Bretagne Bound 7/26-28

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After we leave Mont St. Michel we drive southwest to Rennes (the capitol of Brittany). On the way we see old style windmills that are built on the reclaimed fields overlooking the bay where Mont St. Michel is located, and our first Menhir (standing stone) . Our next home exchange is in St. Jacques-de-la-Lande, a suburb of Rennes. This home will be our base for the next few days. Over the next few days we visit Rennes and the medieval towns of Dinan and St. Malo.

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Photos

A Sentinel Seagull patrolling the ramparts of St. Malo on the coast of Brittany
Seagull marching on St. Malo's ramparts over looking pool of captured sea water and French fort during low tide.

Windmill in Brittany
Windmill on recalaimed land near Mont St. Michel and a garlic festival.

Dean, Jeff and Jackie at Menhir du Champ-Dolent
Menhir du Champ-Dolent. Legend has it that God threw this 32-foot high megalith down from the sky to separate two fighting brothers.

Cyndi in Rennes, the capital of Brittany
Cyndi standing near entrance of the jardin behind the Church of Notre Dame in Rennes.

Searching for Food!
Jeff and Jackie walking in Rennes.

Jackie picking apricots
Jackie picking apricots in our exchange family's backyard in St. Jacques de la Lande.

Time to Eat!
Jeff preparing dinner in our exchange family's kitchen , St. Jacques de la Lande.

Jeff, Jackie, and Dean in Dinan
Jeff, Jackie, and Dean on rue de la Cordonnerie (cobbler street).

View from Dinan clocktower
Jeff and Jackie climbed the clocktower and took this shot from the top. Jeff also dropped a coin over the edge into the courtyard below. Luckily, no one was in the way!

Jeff Cyndi, Jackie in Dinan
Dinan is a medieval walled city. It escaped bombing damage in WWII, and has most of its walls and medieval buildings intact. This picture shows some of the half-timbered buildings. The cobblestone lanes were lined with original shop buildings,which all had smaller first floors and successively larger upper floors (because you were taxed on the footage of your GROUND floor only), so that the upper floors loom out over the street.

St Anne of Bretagne
This window in the church of St Malo in Dinan is dedicated to St. Anne of Bretagne, who, at 14, was forced to marry the French king Charles the VIII, but, as queen, gained rights for Bretagne such as free roads- which still exist today. Brittany is the only French province where there are no toll roads!

Cyndi on Rue du Jerzual, Dinan
This street connected the walled city with the Rance River. Cyndi is sitting on extra wide window ledge were shop keepers would sell their wares.

Dean and Cyndi standing on Dinan's ramparts.
This tower overlooked the Rue du Jerzual which connected Dinan with the Rance River.

Low tide at St. Malo
Jackie, Jeff, and Dean on St. Malo's ramparts over looking pool and French fort. Saint-Malo is located at the mouth of the Rance River. Its heavily fortified walls protected the city from the Normans (English). At one time, St. Malo was also the home of corsairs (French pirates).

Dean, Jackie, and Jeff on beach at St. Malo
Walking back to the city from the French Fort, Dean, Jackie,and Jeff stop on beach with the walled town in background

Inside of St. Malo
Jackie and Jeff walking through the streets inside St. Malo's walls. Many of the buildings in this town were rebuilt as a result of being destroyed during WWII.

Comments

[diane nastri]

Hi, Dean - these are great!
Wow, Dean - your hard work really paid off - what a nice souvenir for you and your family! I am inspired to do the same for our next trip! Kind regards, Diane