One More Croissant for the Road. Felicity Cloake
so far down the left-hand side you’ll think you’ve gone wrong – follow signs to ‘Bagages Enregistrés Eurostar/Geoparts’. (Note that, at the moment at least, they only take bikes between London, Paris, Lille and Brussels.)
As I gaze out at the countryside through the steady stream of water running down the window, I’m reminded of an old joke from Robb’s book in which a visitor to Brittany demands of a passing infant, ‘Boy, tell me, does it always rain like this here?’ ‘I don’t know, sir,’ replies the child. ‘I’m only eight.’
It only gets worse as darkness falls, and thanks to the sea mist smothering Brest to its damp bosom, I end up seeing little of the city beyond my front wheel. The ‘apart-hotel’, the cheapest of my very few options for tonight, is clearly aimed at commercial travellers, perhaps staying a week or two, and its strip-lit corridors are full of the smells of cooking. When I ask if there’s a garage for my bike, the lady behind the desk shakes her head in apology, before adding, almost as an afterthought, ‘Of course, you’re welcome to take it up to your room if you don’t mind that.’ I can’t believe I’ve heard right – really? She looks puzzled by my reaction and points out the lift as if I might be above hoiking him upstairs. I don’t need telling twice, and Eddy spends his evening in three-star comfort, propped against a trouser press. The French know how to treat a bike.
Having patted him dry with a hotel towel, I turn to the urgent matter of sustenance: I haven’t eaten a proper meal since the crêperie in Dol-de-Bretagne, but this is not a neighbourhood replete with restaurants, and having lugged Eddy all the way up here, I’m loath to take him out foraging in the rain. Thankfully, Madame at the desk saves my bacon for the second time by pointing me in the direction of a supermarket, which, small as it is, offers an embarrassment of options for anyone as easily thrilled by food shopping as me.
I wander its aisles in a distinctly suspicious daze, picking things up, putting them down, goggling at the possibilities (Provençal fish soup! Microwave tartiflette! Instant noodles!). Experience has taught me that the opportunity to ingest vegetables is not one to be sniffed at in France though, so after about half an hour, and just before they chuck me out, I approach the checkout with half a kilo of spinach, a packet of potato pancakes, some salted cream cheese and a block of Brittany butter, and then go back for a bottle of local cider, because I feel like I deserve a drink.
I won’t pretend it’s the most gourmet feast I’ve ever prepared but I do feel better for having swallowed almost an entire bag of spinach drowned in butter and cheese, even if Eddy doesn’t prove the most loquacious of dining companions. It’s nice to see him there when I wake up at some ungodly hour though (curtain check: still raining, but perhaps a little less), and at least I don’t have to share the rest of the powdery pancakes, which are, as with so many things, much better slathered in butter and Marmite.
My first proper solo ride is to Le Faou, a ‘village of character’ about 30km south-east of Brest whose chief attraction is La Frégate crêperie, run by Christophe Beuriot, three times crowned the best crêpier in Brittany. As it’s closed from Sunday to Thursday in winter (which apparently lasts until June here), I’ve grabbed the first free table they had, and after reading woeful reports of people being turned away, even out of season (‘Drove 150km for a nice lunch …’), I’m keen to be on time, which means an early start – it’s not far, but I have no idea of the gradients along the way, and of course the weather still doesn’t look too jolly.
Though it’s rarely pleasant cycling into or out of a city, Brest has the great advantage of being on the coast; even I would struggle to get lost following water, despite the fact I can’t see more than a couple of metres beyond my handlebars. A huge bridge gradually looms out of the fog: the pedestrianised Pont Albert-Louppe, partially destroyed by the German Army in 1944 to halt the Allied advance, has a satisfying 888-metre span, bookended with rather grand 1920s gatehouses – and, on a wet Thursday morning, I have it entirely to myself. Though the tarmac is slick with standing water, and the views all but non-existent, it’s still a buzz to look out and imagine Newfoundland somewhere out there to the west, though in fact, when I look at a map that evening, I realise a fair bit more of Brittany stands between me and my romantic Canadian dreams.
