When the dam is drained (Lac de Guerlédan)

Hubby has been telling me that we need to go visit a lake (served as a dam) that is emptied due to maintenance. I was not very enthusiasm on the idea, what was there to see an emptied lake?

But when I set my feet into the lake area, I was more than impressed, I was overwhelmed by its beauty.

Here is the Lake of Guerledan in Brittany.

When the dam is at its full operation, water would cover till where the forest stands.

Stones after years being underwater. Fishes were transfered to other places before the water slowly being drained.

There were houses buried under water for a long time. They all turned black color.

Rocky hills with tunnels.

These rocks were usually covered by water, I'm not sure if this is their natural color.

Grasses grew where the was no more water.

A breathtaking view.

The drainage milestone

March and April 2015 : Progressivement lower the water level of the lake

From mid Mai to October 2015 : Lake drained, guided visits

Starting from November 2015 : Naturally filling up the lake

Beginning of 2016 : Hydro-electrical center back to service

It was Sunday and there were many visitors at all ages. This makes me feel that banning working on Sundays might be a good thing. Instead of running errands like doing grocery shopping or shopping the whole day in a Mall, people get to do something different.

For those who are interested to visit this Lake, you have until 31 Oct.
Here is the link for more information.

Nantes

Last weekend I invited my coworker over to visit Nantes. She is an expatriate and will be staying in France for two months. Most of the time she is in Rennes so it would be nice to visit around. At the end of the visit, she concluded that Nantes is more beautiful than Rennes and most of her friends feel the same (from the photos she posted online). Well, I don't know whether Nantes is prettier but her visit has made me realized that Nantes is indeed a scenic city. I regret so much that I didn't make my own family visit this city due to their hectic schedule.

One of her comments was that Nantes has so many places to walk around. True, this ancient mansion is just 5 minutes walk from my apartment.

Another ancient building, or should we call it a castle?

The architecture of the Brittany castle.

This park is situated just across the street of our apartment complex.

Since 2007 the walking elephant has become an attraction in Nantes. It was a beautiful day so this elephant was out for a walk.

I love his eyes, so "lifely".

The "Passage Pommeraye" is well decorated and is filled with Christmas spirit.

The tranquil Erdre river, quoted by the French king François I as the most beautiful river in France.

Nantes downtown is lit up with colorful lighting. It was crowded with people hunting for Christmas gifts or simply going out for a walk.

The Christmas market. It could not be compared to the Christmas market in Alsace, and I was disappointed that they didn't have hot apple juice. Most of the stuffs here are expensive so I was never keen to buy anything here.


Nantes is indeed beautiful isn't it?

Loving the red leaves

On the last day of my internship, I overslept, thus had to drive alone, and parked further from my company.

Then I discovered all these red leaves, charmingly decorating the parking lot. I don't know why but trees in Nantes usually turn directly from green to yellow during autumn, I guess it has to do with the species of trees they have.






Can't believe summer is over, it feels like it has never arrived.

Some countryside photos

Last weekend while visiting the countryside, we discovered the sunflower field where the sunflowers are taller than me. The view is simply fascinating.

The first time I visited France, I stumbled into hectare of fields like that. People told me they are grasses for cattle. I had hard time understanding it, as why they need to cut those grasses instead of letting cows eat them freshly from the field?

I forgot, grasses dry out during winter, and these are reserves for animals. People even advertise on it for summer festival.

I have a feeling that cows in France are a lot prettier and clearer than those in Malaysia. Not that I have seen many cattle farms in Malaysia, but those I saw in Langkawi were quite dirty.

Highway Scenery

Since I'm carpooling, I don't have to drive everyday. In the morning I'm usually sleepy but in the evening, I got the chance to sightseeing around the country side.

This region has a lot of farming activities, so the landscape of both side of the highway are very green. I sometimes stick to the car window and quietly watching the cows resting in the field or a big scale of green plantation. When approaching the city I work, there is a breathtaking view: houses spread among hills and the surrounding is just natural green. Very refreshing.

Last two weeks there were some road works on the highway so we had to make some detours. We drove past small villages with very cute Brittany style houses and most of the small towns are very flowery. I was just seeing extended postcard scenery, on live.

