Day Nine - Falling in Love with Salty Brittany

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Even though I loved our accomodations in Le Mouton Blanc my only criticism would be the thinness of the walls. We were awoken earlier than scheduled by some buffoons banging and bashing their giant suitcases along the walls and into our door at 6 am. I had planned for us to sleep in a bit, go to breakfast at 8 am, and then be ready to make those last few purchases when the stores re-opened at 9. We would spend the rest of the morning here in Mont St Michel then drive into Brittany. Knowing that I could hear everything going on in the hall (blessedly it was a small hotel so there wasn't much other commotion) I knew anything I might be doing in the john could probably be heard out in the hallway. A wee bit uncomfortable after a day of beer and crepes.

Cassie slept through it all. I did some computer stuff thanks to the free WiFi. Then took my shower at 7:15. Cassie didn't need her usual hour to get ready because there was no need to re-arrange all the stuff strewn from her suitcase - our suitcases were in the car. Still, we were a bit late for our free included breakfast. Yet we were still the first to arrive. It would be one of the best of the trip. Today's drive to Guerande in Brittany was a last minute change to my nearly year long established itinerary. All along I had had us booked in a hotel near St. Lazaire on the western coast. I wanted to see the remains of the infamous U-boat submarine pens. The more I read about it the less interesting it became. St. Lazaire was depicted as a modern industrial town with the old Nazi submarine base nothing but concrete ruins. Some reading on Fodors.com and Rick Steves' websites convinced me to take a long at the medieval walled village of Guerande in the same general area. By staying there we might still get a chance to swing by the WWII ruins the next day while enjoying a night in what I hoped might be a creepy Middle Ages town.

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Our hotel for the night: http://www.hoteldesremparts.com/

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Photos

Our Own Personal Breakfast Buffet
Being the first to head down to the breakfast room meant I could be sure to get my highly coveted soft-boiled eggs and local meats before other greedy tourists rummaged through the selection.

Why We Love Europe
I love the sightseeing, enjoy the shopping, appreciate the art and admire the people in Europe, but there's nothing I like more than eating there. That's pretty obvious from these travelblogs. Check out this magnificent way of starting my day: hash browns, scrambled eggs, ham, prosciutto, mystery meat, orange juice, hot chocolate, local butter and half a loaf of French bread. My soft-boiled egg was already consumed by the time I pulled-out the camera.

Just in Case There's a "Next Time"
Our night at Le Mouton Blanc violated my strict $100 per night or less rule (I can remember when Gail and I never paid more than $40 per night for accomodations in Europe), but for atmosphere, comfort and breakfast this place was well worth it. We loved our individual rooms and would love to get the same ones if somehow we ever returned.

MSM's Claim to Fame
We didn't have to check out of our rooms until noon so we had nearly three hours of shopping fun available. Yesterday's extended walk through the town was merely a reconnaissance mission for the much more serious action we would face today. Oddly enough I hadn't seen this outdoor stall the day before probably because of the milling crowd of daytrippers hanging around by the city gate. These biscuits seemed to be the Mont St Michel version of salt water taffy which meant every tourist had to buy boxes full of them. We saw people carrying armfuls of them. A Japanese tour group could barely haul their luggage with their hands fully engaged carrying bags and bags of biscuits.

My Kind of Shopping Street
Obviously we got an early start on the other shoppers today.

No Churchgoers?
Either they forgot to lock up from the night before or they held a church service and nobody came.

The French Postal Service Works on Saturdays
I had to check out our foreign competition while they were open. Those French window clerks must not have been trained to the exacting standards of the US Postal Service - they were smiling and spoke English.

Here Comes the School Groups
It was time to get our must-haves and get out of town. The weekend busloads of tourists were arriving.

One Last Look Back
We ended-up doing the majority of our actual purchases in one shop right next to the town gate. They had all the stuff we had on our list at competitive prices. On the way back to the hotel to check-out we made one last stop to buy my gargoyle. Once again, the girl at the front desk was friendly and helpful. Totally contrary to the reviews on TripAdvisor.com. She explained how the special hotel guest bus would take us right to our parking lot thus avoiding that long walk of the previous day. Looking like the Japanese tour group with our hands full of shopping bags we made our way against the flow on incoming tourists and went to the bus stop just outside the outer gate.

