Gauguin and his friends may have come to the town of Pont Aven because it was a cheap place to live, but today people come there because of him, and because it is one of the loveliest towns in Brittany. It is so sweet that we turned to each other after five minutes here and each said that it’s almost unbearable how pretty this country is – filled with one wildly picturesque village after another. Too much to take!
The river that runs through the town meanders in the most charming way. Cross a small bridge and stroll along the ‘country’ side of the river and you find yourself following the path of the artists who painted its many mills and the rocks in the stream.
The town is also a center for the goodies of Bretagne, the galettes and cookies and cakes that are just too good to pass by. Because salt mining was an important industry near the coast, it also makes sense that their use of salt figures in many foods. For example, while salted caramel is a relatively new flavor in the U.S. (or we were just not aware of it till about five years ago?), it seems to have originated here long long ago.
Good thing we have just moved into the most charming gîte, so that we can stock the fridge with regional specialties in order to do it justice. More cider! (Which is served here in coffee cups, for some Breton reason.)