Birthday weekend in Belle-île-en-Mer

I visited Belle-ile-en-Mer quite a few times when I was a teenager as I was really lucky to have a best friend, Marion, who's family had a small boat which her dad built himself (I say small but really, it was big enough to have quite a few people sleeping in it and it had a proper lounge area which felt very luxurious to me!). We used to go there in the Summer as she had some family still living on the island and I have very fond memories of these trips. I can safely say that these were the good times and I loved every minute of it (although I was always a bit seasick the first day haha).

The island is as beautiful as I remember and Jason and I were lucky enough to visit when the weather was A-MA-ZING. More photos below!

We stayed in Quiberon the night of my birthday and had a loooovely meal at Ty Retro, a great Crêperie in the town centre. I honestly don't remember the last time I ate such a tasty savoury galette!

In the morning, we made sure to wake up early enough to get a quick coffee before getting on the boat. I took a couple of photos of the coast of Quiberon (above), it felt nice and peaceful early in the day with almost nobody around.

It takes 45mins to get to Belle-île by boat and the time went actually quite fast. I'm not great with boats so I felt a little bit rough at the end but the moment I was on the ground I was fine. Can't tell if it's just psychologic?!

My sister's boyfriend got us a Wonderbox voucher for Christmas and we chose to use it for a small meal at the Citadelle Vauban. We were also given the permission to roam around after our meal and it was just perfect. I mean, first, delicious pâtisseries on a terrasse with a view of the sea for breakfast is a great birthday treat, and secondly, being able to then explore this beautiful place for free was the cherry on the cake!

I felt very lucky to be there and enjoy a day off for my birthday with my man. We don't have much and we haven't really been able to travel as much (and as far!) as we've wanted to, but sometimes, you don't need to go very far to have the best of times :)

I forgot how colourful the buildings at the Palais (the port area) were and it was nice to try and remember certain places. Things have changed quite a bit since I was last there but I did remember the green area just after the port with the old fortress walls, and I also remembered instantly that beach when we arrived!

In the afternoon we just wanted to relax so we walked to the nearest beach and stayed there until we had to take the boat back. The water was so clear and it was so stunning that we almost forgot we were in Bretagne ;). We found a spot in the shade and enjoyed hearing some old ladies gathering and gossiping whilst sunbathing. It must be nice to be retired there! Such a nice peaceful place to live in.

We promised ourselves to go back another time to explore more of the rest of the island. Jason couldn't believe that one of the small towns is called "Bangor"! If any of you reading this are considering visiting Bretagne, don't hesitate to spend a day or two in Belle-île-en-Mer :)

Back to Medieval Times! (kind of...)

We heard about the Medieval Festival whilst exploring the historic town of Josselin for the first time, and although we had a good look at their website to know roughly what would be happening at the event, we weren't too sure what to expect (I think I'm too used to events promising to be amazing and in the end being a bit disappointed)! But, this one was great!

The weather was lovely, there was so much to see and do from 10am to 7pm and we loved the way that the whole town had been transformed to feel more medieval. We were surprised at the amount of people that dressed up for the occasion too! We told ourselves that if we're going back next year, we should go dressed up too. I can see myself as some kind of Joan of Arc. I mean, my name is Chevalier (Knight in English) so it would fit me well, right?!

How can you not like this town?! The atmosphere was so good and the people were lovely. There were loads of artisanal stalls and all the cafés and restaurants were open, offering local food and beer. What more could you ask for? We could see how hard the people organising this event worked and it felt good to be a part of it.

We went back to the castle as the garden was opened to visitors for the occasion and it felt almost like we were discovering it all over again because this time it was super sunny! I mean, the view wasn't the same at all a couple of weeks back (see the previous post here). I miss North Wales but I have to say, we're definitely lucky to live in this beautiful part of France :)

We packed a picnic for lunch (trying to save some money), and we found this little peaceful island in the middle of a river, not far from where we parked to enjoy it. A few other families had the same idea as us and it was great to enjoy our food somewhere else than in the busy town centre with all the festivities.