Happy Shoppers
You'd think we were vacationing in Siberia with the way my crew was bundled-up but it was actually still rather pleasant with temperatures close to 50 degrees. Just as the hotel clerk explained it the nearly empty bus took us right to our parking lot and dropped us off just a few yards away from our trusty Renault. More shenanigans ensued when we tried to fit all our bags into the already crowded little car. Even more junk joined the pile at Gail's feet and the wall between Grandma and Cassie grew even higher. Then I attempted to drive out before paying for parking. I had to run into a couple of buildings on the other side of the lot to find out how to pay. It turned-out that the little phone booth-like structure next to our car was the automatic pay machine.

Now We Are in Brittany
Not too far from the exit of the parking lot we officially entered Brittany. More farmland and lots of sheep. In order to make all that delicious French bread they need lots of wind and water mills to grind the grain. We saw almost as many windmills here as we ever saw in Holland.

This Looks Interesting
We passed a couple of farms with full goose corrals. Gail thought the picture on the sign was cute so we stopped. I guess we might have been able to go inside and picked-out our goose liver pate straight out of the goose line-up.

On Deathrow
Little do they suspect why they're getting all that delicious French bread crammed down their throats.

I Don't Remember
Our GPS took us on a pretty interesting route along country roads all the way to Guerande. We didn't spend more than a few minutes on any highway. In this picturesque town (I think it might be Dinan) we stopped briefly to see if any of the brown tourism signs really offered anything of interest. Supposedly there was a town wall, but the streets and parking lots were so crowded we never got close enough to the town center to take a look. We tried to park in the big municipal lot and do some exploring but there were no spaces and plenty of others waiting around hoping for someone to leave. We pulled over in front of a bank with an ATM so that Gail might replenish our coffers after our morning shopping mission.

Safe Harbor Along Our Route
Again, I don't recall where this was on our drive toward Guerande but it was worth stopping for a picture. Besides, there was a pissoir behind the bushes that came in handy.

More City Walls
As soon as the GPS indicated that we were arriving in Guerande we spotted this beautifully maintained old wall that encircled the entire Old Town. Regrettably we never got the chance to get up on the ramparts and towers. There was just too much other stuff to do, like shopping and eating.

Another Gem I Discovered
Booking.com is the greatest. Once again they helped me find an awesome place to stay. The folks running this little Guerande establishment couldn't have been nicer. The owner offered us coffee, tea and biscuits when we checked-in, explained how to use the internet and how we were free to use the common room and its giant screen TV. She directed us to the closest food shop just around the corner and even offered us our choice of rooms.

The Main Barbican
Just a few steps away from our hotel was the entrance to the Old Town - right throw that impressive tower. But our first order of business was to pick up our breakfast items for the next morning. In the Carrefour City mini market we not only put together a nice menu for the next morning, but we also found some local mustards, candy and spices to add to our souvenir hoard.

I'd Like to Do Some Spelunking Here
Just around the corner from our hotel was this beer cave, or at least that's what I assumed the sign meant.

Impressive Entrance to a Virtually Unknown Town
None of us ever heard of this town before I added it to our trip schedule. The site that hosts this travelblog has thousands of travel stories published, but until now no one mentioned the town of Guerande. This place was fabulous. It's big contribution to the world is the salt that is extracted from the marshland around here. The Bretons are apparently a pain in the butt for the rest of France as they maintain their own language. While the Normans invaded England and influenced British history, the earlier Bretons invaded Wales and Ireland and left their marks there. Their place names are very similar to the names of towns throughout Wales. They are considered one of the Celtic nations per Wikipedia. The people of Brittany were so independent and such a thorn in the side of the French that they often sided with whoever was fighting the French kings in Paris. Until fairly recently Bretons were forbidden to give their kids Breton names lest they lose their rights as French citizens. Even now the locals consider themselves Bretons first and French second.