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Speedferries - £20 for 36 hours


Alexis
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Now, now.  Just because you like to float into the UK in style.

By the time you have queued for the restaurant, I can be over the water and into the nearest pub[;-)]

As for the second post, I seem to have missed a point somewhere...which makes a change![:D]

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[quote] Now, now.  Just because you like to float into the UK in style.[/quote]

Yep, on me back with a can of Fullers pride in me hand [;-)]

We won't be eating any more on B.F, after the 'orrible apology of a

brekafst and the time before, dinner to die for (literally, it was

awful [:)] ) We used to go that way (Calais etc) Alexis from the Doo

Don but it is purgatory to Boulogne/Calais and back, from here...

Why not try LD lines, I wouldn't think the difference in cost is that great, after everything is taken in to consideration ?

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Superb breakfast on the Normandie yesterday, and an even better dinner on the same ship last Friday. I've always found LD Lines breakfasts to be rubbish - that is to say when you are actually able to have one, because they are too late starting on a crowded ship, or the till doesn't work so they can't even let you have a coffee - and actually dearer than Brittany's.
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A few years back there was a UK tv ad for P&O where Claire Frances did the voice over - the punch line was "Were with you all the way" said as if this was a unique offer. The other carriers maybe stopped a bit short and you had to swim the last bit.
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[quote user="Russethouse"]

What boat was the dinner on Miki ?

And which restaurant was the breakfast ? I have never liked their

'posh' restaurant breakfast much, those sausages are the pits IMHO [:(]

[/quote]

Dinner on the Normandie (which not that long ago did a superb carvery

but last week the food was tepid and pretty tasteless)  and

breakfast in the self service on Le Mont St Michel.

In the days when we had all 4 kids with us, Tina would go out in the

morning or evening before and purchase some nice food for a real good

"picnic"  to be eaten in the cabin or wherever, to sit and eat.

Years later, we find ourselves asking again if that is the best way to

eat ........[:(]

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Or turn to the left and have breakfast in the Duchesse Anne, won't

leave much dosh over for lunch though (mind you, I have no idea if they serve

breakfast in the D.A)

Didn't have good service in the Cancalaise last week, which is a shame

as the patron is an OK chap. Still like Le Querrien and the Surcouf

best in Cancale, although last year we ate well in the Hotel St Cast

but if you do fancy a true delight, as I said before, do think of Tirel

Guerin in La Gousnière near Cancale. 

http://www.tirel-guerin.com/en/default.asp

(Bet it doesn't work, if not, do please tell me how to make a link work)

Now, next Monday, all things being alright, we are going away with a

couple of friends and having a few nights break, likelihood, Quimper, as

last year we were a little rushed to see much of it all.  We

stayed in  Concarneau which was a little lacking in life !. So we

thought Quimper would be nice this time and I know you go there often..

We have stayed in the Mercure but wondered if anywhere else is OK.

Don't mind a short drive away (very short, like just a few mins) but

might prefer to be actually in Quimper itself, so that after a day out,

a meal in town and a walk back to the hotel looks the best bet.

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Is the Mercure opposite the station ?

When we are in Quimper we always stay at theMascotte, its central and always seems pleasant enough to us, it has undercover parking in the garage next door, not a fancy hotel but more than adequate.

6, Rue Théodore Le Hars
29000 Quimper, France 02 98 53 37 37.

We have often had lunch and sometimes dinner at the L'epee (on the town side of the Odet to the left from the Mascotte) lots of French lunch there, my friend says its considered 'correct'.

Last time I was there went to La Feuillantine http://www.linternaute.com/restaurant/restaurant/4583/la-feuillantine.shtml it looks very drab from the outside but is light and airy inside. Excellent food!

We also like the Hotel St Marine http://www.hotelsaintemarine.com/uk/index1.htm but thats a few miles away so probably better for lunch (the desert platter 'goumandais' sp is excellent!) Good food and views !

You don't how lucky you are [;-)] - at one stage I was due to arrive at the Mascotte on the 9th - change of plan though. There is a large Antique Salon starting at Penvillers on the Friday, dealers etc can get in on Thursday PM......

PS If dinner is dire on the boat going out we will be eating before we embark for the return crossing, maybe the Duchess Anne ?

 

 

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We had looked on a few hotels on google and the Mascotte came up as

centre of town (like the Mercure) but with no private parking but if

you say the parking is only next door that will do fine. It is showing

around €55 upwards a night for a double room on a couple of sites for

hotels, so that looks good value.

Any knowledge of the 3 star Oceania Hotel Quimper, just a few minutes outside town ?

Duchess Anne is among the tops but with prices to much and we think

that better value is found elsewhere in Saint Malo. Still it is a

lovely place to eat.

I will print off the restos, cheers.

We would have left Quimper on the 9th as we have to be back home for guests on the 10th.

