We have just returned from our one week vacation in Brittany (France). France still has a bad reputation among vegan travelers, but as long as you prepare your own food (we either rent apartments or go camping), our experience has been, that the situation has been improving. Next to fresh vegetables of good quality and all sorts of grain legumes, the choice in special vegan and vegetarian products in grocery stores has been growing a lot over the years.
We intended to do a grocery store survey when we started our trip but after the 3rd store had most products one could ask for as a traveling vegan, we gave up. All stores had at least tofu, soy milk, soy drinks, soy yogurt, soy cream and usually a good choice of soy desserts, as well as at least two different vegan bread spreads.
Baked products can be more of a problem as they will often be made with butter and eggs, but also here one can find suitable products in the store, though the choice might be limited. One day, when we were not able to find egg and butter free pastries, we improvised our own afternoon snack, using buckwheat galettes (often vegan - read the ingredients!) and soy pudding with a coffee flavor. It was very yummy!
Click here to see the photos of our vacation tour.
on Sep 27th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Brittany is great for local produce in the summer and fall, and also there are a few companies that collect sea vegetables, which are a great source for vitamins and minerals - one makes a delicious spread made of nori and shallots. Its great to stay where you have a kitchen to prepare special meals. And one of the best parts of being in Brittany is vegan too - cider!