We got stared relatively late this morning due to the fog sitting in the valley. It came and went and just as we decided to venture out anyway, seeing as it was getting towards 9.30am, it got REALLY soupy.
We hoped the fog would clear and the sky wouldn't remain overcast all day, although the sun has been known to come out after lunch, on such days. That's what happened today, but the sun didn't arrive until around 2pm.
We had a varied conversation with the Frenchman making our crepes. He would have been our age or older, but he insisted on talking Rugby, us being Kiwis, and all. He is an All Blacks Rugby team supporter (NZ national team) and with the Rugby World Cup about to begin in the UK, it is very much on people's minds in these parts. Between his poor English and my poor French, we managed to have a conversation that had us both laughing a lot. Lots of common ground can be found wherever we are, and no matter the native tongue, it appears:)
The mobile Creperie. (or Creeperie as we prefer to call them:) )
We had walked up and down the main road and found our loo in the back of the parking lot. I could write a whole essay on the French Public Bathrooms, but it wouldn't make for pleasant reading, so you get the picture, non?
We motored on out of Lanvallay towards St-Malo, now only about 20 mins away. First though, we took a wrong turn which turned out to be advantageous because we found a Mall. woohoo! It had bathrooms (like I said, another whole blog!) found a Poste shop where I bought a box to send my son's birthday present in and another place to have a Grand Café Crème. We have learned that this is now our drink of choice, if we need a café of any kind. We have had mixed results with our coffee requests, and seem to have now found a happy place in that regard.
A Grand Café Crème is a double shot of espresso in a small/med sized cup (US small) with either the hot milk already added, or accompanied by a small jug with the hot milk in it to add for one's self. Either way is just fine because it tastes fantastic! We have yet to ask for a viennoise or a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), and perhaps we wont tempt fate on those two...maybe when we get to Paris?
So, happy that we are well shot up with espresso..whooppeee!! (eyes wide open now!!!) we ventured across the long Viaduct taking us into Dinan, a fortified city at the apex of the Rance Valley (The Rance River goes inland from the English Channel at the mouth where one side is St-Malo and the other side is Dinard. Take a look on a map.) The town came as a bit of a surprise to us. We hadn't actually thought too much about this town, being on the way to somewhere else, but it was a wonderful discovery, and in many ways superior to our visit to St-Malo.
Yes, that is the back of Waz's head, and this is a ways down the time tunnel, but that there is the viaduct that we drove over to get to Dinan.
These little trains are in most tourist cities, and usually have pretty good tours. We got talking to some Brits as they exited the train. They had a dog we were very interested in...it was a Parson's Terrier...ever heard of it? I didn't take a photo (eh?) but they were living in their American motorhome, touring around and wishing they could do it full time...if he would only retire!:) Of course we showed them our boat card and told them about our home on the water.
Waz nearly had apoplexy when he saw this Indian Restaurant. We don't see them so often in the USA where we have been, and he has a hankering for Indian Curry. No, we didn't go there for lunch, because by lunch time we were well on our way down the road.
On the way down the same road we came across an Art Gallery with the kind of art that we like to collect...under normal (what's that?) conditions. Thank goodness we have no room on the boat, and our budget is slim, or we could have added to our already large collection sitting in a storage locker in NZ!
Directly opposite the musician was a Glacerie. These were expensive compared to what we were used to...2 boules (balls) were 4.50euros ($4.50 approx.). We had enjoyed some for 3.40euros, and 3.20euros for 2 balls, both in a cup and in a waffle cone, no extra charge for the cone
Breton china and pottery is renown, apparently, and this pattern is pretty typical. We found some at half the price, in the supermarket his morning! 3.40euros for a dinner plate, this morning. They were 5.80euros in this Breton store in Dinan.
We are now walking along the cobbled streets of the Historic Town of Dinan. Well, what isn't historic isn't worth mentioning, seriously!.
We came across Les Halles, or markets that are under one roof. Very few stalls were open, to our disappointment, especially being Friday. These different colored carrots were pretty, in their basket.
...as were the different kinds of tomatoes. It isn't unusual here to find many varieties offered at the supermarkets too.
The selection of foods at the Traiture and Charcuterie, was phenomenal. I would love to have had the stomach to be able to taste them all...
Leaving Les Halles (markets) we made our way along some other streets, all lined with restaurants, some selling Fish and Chips to cater to the huge UK presence here and other Brittany cities, some Greek, plenty of creeperies and look! a Shoe store! I LOVE beautiful shoes. I don't buy them, but I love to look at them and feel the lovely leather...and yes, sniff them too, lol. REAL things!!! cant beat them.(ok, now that I have aired publicly one of my fetishes!!!! don't judge me too harshly! lol) Look at the prices in euros! With the greenback almost at parity with the euro, things aren't so expensive for us right now., fortunately
On to more mundane things...well kind of!