On the other side, I discover that Finistère is a spiky place – the highest hill may be a mere 163 metres, but it gets there with commendable rapidity, and by the time I reach the top, it’s so muggy I tear my waterproof off with claws of desperation. While stuffing the damp garment into a pannier, I get the funny feeling I’m being watched and look up to find myself an object of intense interest for a field of cows, who have silently gathered near the fence for a better look. I feel the weight of their judgement upon my red face, and hastily move on.
Now that it’s finally stopped raining, I can see what I’m riding through: a landscape of stone walls and dripping trees and old-fashioned blue-and-white enamel signs to places with too many vowels stuffed into them – Kerouant, Goarem Goz, Stangmeur, Squivit.
The constant up and down slows the pace, and I succumb to low-level but mounting anxiety regarding my 12 o’clock reservation. The last 10km or so seem to stretch out forever, so I’m relieved to finally see the magic sign proclaiming I’m in Le Faou, twinned with Modbury, UK, and somewhere else in France, just in case Devon proves too exotic. I cross a medieval bridge, pass a 16th-century church and there, at the end of the main street, is the equally ancient-looking building housing La Frégate, the first floor overhanging the ground floor, and the second floor overhanging that, all rising to a slate-tiled point. A wrought-iron frigate in full sail dangles from the corner gable, and outside, men from the town hall are installing great boxes of flowers ready for the summer season.
As I tie Eddy to the tiny stretch of railings they’ve left unencumbered, I watch an elderly couple slowly peruse the menu outside. Had they then walked away, I would have been tempted to run after them to stop them making a terrible mistake, but fortunately they’re already seated by the time I bumble in, covered in chain grease.
Though the restaurant is otherwise deserted at 12.01, I’m still gratified when Madame remembers my reservation, and leads me to a table right by the open kitchen. Perfect. Once furnished with a bowl of cider, I turn my attention to the weighty menu, which kicks off with a lengthy mission statement outlining the criteria La Frégate has had to fulfil to be recognised as a Crêperie Gourmande. These include devoting at least 76 per cent of the menu (!) to crêpes and galettes, and retaining a crêpier with a solid knowledge of local and regional products, such as those provided by the list of suppliers underneath. It concludes with the plaintive note that ‘a Crêperie Gourmande is not a fast-food restaurant – thank you for your understanding’.
There are a handful of seasonal specials – a crêpe with wild asparagus, locally cured coppa pork and Parmesan, and one with abalone (ormeau, a new piece of vocabulary for me), purée of chervil root and more of that asparagus – on top of the standard menu, which offers 48 different possibilities, from ham and egg to seaweed and scallops. I feel panicky, much as I did when confronted with all those oysters, and briefly flirt with the idea of ordering them all in the name of research.
Fortunately, help is on his way, in the form of Christophe himself, who is doing the rounds of the rapidly filling restaurant to greet his guests and show off the ingredients of the moment – the spindly asparagus and fleshy abalone, a sea beast popular in Asia, though these hail from nearby Plouguerneau – ‘€75 a box, shell-on!’ – and a box of the chervil root: ‘Very, very rare!’ he says excitedly. ‘Not common at all.’ I agree I’ve never heard of it. Should I have it? Well, he says, abalone is abalone (unarguable); me, I’d have the asparagus and coppa. It’s made by a friend of mine up the road, and it’s really good.
I feel a great weight lift from my shoulders; the asparagus it is. Relieved, I sit back and indulge in a bit of people watching. There’s a party of pensioners, arguing over who’s going to order what, and a couple next to me signing at each other, which is annoying, because I can’t earwig on their conversation. Opposite is a lone man who looks like he’s on his lunchbreak. I smile tentatively, and then remember I’m covered in mud and oil, and go and discreetly try to mop some from