Goodbye to the sea - Rainy Brittany - 10
Goodbye to the sea
There was quite a storm last night. Even though it calmed down this morning, Jürgen decides to go to the Wild Coast before breakfast. But this time it's not really productive.
The breakfast is tasty and afterwards we drive along the coast and stop at a viewpoint. After all, we had to cancel most of our plans yesterday. The waves are foaming at the shore, it's still windy. You can understand why this part of the country is called "Cote Sauvage".
Finally we leave the coast. Our next destination is again one of the most beautiful villages, Rocheford-en-Terre [↗].
There is a chateau with a castle garden where the milky, cloudy autumn atmosphere fits particularly good. In low season, the streets are almost deserted, but you can imagine how it looks in summer.
After a short lunch break in a nearby street restaurant, which is not really worth mentioning, we continue directly to the hotel in Rennes [↗]. We want to walk around there, and from 3 pm on there is a 60% chance of rain.
In Rennes we stay in an Appart'hotel. It's not a hotel in the traditional sense, but rather for longer stays and has a small kitchenette, which we will use for breakfast tomorrow. When we arrive, we have to wait a little while and Jürgen maneuvers the car into the hotel garage, which is quite narrow. Luckily there's hardly anyone there, so he can choose a spot that's easy to get out of in the morning.
From the hotel it's not far to the city center with its medieval center. The cathedral [↗] is covered with scaffolding and we have to look for an entrance. We finally get in through a small side entrance. Very impressive. The interior is decorated with a lot of gold, stucco and paintings and looks much more magnificent than many of the churches we have seen so far. These are brought to life especially by the lighting atmosphere created by the large, colorful windows.
We take a look at the old market halls, including an exhibition of contemporary art. We will return later to buy some delicacies for breakfast.
The modern cultural center Les Champs Libres [↗] is also one of our destinations, even though it doesn't quite meet our, well, Jürgen's, expectations.
It is still dry and so we have time for two glasses of rosé in one of the many restaurants. There are tables and benches everywhere and they are often very busy. In general, Rennes has a very nice atmosphere, which is probably due to the large university.
The next morning we have breakfast in our room. We pack early and drive to the Chateau des Pères [↗] in Piré-Chancé.
This was actually planned for yesterday, but we postponed it because of the weather forecast. Today the weather is supposed to be similar. It's dry and the air is absolutely clear, as it often is after heavy showers. It's supposed to rain again this afternoon.
The castle has a sculpture park in a beautiful woodland area. Many metal sculptures, but also some made of wood or acrylic. Most of them are rather naturalistic. For example, you can see three strong men made of rusty metal, wolves chasing a deer, or a bright red gorilla, but there are also abstract forms that fit into the landscape.
Since we are close to Vitré [↗], we decide to visit this small town as well. The large, free parking garage near the train station is great. It keeps most of the traffic out of the old town. A bridge leads directly into the center.
We only visit the castle [↗] in the middle of the town from the outside. Today it houses the town hall and a small museum. Instead, we stroll through the narrow streets and visit the church, which is now more like the other churches we have seen on this trip. Again there are those beautiful windows and in one corner, overlooked by most people, there are beautiful colorful frescoes. The paintings are said to date back to 1619. Another thing we notice is that when we look through the nave to the altar, we see that the church is not a straight line. This is probably the result of the reconstruction in the 15th/16th century, when the choir of the previous church was integrated.
We finish with lunch near the station and now have quite a drive ahead of us. Vitré is on the edge of Brittany and we finally have to start heading home.
