoile twice for their lunchtime plat. This involves three courses, a starter and dessert which you pick out of the fridge, and a choice of two mains. They advertise their menu weekly and the cost is EUR 12.40 for the meal including a small glass or red or white wine, which is just wonderful value. We in fact went there on Valentine’s day, (our 24th anniversary) and last week. It is filled with locals at lunch and has a busy, friendly atmosphere.
We also went to a restaurant suggested by our hosts for fish and chips. They offer freshly caught fish on the last Sunday of the month. It is very popular and you need to order your meal on the Thursday. The fish was succulent and wonderful.
We met Anton and Patricia, who are friends of our hosts and went to them for some lovely drinks one Saturday evening with another couple from Cork, Ireland. The one thing we find in house sitting is you don’t interact with that many people who live locally and this was great fun.
The canal runs between locks. We generally walked in one direction one day and the other the next from Josselin. We also stopped at Guenoc where the canal was so pretty. Brittany is known to be a windy spot being near the coast and we have certainly found this. We have also had a lot of rain which has made some outings with Misha very muddy.
We have taken day trips to both Carnac and Mont-Saint-Michel on different Sundays and took along a fresh baguette, cheese, salami and butter for lunch. Just wonderful! We also went to the lovely town of Dinan during our 5 week stay.
The setting of the house is very pretty with farmer’s fields next door and lovely sunrises and sunsets. We have had a lovely time.
