Château de Keriolet & Concarneau

Isn't it beautiful?! I've got plenty of photos to share with you so I thought it would be best warning you now ;). Last Saturday, it was super sunny (but also super cold!) and we've been working so hard this month, that we knew we just needed a day out somewhere for a break. We decided to go further North West up the coast of Morbihan, and the area of Concarneau looked really promising, so we took the day off and went exploring! It did us really good and at the end of the day, I realised how much I needed that time to breathe a bit. Helps me keep a bit of sanity in my life!

We first stopped at the Château de Keriolet, just outside of Concarneau town centre. The castle is only open in the summer as it's still privately owned, but it was too beautiful and intriguing not to stop and take some photos of the outside!

Apparently, its appearance changed a lot when a Russian from the Imperial family decided to acquire this medieval manor in the XIVth Century. When you look closely, it's got a few Russian details still there and overall, you can tell that this castle has a very different style from the typical French Châteaux. I really loved it and I can't wait to go back this Summer to properly discover its history. I mean, have you seen that small tower built on the side of a bigger tower?! Almost looks like it's out of a fairytale.

Just before lunchtime, we made our way to the town centre of Concarneau and its dreamy coastal path. Honestly, if it wasn't so bloody cold, I would have removed my shoes and put my feet in this crystal clear water. The chilly wind made our cheeks and nose all rosy but the sun gave us a nice warm feel whilst walking around the town. It was so nice! I always laugh with Jason about this expression I invented years ago when living in North Wales that really sums up this type of weather to me: "Crispy Cold".

We spent most of the day in the stunning medieval fortress that is still pretty much intact. Jason was going crazy, snapping photos on his phone for 'reference' for his future projects haha. To be honest though, I'd never been to Concarneau before and I was so impressed by it! There's a little town inside the fortress with plenty of little shops, cafés and crêperies.

I shared the photo of the town square on Instagram and a fellow Instagrammer (it's MissKatyEnglish!) mentioned the fact that it looks like the town square from the movie Tangled, and you know what, it's so true! It feels so very traditional and typically Breton. I really loved the atmosphere there and the fact that it was so peaceful really helped.

We (of course) ate plenty of delicious food, starting with lunch at the crêperie Le Pennti. We almost didn't leave because it was so warm inside and we just wanted to eat more and more delicious crêpes! Just seeing the photos makes me want to go there again straight away. The dessert was the best though. The ice cream ball was inside the crêpe. Miam.

We also stopped by Maison Georges Larnicol, but this time, instead of getting some Kouignettes, we went for an assortment of chocolates that we took home with us (there was no risk of the chocolates melting in the afternoon with -2°C)! Our bellies were full from lunch but we couldn't resist some chocolatey treats ;)

It was hard to leave this amazing place! We carried on walking along the old fortress' walls in the afternoon (trying to burn some calories) and we went around a few shops to find some local goods for my mum's birthday. We found a really good one called Sentier Côtier where we found some lovely products handmade by two sisters, and their mum was sweet enough to keep the shop up and running whilst they were both at home, crafting away :)

Bretagne, we love you so much!

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