1 â Fort La Latte in Brittany â a Great Day Trip
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Je vais trĂšs souvent au Fort la Latte â jây vais chaque fois que mes apprenants en immersion de français veulent voir la cĂŽte bretonne en visite accompagnĂ©e. Cette forteresse figure dans notre itinĂ©raire. Nous suivons une partie de la cĂŽte dâEmeraude puis de la cĂŽte de PenthiĂšvre. Mais en gĂ©nĂ©ral, faute de temps, nous nâentrons pas dans le chĂąteau.
I go to Fort la Latte very often â I go there every time my French immersion students want to see the Brittany coast on an accompanied visit. This fortress is on our itinerary. We go along part of the Emerald Coast and the PenthiĂšvre coast. But in general, through lack of time, we do not go into the castle.

2 â Visiting Fort La Latte With My French Student Eunike
Pendant le sĂ©jour de mon Ă©tudiante Eunike, par contre, elle me dit quâelle aimerait beaucoup visiter le Fort la Latte. Elle en a vu des photos sur internet et elle et en a lu une description. Oui, elle veut vraiment y aller faire une visite guidĂ©e.
During the stay of my student Eunike, however, she tells me that she would like to visit Fort la Latte. She has seen pictures of it on the internet and she read a description of it. Yes, she really wants to go on a guided tour.
Donc nous y allons un bel aprĂšs-midi dâĂ©tĂ©. On gare la voiture au parking, et on sâapproche de lâentrĂ©e du parc. Eunike me pose beaucoup de questions. Je laisse certaines rĂ©ponses pour les guides, mais je connais dĂ©jĂ la rĂ©ponse Ă dâautres.
So we go there on a nice summer afternoon. We park the car in the car park, and we approach the entrance to the grounds. Eunike asks me a lot of questions. I leave some for the guides to answer, but I already know the reply to others.
- « A qui appartient ce chùteau ? » elle me demande.
- « Câest un chĂąteau privĂ©. Et câest sur la liste des monuments historiques nationaux, » je lui rĂ©ponds.
- âWho owns this castle?â she asks me.
- âItâs a private castle. And itâs on the list of national historic monuments,â I answer her.

3 â Fort La Latte â A Live In Castle
Câest la famille Jouon de Longrais, passionnĂ©e dâhistoire, qui a achetĂ© le chĂąteau pendant les annĂ©es 30 du siĂšcle dernier. Ils ont fait beaucoup de travail de restauration, et ce programme de travaux continue. Et il y a des membres de la famille qui habitent sur place.
It is the family Jouon de Longrais, passionate about history, who bought the castle during the 1930s. They did a lot of restoration work, and this program of work is continuing. And there are family members living there.
- « Ah bon â mĂȘme en hiver ? » me demande Eunike.
- « Oui, il paraĂźt. MĂȘme si câest trĂšs exposĂ© ici et quâil ne fait pas toujours beau en hiver, câest un choix personnel. Tu peux lâimaginer ici pendant une tempĂȘte? Il y a souvent beaucoup beaucoup de vent en hiver. On est vraiment seul, et trĂšs isolĂ© â mais il faut admettre que ce serait terrifiant et inoubliable ! »
- Oh really â even in winter? Eunike asks me.
- âYes, it seems. Even if it is very exposed here and it is not always nice in winter, it is a personal choice. Can you imagine it here during a storm? It is often extremely windy in winter. They are really alone, and very isolated â but I must admit that it would be dramatic and unforgettableâ

Spend a week in the beautiful harbour town of Paimpol on the North Coast of France.
4 â âLe Doigt de Gargantuaâ in Fort La Latte
Nous passons devant une pierre levĂ©e, haute et fine, Ă cĂŽtĂ© du sentier. Jâanticipe la prochaine question:
We pass in front of a raised stone, tall and thin, next to the path. I anticipate the next question.
- âĂa, câest le âDoigt de Gargantuaâ. Selon la lĂ©gende, le gĂ©ant Gargantua aurait perdu son doigt quand il voulait sauter dans la direction de Saint Malo⊠ou peut-ĂȘtre quand il traversait la Manche pour aller en Angleterre. Câest un Ă©crivain de la Renaissance, Rabelais, qui a dĂ©crit ce personnage au seiziĂšme siĂšcleâ.
- âThatâs Gargantuaâs Fingerâ. According to legend, the giant Gargantua lost his finger when he wanted to jump in the direction of Saint Malo ⊠or perhaps when he crossed the Channel to go to England. It is a Renaissance writer, Rabelais, who described this character in the sixteenth century.â

