Carnac -stone alignments and the Savage Coast

As we drove onwards Carnac it soon became evident we had nearly reached our destination for there were alignments of stone megaliths everywhere.

It didn’t take long to find our way to Francoise’s place, our home for night. Our room was upstairs with a lovely view of her garden and the chickens and goats.

Once we had settled in we walked back to the megaliths. They were in long lines and there were hundreds of them.

Apparently during the quieter months you can walk in the fields amongst them but in the tourist season you have to stay behind the fence.

The wild flowers and weeds were being attended to by some of the local sheep.

After tiring ourselves out walking around we walked into Carnac itself and were lucky enough to eat at Crépérie De La Pompe. I ate the local mussels served with excellent frites (chips). The bowl was huge. After eating one of the tasty little mussels I used the shell as a set of pincers to eat the rest, probably 150 of them! You certainly couldn’t complain about serving size. Karen had a massive salad. I also had my first drink of the local cider and it was really good. The walk back to our Chambre d’hôtel was needed to walk off the massive dinner we had eaten!

The next morning we had a delicious breakfast and then headed off. We had decided to drive to Quiberon and the Savage Coast before heading to the Loire Valley, our next stopping point. It was certainly a beautiful section of the coast line.

 

Day two in Dinan delights us too.

A second day to explore Dinan awaited us. Through the old town gate we went, camera in hand and refreshed after a good night’s sleep and a delicious breakfast.

The cobbled street led us right to the old town clock tower and one of the oldest looking framework buildings we’d seen in Dinan.

It was certainly a pretty place and there were lots of well preserved buildings.

The previous day we had walked quickly through the port area so we headed through the old town and down there first to explore a bit more. The still water allowed for some excellent reflections.

We could see the viaduct we had seen the previous day so we headed up in that direction.

We found a stairway leading up to the top so up we went, puffing quite a bit by the time we reached the top. From there we walked along the ramparts, many excellent views of the town being revealed as we went.

Time was moving on so we had to as well but with the feeling that Dinan’s magic would draw us back again some day.

 

Dinan delights us

Arriving in Dinan was a little confusing but we soon found our way to our accommodation which we had booked through Air BnB. Our host was a native of Dinan but had lived in Australia for many years so she was pleased to meet us and proud to be our guide for a walk in her town and the surrounding villages and countryside which she proposed to us. We felt it would be an ideal way to get a feel for Dinan so readily agreed. Initially we walked down through the old part of town over the cobblestones.

After some time we came to the Port of Dinan, quite charming in its own right but just the start of the walk.

From there we crossed over the river and set off down a path through a forest.

After a while we came to an open area with a view back to the town across the fields.

Then it was back into the wooded area. On our right we now had a small river. As we came to a  bridge over the river we could see a boat coming towards us. Apparently these are newer boats that match new safety requirements but nowhere as nice as the old ones.

We crossed the bridge and made our way into a very small village, Léhon.

At the far end of town near the church we could hear quite a bit of noise. As we joined others and leaned over the wall to look at the church courtyard below a wedding was revealed.

Having surveyed the proceedings we moved on. A bit more of a walk in the woods followed by a steep staired climb brought us back to Dinan itself. It wasn’t long and we had an awesome view back down to the Port of Dinan where we had been near the start of it all just over an hour before.

We finished with a drink and a charcuterie board of lovely saucissons and cheeses

at Le Rouge Nez a local bar not far from where were staying. Later on we went out for dinner at Chez La Mère Poucel, a restaurant in a well preserved framework building. Good food and ambience.

After dinner we walked around to the market square as we had been told there would be a jazz band there. Quite a few bars and food vans were doing a good trade as locals and visitors alike enjoyed the music.

 

 

St Malo

After two special days on Le Mont St Michel we made our way out of Normandy and west into Brittany. Our dinner companions from the previous night had recommended a look at St Malo so off we drove. At the edge of the town, like in Honfleur previously, tourist vehicles were directed to a car park. We paid then boarded the free navette shuttle to town. After about ten minutes we were there. The fortress along the beach front certainly stood out.

We strolled down the beach and along the promenade area. The shoreline was quite rocky and there was an old fortress on a nearby point

and further out another fortress on an island.

Like many others we took the promenade around the ramparts. It was sunny and a relaxing thing to do.

After a while we came to a main street with many shops and cafes so we followed that for a while. We bought baguettes for lunch and ate them in a garden area. The street eventually lead back to the area where we had started our walk which was full of restaurants serving lunch to tourists

and the usual artists stalls found in these seaside holiday towns.

From there we walked to the bus stop and returned to our car to make our way to Dinan, where we would be staying the night.