Another Day Trip to Josselin

We have so many favorite places in Bretagne. We thought we might bypass these places this year, but are drawn to them again for so many reasons we cant even begin to explain. Apart from the weather being fantastic and warm...hot even...we just needed to return to this wonderful Renaissance town with it's fortified Chateau on the River Oust. The Chateau rises out of the black granite rock  as you can see at the foundation in this photo. It is a classic 'storybook' Chateau, with a story to go with it of course. Being on a major trade route, the town grew around the Chateau and the river, as they tend to. 

We found a parking space just along the road from the Chateau at river level, and were greeted by this lovely view.

 Of course with one view, we had to walk down past the Chateau to get a view going the other way:)
We walked up the right hand side of this photo, along the Ramparts and into the Historic part of town. Hmm...well you could be forgiven for thinking ALL the towns are Historic...They are! However, there are now plenty of new homes in subdivisions on the outskirts of most of these towns, which is cheering, as that means there is commerce and jobs, if not in the town, at least in the area.

 Once in the town, we found all these blue flags. This is now on the hill behind the Chateau looking over the Ramparts. As we progressed towards the Centre Ville, we were stopped by security guards who demanded to look in our bags. What was going on?? It turned out to be a whole day of Religious Pilgrimages. These are Catholic folks, remember.

 One of the older colombage homes in the Historic Town.

The Cathedral is fascinating, and we did stand in the back for a short while to see if we could hear anything being said. There were prayers being broadcast all over the town via loudspeakers, which was a bit weird, but then we came across the Pilgrims! We asked at the Information Center, fortunately.
Cathedral : This is the Basilique Notre Dame du Roncier.

The church is built on the spot where, in the ninth century, a peasant is said to have found a wooden statue of the Virgin under a bramble bush. The statue was burnt during the Revolution, but a charred fragment can be found in a case at the church. The style of this church represents the flamboyant architecture of the 15th century, and parts date from the 12th century. It houses the mausoleum of Olivier de Clisson and his wife Marguerite de Rohan.

Thanks to TripAdvisor for that information.

 Centre Ville, or the center of town, right there beside the Cathedral.

 THIS old colombage house is the oldest in town, having been built in 1538.

 We were rather amused by the less than straight walls on this house.

 And we waited on the side of the road for the Pilgrims to pass. Their standards proclaim the  Diocese from the area around Josselin that they represent. Security was tight. The fellow on the left is Security...he was 'packing'! and indicated that we wait for the pilgrims to pass before moving on.

 This one representing Carentoir, our local town.

Once the procession passed, we were able to move back down the hill to the car, and go home.

 On the way home, we decided to see what was on the hill opposite the Chateau and across the river. We found some homes for sale (of course) and also this lovely view of the Chateau.

Not only had we had enough for the day, but we needed a coffee! We hadn't stopped in town for a Grand Crème, significantly.:)