Welcome to Bretagne!  This blog is the third in a series of at least five posts looking back on our France adventures.  For most of the hotels/B & Bs, sights, and restaurants I attached a link so you can get more information.  Be sure to check out the other blogs in this series Versailles & The Loire Valley

Monday, 7/2/2018   Today we left the Loire Valley and headed toward Brittany to the lovely town of Dinan.  This small town of about 10,000 people is known for its medieval  architecture and of course galletes.  We stayed in an enchanting B & B called Le Logis du Jerzual.  Sylivie, the owner is a wonderful hostess.  There are five rooms in total and breakfast is included.  She gets her croissants from a local baker and they were still warm when she served them!

The only down side, and it’s a big one, is we were at the bottom of Rue du Petit Fort which is extremely steep!  I don’t know if you can tell from this picture, but take my word for it.  This is Michael driving our car down to pick me up.  This is a two-way cobblestone street by the way and obviously no room for parking.  We found a side street, very steep, with parking, but we were at the bottom.  Michael had to drive in reverse up this extremely narrow and windy road as I stood vigilant at the top to ward off any traffic coming down the street.  You had to be there I guess, but we did end up getting a parking space.  Needless to say, it was a “bonding experience”.

That evening we decided to take a walk and realized that the “main town” was up the street.  Any time we wanted to walk in town we had to walk up the long steep hill.  We were tired, but wanted to get our bearings.  Look what stumbled upon…ice cream!  Look at the presentation!  This ice cream shop was called Le Pole Nord (The North Pole) and the ice cream was definitely worth the walk.

Tuesday, 7/3/2018   The next day we decided to explore the town in the morning and the port in the afternoon.

Morning Walk     Dinan is on a hill above the Rance River and is surrounded by ramparts.  The town itself is the main attraction.  Walking and exploring this town definitely transports you back to medieval times.  We found many little shops and eateries along the way.

As we were walking we stumbled upon some actors promoting their medieval festival.

The Port Area   Apparently the port was the birthplace of Dinan about one thousand years ago.  It was a thriving port which connected to the sea 15 miles away.  Today it is filled with restaurants which line the Rance River. We ate at Bords de Rance which had outdoor seating right along the river.  Of course we sampled the galettes and even tried the cidre (cider) which is made from the fermented juice of apples.

For dinner that night we ate at a traditional Breton restaurant, La Lycorne which means ‘unicorn’.  I ordered scallops and Michael ordered shrimp, both to be cooked on a pierrade which is a heated stone.  We didn’t realize we did the cooking, so it was quite a surprise.  It was an unusual and entertaining way to have dinner.  For dessert, I had a gallatin (chocolate and vanilla covered in chocolate ganache) and Michael had a sampler of Breton desserts.  Needless to say, we were both incredibly stuffed, but it was worth it.

I wanted to leave you with some of my favorite shots which I think really capture the essence of Dinan. I hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures we took.  If you have any questions about the Dinan/Brittany area please ask me.  Stay tuned for our next stop in Normandy where we stay in Bayeux.  But first, we stop at St. Malo and Mont St. Michel along the way.

XOXO   Wendy

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