5 â Approaching Fort La Latte
Le sentier tourne vers le gauche et descend. Soudain, on aperçoit le fort.
The trail turns to the left and goes downhill. Suddenly, we see the fort.
- « Ouaouh ! Il est vraiment impressionnant, ce chĂąteau â encore plus que dans les photos ! Rappelle-moi, jâai oubliĂ© : quand est-ce quâon lâa construit ? »
- « Il date du quatorziĂšme siĂšcle. CâĂ©tait la demeure dâune vieille famille bretonne. Puis plus tard, il est devenu une base militaire. Dâici, les soldats pouvaient surveiller la Manche, et protĂ©ger la ville de St Malo Ă lâest. Regarde lĂ , dans le lointain : on peut juste distinguer la tour dâune Ă©glise â eh bien ça, câest Saint Malo.»
- âWow! It is really impressive, this castle â even more than in the photos! Remind me, I have forgotten: when was it built?â
- âIt dates from the fourteenth century. It was the home of an old Breton family. Then later, it became a military base. From here, the soldiers could survey the Channel, and protect the town of St Malo to the east. Look there, in the distance, we can just distinguish the tower of a church â thatâs Saint Malo.â

6 â Entering the Fort La Latte Castle in Brittany
Nous arrivons au guichet, et nous entrons dans lâenceinte. Il y a des objets historiques placĂ©s ici et lĂ : un bĂ©lier, un catapulte, et ⊠oh, tiens ! un piloriâŠ
We arrive at the ticket office, and we enter the enclosure. There are historical objects placed here and there: a battering ram, a catapult, and ⊠oh, look! A pilloryâŠ
- « HĂ©, Eunike, regarde ! Tu sais ce que câest, ça ? Ăa sâappelle un pilori. On lâutilisait au Moyen Age et mĂȘme aprĂšs pour punir quelquâun qui avait commis un petit crime, pas trop sĂ©rieux. La personne Ă©tait attachĂ©e dans le pilori un certain temps, selon le crime, exposĂ©e Ă la vue du peuple, ce qui Ă©tait supposĂ© lâinciter Ă ne pas rĂ©pĂ©ter son crime. Tiens, il sâouvre, le pilori ! Je te prends en photo ? »
- âHey, Eunike, look! Do you know what this is? Itâs called a pillory, or stocks. It was used in the Middle Ages and even after then, to punish someone who had committed a small crime, not too serious. The person was held in the pillory for a certain time, depending on the crime, exposed to public view, and this was supposed to persuade them not to repeat their crime. Hey, the pillory opens! Shall I take your photo?â

7 â A Guided Tour of Fort La Latte â A Great French Practice
Puis nous avançons vers le point de dĂ©part de la visite guidĂ©e. Nous allons ĂȘtre une bonne quarantaine dans un groupe de plusieurs nationalitĂ©s. On propose aussi des visites commentĂ©es en anglais, mais nous choisissons la visite en français, bien sĂ»r â nous sommes lĂ pour ça !
Then we advance to the starting point of the guided tour. We will be more than forty in a group of several nationalities. They also offer guided tours in English, but we choose the visit in French, of course â thatâs what we are here for!
Notre guide est costumĂ©e, et elle connaĂźt trĂšs bien son sujet. Elle nous donne beaucoup dâinformations, mais pas trop. Elle nous pose des questions aussi. Elle nous fait rĂ©flĂ©chir, ce qui rend ses explications encore plus intĂ©ressantes.
Our guide is in costume, and she knows her subject very well. She gives us a lot of information, but not too much. She asks us questions too. She makes us think, which makes her explanations even more interesting.

Puis aprĂšs 30 ou 40 minutes, elle nous laisse continuer en visite libre. Câest plus facile comme ça. Les trois Ă©tages de la tour sont trop resserrĂ©s pour recevoir un grand groupe.
Then after 30 or 40 minutes, she lets us continue alone. Itâs easier like that. The three floors of the tower are too constricted to accommodate a large group.

Nous dĂ©couvrons quelques beaux meubles, des panneaux explicatifs et des grandes banderoles qui listent les moments-clĂ©s de lâhistoire relative au chĂąteau.
We discover some beautiful furniture, explanatory panels and large banners that list the key moments in the history of the castle.

Mais nous commençons Ă saturer. Nous ne regardons pas trĂšs longtemps toute cette information, mĂȘme si câest intĂ©ressant. On prĂ©fĂšre la prendre en photo, pour tout lire plus tard.
But we are starting to go into information overload. We do not look at all this information for very long, although it is interesting. We prefer to take pictures in order to read everything later.

Donc quelques derniĂšres photos, un dernier regard autour des salles, lâascension vers le sommet de la tour (Eunike, mais pas moi), puis une promenade dans le jardin mĂ©diĂ©val amĂ©nagĂ©, et puis nous partons, trĂšs satisfaites de notre visite.
So, a few last photos, a last look around the rooms, a climb to the top of the tower (Eunike, but not me), then a walk in the landscaped medieval garden, and then we leave, very pleased with our visit.
8 â A Virtual Visit of Fort La Latte video
Regardez le chat blanc et noir qui monte sur les murs pendant la vidĂ©o : câest une coĂŻncidence, mais câest tellement mignon !
Look at the white and black cat which climbs on the walls: itâs cute! Itâs a coincidence, but itâs so cute!
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