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I think the Oceania is a little further out  in a bit of the town that is close to  where the hypermarkets are, you would go past the faienceries (on the right) then up the hill straight over the roundabout and turn right. If you were going to be out and about and not wanting to walk back after a meal it would be fine. I think some Q Club members stayed there in 2001, no complaints as far as I know.

The car park is a small multi story and is adjacent to the Mascotte, it used to be either free or cheaper if you stayed at the hotel but I am not sure if thats changed.

BTW where the HB faiencerie shop is (a little bit further on from La Feuillantine ) there is a good 'seconds' shop that also sells useful little gifty bits. I think they are part of the other faiencerie, Faiencerie Art Breton. 

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The Oceania is showing good discounts but I think it will be the

Mascotte, sounds just right. Nice days out and then park up by the

hotel, nice meal and a slow walk back to the hotel by way of a bar for

nightcaps.....................set against the other hotel with free

parking and lower costs, the benefits of being in town outweighs that.

Friends said at lunchtime think that the scaffolding is still around the Cathedral, awaiting further cash to finish the work.

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Now I'm back I can say that I will be complaining to BF about my dinner on the Pont Aven, such a shame as we used to really look forward to the BF meal but I was really dissapointed and we were not the only ones. What has happened ?

On the plus side I thought the Pont Aven was a great boat, we glided across the channel, a really smooth crossing. The signage & instructions to get back to our car was a little lacking with groups of people wandering around looking for staircases,(we weren't the only ones feeling foolish) but we got there eventually !

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Looks like another BF boat with an iffy resto. Will seems to find the

food OK, I reckon they know him and the whisper goes out that he is on

board and to get the good stuff out !

We had the same problem with finding our way back to the car deck, we

were still going aimlessly round the cabin area when an employee

re-directed in to the right way to the car deck !

We are reserved at the Mascotte for 3 nights (through lastminute.fr at

an excellent price) and when I called the hotel, someone on the

reception said to head for the police station and we would easily find

it. We know the area, so we should be OK, it looks simple enough from

the road in and across one of the bridges over the Odet.

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[quote user="Miki"]Looks like another BF boat with an iffy resto. Will seems to find the food OK, I reckon they know him and the whisper goes out that he is on board and to get the good stuff out !

[/quote]

I wish - I have to say that I too have found the food on the Pont Aven and the Bretagne, also the Val de Loire when it was on the St Malo route can be a bit sub-standard. I have also eaten on the Mont St Michel when it was pretty average. I find the bar area outside the main resto is the best place to eat on the MSM. The Barfleur has been downright poor too. But the Normandie is generally pretty good - I do seem to go on that boat much more often than any of the others and yes, I am known in the restaurant. I am talking about the waiter-service restaurants rather then the self-service. I find the self-services pretty average, though still just about better than LD Lines, and the breakfast in the self-service is often abysmal.

It does depend on the crew on duty, I think the Normandie definitely has the best catering staff. I remember back in the days of the Olau ferries which went from Sheerness to Vlissingen (Flushing) and were reckoned at the time to be the best things afloat that the food on the Hollandia was always better than the Britannia. When those boats went to P&O on the Le Havre route they had, to start with, really good restaurants though the standard deteriorated over the years.

The other thing I have found with BF's waiter restos is that it pays to get there early. At peak times, its not worth the bother because the queues start forming half an hour before opening. But at other times by being there at or just after opening time not only do you get a decent table, you seem to get good service and a decent meal (I always order in French  which I think helps despite my appalling accent, and take care over ordering the wine, usually their excellent Cotes de Beaune or, in summer, Tavel, so that I try to appear a bit more discerning than the average ferry-travelling pleb).

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Speaking as one of the average ferry-travelling plebs, do you know why the buffet breakfasts have stopped on the Normandie? Our last breakfast there was abysmal, all the water on the ship smelled mildewed and the coffee (and orange juice - odd that) tasted and smelled of it. The hash browns were both burnt and soggy, which is a trick few chefs can achieve. They were also the equipe that priduced the sea bass with grapefruit sauce - one of the worst things I have ever tasted in my life. We ended up having lunch in the self-service, where at least you can get an unassuming little steak and a montagne of chips.

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We both chose the lamb which came very pink, not particularly hot (not a healthy combination IMHO) and I thought mine was 'greasy' even for lamb, Mr RH's was grisly too. Not sure what the lentils had with them but I didn't like it. When we paid and were asked if we enjoyed the meal we said that we hadn't and complained about the lamb. Later we met 2 other couples that told us they had also commented unfavourably on it.

We had a reasonable bottle of Chablis  we weren't that keen on that either, but put that down to personal taste. In fact we had a surprisingly nice dry white in the bar at Portsmouth harbour, Sauvignon blanc if I remember rightly.

Its all very well being a 'captive audience' but the food on BF generally used to be so much better.

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