Discovering the charms of Vitre and the countryside around.

After our exhausting day to the south, we decided to take it more quietly by doing a short trip to the east of Rennes. We also bought a map when we stopped for petrol to make up for the weaknesses in the GPS.

Unfortunately, when I opened it up, it was just as big as the inside of the car- making things a little difficult for the driver.  Nevertheless, between it and the GPS, we made it to Vitre.

Vitre is another very pretty town with an old part containing buildings which are around 500 years old.  It has not been prettified as much as Josselin, but there is evidence in the amount of renovations going on that it will soon rival it as a tourist destination.

This blue below, by the way, is quite a common trim in Brittany.

Like most of the villages and towns in Brittany, the hydrangeas were at their best and houses, public buildings and shops were festooned with bright colouring flowers.

I was very taken by the ornamentation of the outside of the 14th century Notre Dame Church.

After a lunch at this restaurant on the left,

strolling along the Vilaine River, we admired the quietness of the old Pre des Lavandieres, the size of the old tannery,

 the sheep grazing in a protected area,

 the beauty of the houses along the river banks , 

the peace of the walk

and the views of the 11th to 12th Century Chateau de Vitre.

We entered the courtyard of the chateau, which also acts as town council offices, but found it difficult to work out how to get tickets to the museum. 

 Eventually, we discovered that there was a tiny door in the arch of the opening where tickets were sold, so with tickets in hand we opened the museum door and mounted yet another set of steps up yet another tower.  The museum collection is fairly small, but it does give you an inkling into what life was like.  There were some of the original decorations: 

Clothing and furniture:

and art work:

An added bonus was that the ticket allowed us on the ramparts where we  had brilliant views of the town.

After leaving Vitre, we decided to do what we like best.  We meandered along the back roads  and
country lanes to check out the countryside.

Our bonus was finding this chateau and its farm buildings.  It seems to be undergoing renovation, so perhaps this is another piece of France's history which will be saved

We passed so many peaceful scenes and beautiful window boxes that it was quite a shock when we returned to Rennes and saw 4 plainclothes police cars full of balaclava masked police speeding through the town.  Poor France.  It does not deserve the fear it is experiencing.