Becherel and Dinan- lovely towns, each offering something special for the visitor

I never thought that I would get tired of croissants, but we both were craving something different this morning, so we went to the local supermarket, bought enough for this morning's breakfast and headed out of the city.  We found a little country lane, and sat in the car and had our natural yoghurt, fruit, nuts and water while watching a little country mouse in the hedgerow.

Next, we drove along country roads and lanes towards Dinan.  On an impulse, we decided to stop at Becherel and explore it.  What a find!  Becherel has been under siege from different aggressive parties in the past, but today it is a very pretty and peaceful town well worth visiting.  We strolled round the ramparts to take in views of the town and the surrounding countryside.

Then we discovered the Galerie l'Ivre de l'Art, a wonderful shop with etchings, pottery, woven books, photography and much more. We talked to the photographer, Cegolene Frisque, who does  really beautiful work, and had to buy several pieces from a few artists.  She explained to us that Becherel is a book town.  Now, one of the things I like about France is how many book shops there are, and how many people still read real books.  In this town, nearly every shop seems to be a book shop or an artists shop.  We really need to return here another year and spend more time - especially in the main square!

Next we headed for Dinan, a wonderfully situated walled town on the hilltop overlooking the River Rance.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be attractive to other tourists too and we couldn't find a park in the old town.  We descended down to the port, which proved almost as crowded and luckily found a spot to park.  We had moule frites on the water front and then had a quick explore.  Visitors were rowing or motoring up and down the river, cycling and walking through the pretty little port. 

There are lots of restaurants, shops and artists studios. It really is worth spending more time here.

We really loved Brittany.  There is so much variety and interest, the country changes  from seaside to farmland, to  towns, but it is united by a pride in the Breton language and culture, a fascinating history closely linked to that of the United Kingdom, and an atmosphere of incredible beauty and peace.  I really don't want to leave.  The food and drinks are good, the people are kind and helpful, the countryside is so relaxing, the towns reveal a new experience in every street.  I love the stone houses, the crucifixes and alters that unexpectedly appear on country lanes, the thick green woods, the wildflowers and the medieval houses. And, I love the feeling that I haven't even discovered a sliver of what the region has to offer.  Do I really have to go?  I've had so much inspiration here, all I really want to do is get out my art equipment and start painting!  Bob, can we afford to buy a little cottage here?

Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo- beautiful in spite of hordes of tourists

When we left Australia for France, everyone told us to avoid crowds.  I think you could say that today was an absolute failure at meeting that aim.

It was a bit overcast and a cooler day when we set off for Mont Saint- Michel, a place that I have always wanted to visit after reading about it as a child. I had dreamed of medieval times, of unpredictable tides, of quicksand, of dragons and of monks.  Reality wasn't quite like that.  It started out well enough. We parked in the reserved carpark on land clearly retrieved from the salt marshes and spotted the mount in the distance.  We walked to a well organised meeting point from which you could walk for about 3/4 hour to the island, or hire a carriage pulled by 2 stout horses, or, as we did, catch a free bus to the causeway.  The wait wasn't long and we descended from the bus to the sight of this amazing abbey built of rock on rock, with shops nestling at the bottom.

After this, modern reality struck.  Given it is summer, and school holiday time, even though tourism numbers are down in France, I should have expected crowds.  Unfortunately, I hate crowds,  I loathe being with other tourists( I know, I'm not making sense.  I am a tourist), I hate queues, and I hate spruikers.  Once you get it the gates, you get all of this, crammed into a narrow winding street with shops aimed at tourists the whole way up to the abbey ticket office.

The only good thing is that the steep climb is so slow you don't notice it, and there is time for photos.

Once in the abbey grounds, things improve and the crush magically disappears, a bit like how the traffic speeds up once you are past a crash on the freeway.  Signs stress that one should respect the abbey as a holy place, and people did pray there, we saw priests and nuns and there were all the signs that this is a Christian holy place

However, there is also the feel of it being an art gallery.  For instance, there is the hint of a dragon lurking round the corner

and maybe an eagle

The Knights' Hall has prints of weird animals

and the Salle des Hotes has an exhibition of photographic works by Michael Kenna.  The cloister has a large ball reflecting the plants and the architecture,

while the Knights' Hall has a reflective ball too.

Even in the   refectory, there is an installation of feathers:

In addition, despite the Mont being a site of great Christian significance, there are strong pagan elements with the gargoyles 

 and even to a certain extent, with the dragon, representing the devil, being slain by St. Michael on the belfry.

Today, with the starkness of the rooms unsoftened by furniture or tapestries or curtains, the interior of the abbey appears like a pretty bleak living area, but life, must have been very hard for the religious inhabitants  living in the abbey judging from the amount of moss growing on the inner walls.  Nevertheless, the gardens add a warmth to the place which must have made life here a little more joyful.

Life was undoubtedly much worse for the prisoners who were force to reside here as the huge wheel used to haul up provisions reminds us.

The views of course are splendid for us, and must have been in the past for the church, the soldiers and the prisoners.  Looking back towards the mainland, you can see the river,  the flat salt marshes which contribute to the special flavour of the local sheep, as well as islands.

Mont Saint- Michel still has magic, but if I could wave a magic wand, I would explore it on my own, both inside and out.

We headed over to Saint- Malo after this.  80% of the town was destroyed in World War Two when the allied forces tried to oust a German commander who refused to surrender.  Nevertheless, the old town has been rebuilt and it is very hard to tell that it hasn't been there forever.

Being a popular tourist destination too, the town was stuffed to overflowing with tourists - we heard French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese and Swedish but I am sure lots of other nations were represented too.

In spite of this, we enjoyed our walk on the ramparts which gave us wonderful views of surrounding land, sea and sky.

Going back to our car, we also came across a really good band,    Orquesta Chilaquiles, busking  at the exit. Of course, we had to hang around to enjoy the music.

 What a great way to end another very busy day!

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.