Weather Report

It's raining. No, it's sunny. Wait, it's raining again!

An hour before sunrise, in a steady rain, I began my trek to Rennes’ glorious weekly outdoor food market. I never considered skipping it, or even waiting it out. If I allowed Brittany weather to dictate my activities, I’d spend a good deal of time at home.

By Phillipe Luguy

It rains a lot, especially in the winter. But its reputation as having a constant gray, dreary and forbidding climate is overblown. There are microclimates throughout Brittany – an area about one-quarter the size of Pennsylvania. Central Brittany, not the coast, is actually the rainiest part of the region. Just two hours from here, North Finistère (the “end of the earth”) gets its share of rain but also has gorgeous beach weather in the summer. There’s almost a tropical atmosphere to the south, around the Bay of Morbihan, where the sun shines often and the water is a gorgeous turquoise.

The Gulf Stream, moderate oceanic climate and constant westerly wind moves the weather in and out quickly in Rennes. In a matter of an hour, it fogs up, rains, clears up; the sun shines, the wind blows, the clouds return, it rains again. And so on. We follow that pattern almost daily from November to February. March through June is moderately rainy. July and August aren’t terribly rainy. September and October might even be called quite sunny with a touch of rain.

When the skies open up, they rarely dump a driving downpour like we used to experience in Philly. It’s more like a misty, soaking rain. Even with all that, Rennes is considered to have the most “stable” climate in Brittany.

Reminds me of the joke where the guy calls the weatherman to complain about having to shovel all that sunshine off his front walk. I’ve had to dry that “stable” climate off my clothes quite a few times.

We did a lot of research and soul searching before choosing a location for our move to France. Climate was a significant factor, especially considering global warming. I can’t stand the heat, so that cuts off the southern half of the country. And we knew the tradeoff of moving northwest: rain. It’s been worth it to avoid the worst of the sweltering summer heat waves, which seem to grow longer, stronger and more frequent each year.

Without a car, we walk everywhere: to the market, the doctor’s office, the pharmacy, the supermarket, the post office, the bar. Often, the wind makes an umbrella useless, especially when I’m dragging the granny grocery cart behind me. All that walking in all that rain could give rise to an enormous amount of kvetching. I was determined to avoid that by becoming a true Breton, at least in spirit.

The Breton spin on it is, Il fait beau en Bretagne. . . plusieurs fois par jour. (In Brittany the weather is nice . . . several times a day.) They also say, Il ne pleut que sur les cons. (It only rains on the idiots.) In other words, if you want to live here, or even visit, get your shit together or we will assume you have no redeeming qualities.

This adage, sometimes overlayed on the Breton flag, adorns everything from postcards to sweatshirts.

First I needed to investigate the practical aspects. I closely observed my intrepid neighbors: the moms who shake off the showers, stuff their kids into the back of the bike and cycle them to school; the guy who walks his old dog three or four times a day no matter what; the elderly lady navigating puddles in the outdoor market, while wearing heels; the postal carriers who never miss their appointed rounds, pedaling a box of mail on the front of a bicycle. What they all have in common: top-notch rain gear.

After buying three different raincoats that just didn’t cut it, I finally found one that keeps me completely dry without soaking me in sweat. Slip that on with the hood cinched tight, pull on my rain boots, and I’m up for just about the worst Brittany has to offer.

Being able to stay dry has had a tremendous impact on my mood. It goes a long way during a 40-minute round trip walk to my favorite supermarket. But you need more than that. You need a true Breton attitude under that raincoat. These are resilient, hearty people. Soaking rain and powerful wind do not stop them from their daily tasks, even the one where they sit outdoors for a cocktail. In the rain.

They are not idiots, so it doesn’t rain on them.