We are beginning to say silly things like..."Seen one cathedral or church, seen them all". Well, that is almost how it is, but we do appreciate the design, building and the decoration. Each one has differences, obviously, and we love the gargoyles:) some have a real sense of humor...or the craftsman did! This is the cathedral in Dinan. The buttresses are interesting because they are interrupted, as it were.
It is Anne of Brittany, Queen of France who is displayed in this lovely window. She is the founder of the church in Denan, near St-Malo and the town of Brest, in the early 1500's
On the way down, we took LOTS of photos. This kitty was obviously taunting the dog on the other side of the gate:) Kitty eventually lost interest!
It is lovely to see some semblance of 'normal' life in these tourist filled towns. I cant imagine living there full time, so bothersome would it become. Tourists are so demanding, we find. It is not only Americans who are demanding and loud tourists, in our experience, but the Brits give them a run for their money and reputation. We don't like hearing British voices at all, and there are so many of them in these parts, it being so easy to come across the Channel...with their cars on the Ferry.
It is those who travel quietly, who don't demand, who try to use the language of the country they are travelling in, bring their sense of adventure, their self deprecation, and most of all, their sense of humor! We have met many of both abovementioned nationalities. They are delightful! Too bad there aren't more of them!
Oldies! Yes, some of these homes are old....1625 is older, but we have met some from the 800's too. Those that are standing still are inevitably made of stone, though the timbered houses have held up remarkably well.
As always, the pleasure of photography is in the delightful details which are everywhere. I don't like to take landscape photographs, but love finding things that make me smile.....and want to smell them...shoes included, lol.
Here we are! Can you see Dinan in the pink square!
On the way back up the road, we found a Celtic Harp Player who wasn't there on the way down.
We met many people struggling to make it up the hill...we cant be in too bad physical shape after all! All our walking has done the trick.
I just loved these two French Bulldogs going down the street. They were into everything and had deaf ears to their French Mistress.
I'm naughty taking a photo of this gorgeous dancer sculpture, inside the Atelier window. The Sculptor is a master of his craft, and even the fine features were perfect. Cost? about 15,000euros.
Getting back to things that are free....I get quite fluffy over these sorts of things. This gorgeous rose was just begging me to smell it, and then photograph it. I want to just sit and look at it, so lovely is the scene. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, all this.
...and then there is the fun stuff to make us chuckle.:)
I am well known for asking people if I can take photos of their food on the table. These French folks were sitting at their table out on the cobbled pavement, and the food arrived steaming, and the smell was out of this world. Of course it is always the man at the table who volunteers to have their photo taken, and who am I to deny making them famous?:)
Moules Mariniere! and Frites! I have to say that the frites are superbe!
Moving right along, and on our way back to the car...or we would never make it to St-Malo this day. We had spent wayyyy too long in Dinan, and enjoyed it immensely.
Almost opposite the car, was this mansion, built in 1777. It says so above the door. It could have done with a gardener...I volunteer!
We had parked just outside a school, and were almost sorry that we had, because we arrived back at the car at almost exactly 2.30pm, when the kids were already waiting at the school gate to be let out. Mums in their cars waiting nearby!
On the same street, we peered into another property (private) and saw this delightful scene. That is a well, where the watering can is.
Of course we always see something else to go and look at. We were almost back to the car when we spied this place, down a side street. Aieee! another decision to be made...but go we must. This is the Dinan Chateau.
It was going to cost money to get into, and we were already 'late' getting to our final destination....so we took photos for next time, and went strait back to the car...no side trips this time, though sorely tempted....sheeesh!
...well, this place was on the way back to the car, and right on the road! unique!
Off to St-Malo.....
Opposite where we parked the car, after going around the block, and trying to find a small enough space for me to shoehorn us into (love these small essential cars!) I forget the name of this Pattissier and Chocolatier, but he is famous (so famous I forgot his name!!!!) and his creations, as you can see, are amazing! How do you eat some of these things, apart from carefully? Waz, of course says "just stuff it in!" lol.
Our first impressions?? Oh My Goodness!! St-Malo, the promontory, is well outside of the city itself which, by all first impressions is modern...apart from the usual old houses...maybe not so old. Within the last 2 centuries, anyway.
