Santec and Roscoff, Brittany

Plage de Theven

This August,  instead of having our usual month long vacation in Asia, we decided to do something typically French. Baby 2 was only 3 months old and my parents were in town, and my husband wanted to use show off his Breton heritage once and for all. We rented a seafront villa in a small village called Santec. You won't find the crowds of the south here, non non. Quaint and quiet, it is the perfect spot to relax, enjoy nature, and eat affordable fresh seafood as often as you please.. 

A plane ride from Paris costs less than €200 and takes about an hour. A car ride would take about 7 hours and with 2 kids under 3 we opted for the first. A car rental is needed however once you reach Brest Airport. Then you're free to roam the countryside. This region isn't tourists' favorite for a reason. Despite having picturesque views and more affordable hotels and villa rentals, the weather is very mild and the sea is cold. In mid August, we were lucky enough to have 60% sunny weather, and clouds and rain for the rest. Its a bet that you take, because temperatures can reach 29 degrees Celcius  like it did last year!

View from our villa

Heated indoor pool with a view

10 minutes drive away from our little village is the town of Roscoff. Popular with the Brits, it is more lively and touristic. Here you can enjoy the region's specialties like crêpes and Kouign Aman. Crèpe I'm sure you know, but what in the world is that bizarre sounding word? Brittany boasts its own language that sounds nothing like French. A Kouign Aman is an artery clogging dessert made purely out of butter, flour and sugar. It is DIVINE. 

Seafood is abundant and affordable. When I say affordable, I mean cheaper than Paris because if you convert Euros to Ringgit it is still quite expensive from a Malaysian's point of view. Our seafood night that consists of 3 lobsters, 2 crabs, and 1 spider crab costs €120 fresh from the fisherman's market. Most villa rentals come with an equipped kitchen and a BBQ pit so you can prepare your seafood as you wish. 

The port of Roscoff

Get your arteries clogged here

They grow lots of onion in the region

Voila, an alternative holiday outside of Paris that isn't the usual. For a nature loving person, 2 weeks is more than enough. Here you get to really appreciate the French countryside, "just like Belle!" as my daughter claimed.

Photos by Me and my Pops