We quickly realised that they were a bit loose with the term 'medieval' as they had many different performances and shows that were more on the fantasy side. There were orcs, weird viking people and we even saw a vampire circa Brad Pitt in "Interview with a Vampire" haha. However, it was great fun and in the end it didn't even shock us.

The highlights were definitely the groups dancing around town and the bird of prey show. Everybody sat down so that the birds could swoop just above our heads and it felt very special. I tried taking photos but it's never easy with birds! Also, there was always some music around which put us in a good mood.

Being the 14th of July (French national day, or Bastille Day as a lot of people call it), they planned some fireworks at 11pm so we stayed up until the end so that we didn't miss it! It was a really good display to be honest and they had some music in the background to go along with the different themes so even though I was a bit cold, it was really nice!

I'm now getting ready for my long weekend to celebrate my birthday and I'm super excited to spend it with Jason for a couple of days first, and then my parents for the rest of the weekend :)

New Account on Instagram!

Guys! I recently opened a new Instagram account for all my design work instead of mixing it all with my photos on my personal account so if you fancy following it, here's the link RIGHT HERE!

It's now been 2 years that I'm a full-time freelancer and I felt that it was time for me to properly separate my personal photos and my design work. It started to feel quite frustrating mixing them purely because I always felt that my grid wasn't looking right and it was very restrictive in the end. Now I feel totally free to post whatever I want to share without having to worry about the fact that it might clash with the photo next to it :)

Plus, I want people and potential clients out there to really see me as a professional designer that knows what she's doing! My aim is to show a good range of work that really represents my style and the type of work I enjoy creating. This way, if people want to reach out for a collaboration, they'll already have a good idea of what I do and if I'm a good fit for their project.

Anyway, I know I haven't shared much so far but it already feels right to me and every time I open my profile, I'm proud to see all these little snippets and it really is my happy place :)

Site Abbatiale de Saint-Maurice

Hey guys! It's been a while again, I know! We're quite busy at the moment with work, paperwork, planning a bit of time off, and trying to stay sane and sleep enough at the same time. I bet you know what it's like ;) I've had these photos ready for more than a week and didn't get around to posting them until now. So here they are!

We've had amazing weather lately and although it's quite hot, we definitely prefer to walk around and explore rather than staying inside. I actually find it hard to work with the heat purely because I feel I should be outside enjoying it! Also, I have to be honest and say that trying to do some sketches or work with my graphics tablet with sweaty hands is kind of horrible...

One Saturday, we drove along the West coast of Bretagne and stopped at the Site Abbatiale de Saint-Maurice. It's almost in the middle of nowhere and we loved how quiet and peaceful it was. Entry is really not expensive and there's a long walk to do all around the lake if you plan on staying the whole day there. We loved it!

A good part of it was restored but there were still quite a lot of ruins, which is a shame, but it does make the scenery that little bit more picturesque. We had an audio guide with us (it's part of the entry price), which I admit can be a bit annoying at times as you don't want to be going around with it, but it did come in useful to learn more about the place.

We always take our time when going around places like this, which is very relaxing. I feel like there's so much going on in our lives that on days like that, when I don't even think about what time of day it is or about my (very long) to-do list, I can properly let go and be in the moment. It's something I always forget to do and that's why it's sacred for me to never work during weekends as I definitely need that time to breathe.

At the end of the afternoon, we walked along the lake and loved what we were seeing. The photos don't do it justice because you can't quite understand the scale of it, but trust me, I didn't feel like I was in Bretagne anymore! Maybe it's because it was really hot, but I almost felt like I was back in Deià, Mallorca ;)

This weekend we're going to the Medieval festival in Josselin, and the week after we're off for a couple of days for my birthday! Soooo looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll take plenty of photos to share with you!