The best part that we noted first off, it is right on the sea. The beach (La Plage) isn't such a wonderful thing, but I'm sure the English like it better than some of their beaches, many of which are stones or rocks.
St Malo is the principle port of the north Brittany coast. Sorry, this is not a good photo, that I borrowed off Google, but you get the idea of what I am talking about in terms the site and the size of the walled city.
It is a walled fortress for the most part, and this is the Chateau.
Inside the port is a wall of docked boats like this old Galleon, which was rather larger than any others. For a fee (of course) you can visit the boat...but not at lunch time, sorry. This is something that is a bit frustrating for visitors, but we are getting used to it. Most public places, and many shops are closed between 12.00pm and 2pm, for lunch. Makes sense, right? Well, it does when you lock the shop and go home for a mid-day meal (cooked generally) and a quick snooze to freshen up for the long afternoon ahead. Restaurants don't open again until 7pm. We found this out the hard way, but more on that later:)
This photo was taken from outside the ramparts and on the ground.
The Town Hall, or en francais...Hotel de Ville. No, it isn't an Hotel!
THIS, however IS an Hotel. It is the very fancy Hotel Chateaubriand, named after THE Chateaubriand..not a cut of meat, either.
Meanwhile, Back on the Ramparts...(sounds like a bodice ripper novel!) we look seaward and what do we find?? The ancient Fort Royale. This is indeed ancient, as were some of the other forts out in the middle of the harbor on other islands, as evidenced by scaffolding up their sides. This one was constructed in the 17th century...at the end of...and is open to the public in the middle of the High Season, as the poster says. and you can walk across the sands at low tide to get there.
The light was rather bright, so I'm sorry for the washed out looking photos. I didn't take the time to make adjustments on the camera. Those logs standing to attention along the sea wall, are to break some of what can be vicious seas. I wonder how effective it is. We would love to be here in wild winter storm weather:)
This was in a public space, and quite a nice place to peak to...the ocean! a red umbrella made its way into the photo. We escaped inside the village when the rain started...not for long!
We came across the Merchant Sea Service college. This sculpture was in the grounds of this modern place.
The further towards the Port, we went, the more people there were on the ramparts.
Now this fellow is interesting. Robert Sucouf....and I wondered why they had a sculpture of a slave trader and Pirate (basically) on display at the Parc Montreal.
He started his career as a sailor and officer on the Salve Ships Aurore and Courrier d'Afrique and Navigateur. Having risen to Captain, and in spite of the prohibition of slave trading by the National Convention in 1793, he engaged in the business himself, as a captain on Créole. He then captained the merchant ship Emelie, on which he engaged in pirating, despite lacking a letter of marque from the King, allowing him to do so. He preyed on British shipping, capturing the East Indian trader the Triton before returning to Ile de France, where his prizes were confiscated. He then returned to France, where he obtained a pay out for his troubles, from the government.
Returning to the Indian Ocean, he captained the pirate ships Clarisse and Confiance, raiding British, American and Portuguese Merchant boats. He captured the East India merchant ship Kent on 7 October 1800. Returning to France, he was awarded the Legion of Honour and settled here as a ship-owner.
He briefly returned to the Indian Ocean in 1807 on the custom-built Revenant, before returning to France. There, he armed privateers and merchantmen. His privateers (pirates) led successful campaigns against the British in the Indian Ocean and disastrous ones in the English Channel except for the ship Renard, which achieved fame in her very costly victory over HMS Alphea on 9 September 1812 which exploded after repulsing French attempts at boarding it causing many casualties. After the Bourbon Restoration, he organised fishing expeditions to New World and amassed a considerable fortune. He died in 1827 and is buried in a graveyard at Saint-Malo.
Don't you love the brooding sky!
These folks were playing a very serious game of Boules.
Our time was about up here, and we were not sorry to leave. Too many people, too much noise, and most of all, we were VERY hungry.
I wanted to make the most of the daylight, so we chose to eat closer to home. We made it all the way to Rennes, where we dropped in on the Asiatique restaurant (Chinese restaurant ) where we had eaten lunch with Terry and Ernie, after first arriving. We arrived at 10 mins to 7pm, and the lights were not on, and most of the food wasn't out in the bain marie. They allowed us in, and we waited a short while for all the food to be placed before helping ourselves to the excellent selection. We were famished!
They told us we could slow down...didn't have to eat so fast, lol. Not that we were in a hurry!
We finished and then made our way home, the final 40 minutes on the highway. A cup of tea and we were done for the night. I didn't even have the wherewithal to post anything on facebook, per normal.
So, there you have it!
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