France 6 - Dinan /Route to the sun and Marmite

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The M56, the M1, the M15 and the M6 what can you say about them - long, uninteresting and a means to an end. A way of getting from one place to another and that is about it. Traffic jams and the biggest car park you can imagine on the M25 at times.

The A6 and A7 sound much nicer especially when you give them their french names L'Autoroute du Soleil (the route to the sun), L'Autoroute du Sud (to the south) and finally L'Autoroute du Maritime (to the sea).

We left the sun on the Alps and headed north for a date with our friends in Dinan and a very large TV linked to the Astra D satellite in order to watch the England match. We hoped that we would arrive in time for the start or at worse by half time.

After 7 hours of non stop driving we arrived on their drive and sat with them in their lounge sipping wine and watching the match. it was good to be back and catch up on gossip and news. We had not seen them for a year and it was pleasant sitting in front of the huge stone fireplace gossiping. They were planning to sell up this year as there was talk of a house being built opposite them and it would spoil their view. They loved their house and had made a good business out of the bed and breakfast but felt it was time to move on. Work was coming in as they were renovating property in the area and they felt they could buy a bigger place with a much bigger garden. I felt very envious.

At night we drove down to Lehon a small hamlet a bit further down the road from where they lived. We walked a little way to see the bridge which is most atmospheric and then went for an evening meal to La Marmite de l'Abbaye. This was their favourite restaurant and we had been before with them on our last visit. Mine host made us very welcome speaking to us in broken English whilst we conversed in broken French. The meal was delicious and afterwards we walked up to the Abbey at the top of the hamlet. A very pretty place.

The next day after breakfast we drove down to Lehon, parked the car and walked into Dinan a pretty little medieval town dominated by a castle. There is a climb up to the town but it is worth it to see the pretty little medieval streets. Coffee was served in a small cafe and we indulged in lemon crepes.

After lunch we visited the castle before walking home. We sat in the evening sun talking to our neighbours a lovely french family whilst we drank wine and ate from the home made BBQ. What a lovely end to a holiday.

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