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Published: April 1st 2010
Home sweet home
Our very own piece of historyfor four nightsIf you are getting sick of looking at pretty places then look away now folks. Dinan is a very old town in Brittany and is full of character and old houses. We were lucky enough to rent one of the oldest houses in the town for four nights. To think this house was built in 1386 and is still standing today with some original features still in place like the exposed beams on the third floor is amazing. It even existed before the fortified walls of the city were built so that is pretty impressive. The house sits on a corner and it is believed it started out as either a candle making shop or a weaving business. Its' last commercial use was as a Cider House until 1960 which is why it is called Le Vielle Auberge (The Old Inn). It still has metal hooks on the side of the house where horses were secured while their owners partook in the house's ale. The house consisted of three floors, the bottom being the kitchen and living room, with two bedrooms on the second floor both with ensuite bathrooms (no, not original features of the house) and another big living room
on the top floor with a little kitchenette to save you walking down the narrow staircase to the bottom level if you want a cuppa. The master bedroom had a very low doorway and we both managed to avoid bumping our heads on the stone doorway until the last night when Ron's scone came into contact with the hard stuff. The interior walls were stone and full of character. The old bedroom door (don't think it was original but still very, very old) had the year 1792 burnt into it which apparently has some historical significance to it. The house received a bit of damage in a fire several hundred years ago, which can be seen by the scorching to the living room beams. They are still as solid as ever, but we didn't bother to test them though you can easily bump your head on those too! As I started to clean the house in readiness for our departure I wondered to myself - how many people have cleaned this house over the years? How many generations of families have lived here? How many babies were born here? The mind boggles. It was quite a thrill to be a
Streets of Dinan
Old and full of character miniscule part of this history of such an old house. We spent most of our time simply walking around Dinan and enjoying the town itself and the surrounding views, including the old port, the city walls and the fortified castle which we were able to visit. Ron loves a castle and now he has been able to enter two real ones on this trip. I on the other hand got to sit on 'the throne' of this one. Not your Queen Vic variety but the free WC provided near the dungeon! Finding a loo at a reasonable price has become quite a sport on this trip and if I can get a freebie in, then all the better. For meals we ate the obligatory crepes just to be polite and cooked for ourselves at night which makes for a nice change when you are staying in hotels and eating out. Monday we took the advice of former visitors to the house, via the visitor's book and took a leisurely walk along the River Rance to the next little town of Lehon. Again, pretty and quaint which is what I love and good exercise when you are eating your fill of
Third floor Living Room
Those beams are nearly 700 years old! the local delicacies as part of your daily food intake. This whole area was well maintained and very tranquil and a nice change from the busy cities. On Tuesday we decided to take a day trip out to Mont St Michel which proved to be a bit of an ordeal. Dinan is a bit away from the tourist sites but you can get just about anywhere as long as you are willing to juggle your transport. We set out bright and early to catch the 6.50am bus which took us to St Malo where we had a bit of a wait till catching a second bus to Pontorson and finally a third bus to Mont St Michel. When we left the house the streets were bare, it was pitch black and there was only us and the garbos. We felt like we were sneaking around the town like naughty kids. It was fresh, but not cold and we looked forward to the day trip ahead. By the time we reached our destination, the rain arrived, the wind was howling and it was absolutely freezing! There was little we could do but plough on and try to make the most of
View of the old Port
Taken from the city walls this miserable day. We first made our way past the array of restaurants and souvenier shops while the wind blasted us and the rain wet us and visited the Abbey which of course is why we went there (yes, to see another church!). This one was not flashy or ornate but like I have said before they all have something different to offer and this one is sitting on a huge lump of rock almost surrounded by sea so that has to be inpressive. It was a real sight to see as the Mont's silhouette came into view while approaching on the bus. Apparently this shape is the second most recognised landmark in France next to the Eiffel Tower. On a nice sunny day it would be a a beautiful place to visit, but unfortunately we picked the wrong day. Having said that, it is another tick on the list and we can say we have been there, done that. We finally got back to the house at 7.00pm due to the limitations to the bus service and were very happy to be warm and dry again. Yesterday we sadly packed up, cleaned up and put the keys into the
View
The old Port mailslot to leave our little piece of history at Le Vielle Auberge and set off for a big day of travelling. What we didn't know was that it was to become an even bigger day of travelling due to someone's unfortunate circumstances. Firstly we took a bus to the city of Rennes, about an hour away and then a train to Le Mans where where we should have had a thirty minute wait (yes Brendan, we got to see the track from the train). It was here that we heard an announcement, in French that due to an 'person accident' the train had been delayed. This delay then made us late for our connecting train so we had to wait another two hours for the following service. Our tickets needed to be changed and the company were nice enough to bump us up to First Class due to the delay. We finally arrived in Bordeaux at around 9.00pm on another cold wet night, but at least we got here safe and sound, which probably can't be said for our 'person'. So now I leave you here as our time in France comes to an end. We are here for another
View
Streets of Dinan day, then catch another train on Saturday to Barcelona for our Spanish experience before heading off for Ireland and the UK. Until then, enjoy the photos. Thanks for reading the blog and sending your messages - it makes all the trudging around trying to find an internet cafe worthwhile! Happy Easter everyone.
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
france
hi sue, great stories from france...makes me want to upgrade france on our travel wish list! happy easter to you too :)