These photos here are just meant to give you some ideas on the highway scenery I pass by everyday but the effect is far from justified the actual beauty. Didn't have a chance to capture those lucky cows sunbathing and enjoying the summer atmosphere. :-)

Salt desert!

On tonight's Pekin Express (similar to Amazing Race in US), the contestants were asked to cross the salt desert by foot. A desert full of salt!!! This is the first I heard of it and it is simply impressive and stunning. It used to be salt lake. It is located in Bolivia, a place called Salar de Uyuni.

I'm not sure I could cross this desert by foot though.

Winter flowers

The weather has been nice and that's probably why I'm seeing flowers flourish everywhere. When seeing this white flower tree, I wonder whether it is the "plum flower" like in Chinese. Anyone knows what is this called?


My mood becomes cherish seeing these flowers everywhere.

While other flowers are still sleeping underground, this flower tree just decided to charm the surrounding.

Goodman's bridge

Several weeks ago we went to visit the Goodman's bridge (Pont du Bonhomme).



It's a bridge consists of two big walls facing each other. At the peak of the walls stand a man and a woman who look at each other. It was pretty interesting but sad at the same time. It reminds me of Chinese Valentine's day that has a legend about a girl and a guy who are in love but can only see each other once a year (the 7th day of July in the lunar calendar) through a bridge form by birds.





We walked along the river and it's the season of chestnut again. It has a lot in the forest along the river. It's amazing sometimes that in France, there are so many things to see in an area. I have been to Lorient so many times but still I haven't visited every places worth visiting.

Rennes

Rennes is the capital city of Brittany. I have been to this city several times, so this time I take it slow and easy.

Start off with Parc du Tabor. Have a nap, then read on the beautiful grass with some sun. I never understood why people can lay down on grass under the sun, now only I know it's too comfortable to do that. In Malaysia, the sun is too hot, you are basically having a sona. Exit from the park, I saw this, think it's cute.



It means I need to be taken on leash. I didn't see much dogs around, but France is really a nation having lots of dogs.



This is the house office the park. It's quite bit, while I was taking picture a guy driving in sport Mercedes drive in. I presume rich people live here.



There are lots of churches and cathedrals in Rennes, I like the achitechture.



Some houses in Brittany are built with this kind of stone. It's actually very cute. However it's very expensive nowaday.



This water wall is cute. I have to take this picture from the gate. You can't get closer.



Found these bridal gowns to be too much, I won't be able to wear them.



This is the Parliment in Rennes. It was burnt down once by the fishermen who did a demonstration.

Visit to La Gacilly

I love Lavender, love it's colour and smell. After our civil wedding, my partner has 7 days of vacations. He asked me where I want to go. I told him I would like to see "La mer de Lavender", which means the sea of Lavender. Ideally we should go to Provence, the Lavenders grow nicely there. However, in summer, if you don't reserve in advance, chances are every hotel and campsite is full. We have no choice, but to go to other option. We chosed La Gacilly, as we heard that they might have some Lavender. We were wrong, but the trip was still nice.


Photo from http://ecycletours.com/content2002/01-photos.htm

We didn't see Lavender, it's not the session, they usually fully grow during the spring. Instead, La Gacilly is famous of it's artists and handcraft shops. We saw shop producing glasses, collectional toys, galleries; their products are quite expensive. The shop below produce and sell candles in different shapes.



What impressed me was the big posters hanging on the wall of building. I didn't know you can have an art exhibition this way. Some of the posters are displaying the flooding situation in Redon in 1999.



They have also exhibition about Himalaya.



We visited also the botanical garden of Yves Rocher, a French cosmetic brand who produce cosmetic using plants. I heard of Yves Rocher in Malaysia, which my sister told me that it's famous in France. I told her I have never heard of it in France. It was my fault though, because I don't know French brand much. It's true that it's quite famous here. The botanical garden is fine, just that when you are in French, you don't expect people to introduce you what is bamboo, what is curry, banana trees, where is pineapple grow from pineapple tree... Gosh, I knew these since I was young, simply because I'm a Malaysian, and we do have a lot bamboo and banana trees, we do know that curry is not a plant but combination of spices, and that pineapple grow from the middle of the pineapple tree. No brainer.