Sunday morning was a blurry wake up and a run to Rennes to take Michael and Donna to the TGV station for their trip back to Paris. We are disappointed that they could only stay a few days, but apparently Paris is pretty amazing. We had a ton of fun and laughs and we will miss them around the house.
Kim and Ryan took off to tour Fort Le Latte and St. Malo while we were in Rennes. By all accounts they had a splendid time at Le Latte and took the time for a roadside diversion to a tumble down castle ruin along the way.
St Malo, the city of Corsairs is a perfect chance for Ryan to get his pirate on for the afternoon. There was much wall climbing, ship stealing, museum rummaging, etc. Soon after their return, the French Govt in conjunction with the US Consulate in Rennes dropped by to politely ask that "Pirate Man"(their words, not mine) not come back anytime soon and to announce in a major press conference that the wearing of "do-rags" is now punishable by 5 years in the Foreign Legion.
Merde...
P.S. Pics will be posted if and when "Pirate Man" emails them to me.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
About Town (Saturday 9.28.2013)
Saturday was a lazy day of shopping, napping and cooking. Most of us went up to Dinan proper to swing by the butcher and the grocery store for dinner fixins and Sunday supplies. Niters stayed home to do work stuffs, probably glad to have the house to herself for a while.
Michael, and I purchased yet another Porc Savorard from Emmanuel at the butcher shop, and we gathered up the rest to walk to the grocery. Several baskets of food later(and smelly hippies clinking their drinks against Michael's 4 bottles of cidre in salute) I went back to the house while Kim, Ryan, Michael and Donna explored town.
Late afternoon brought quiet naps and some relaxing downtime.
In the early evening we threw the roast into the oven, made a terrific salad and smashed taters. Pirate cookies and coffee finished the meal perfectly. Yes, pirate cookies. Don't be a hater.
Michael, and I purchased yet another Porc Savorard from Emmanuel at the butcher shop, and we gathered up the rest to walk to the grocery. Several baskets of food later(and smelly hippies clinking their drinks against Michael's 4 bottles of cidre in salute) I went back to the house while Kim, Ryan, Michael and Donna explored town.
Late afternoon brought quiet naps and some relaxing downtime.
In the early evening we threw the roast into the oven, made a terrific salad and smashed taters. Pirate cookies and coffee finished the meal perfectly. Yes, pirate cookies. Don't be a hater.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Cancale, Mont-Saint-Michel and Lehon (Friday 9.27.2013)
Friday turned out to be yet another magical day. For most of us at least...
Cancale for an oyster lunch was first on the to-do list, so we jumped in the cars for the half hour ramble through the countryside to the coast. Nita packed a long a basket of cidre, wine and other essentials to make our seaside lunch more pleasant. Swooping the stalls, we all sat down on the sea wall to entertain France with our very best raccoon impersonations. We got a thumbs up from the nice lady I like to buy oysters from when she saw us opening bottles of cidre and wine so I guess we are doing it right.
After a stroll down the boardwalk, we trooped back to the cars and split up for the rest of the day. Michael, Donna, Kim and Ryan headed off for Mont-Saint-Michel while Nita and I explored Cancale city center.
It didn't take long.
Cancale proper is quaint as hell with an adorable little town square at the foot of the church. We threw the Peugeot into the church parking lot and took a stroll about the town. Second lunch was quick but tasty bar sammiches and Breton Cola. Tasty stuff.
On the way home from Cancale we got all adventurous and detoured to the tiny village of Lehon. From looking at the map, it seems that Lehon is just a short distance from Dinan. Well it is. Its about 10 feet from Dinan but took us a while of wandering down random roads to find it.
Lehon is the site of a fort dating back to a mott and bailey structure in the 10th cent. Over the centuries, the fortifications were improved to full stone fortifications. At some point, the Duke of Brittany gave the fort to the Abbot of Lehon who gleefully started pulling it down to use the stones for repairing and enlarging the Abbey of Lehon in the river valley below.
The Abbey of Lehon is a beautiful cluster of stone and slate huddled along the river Rance. Closed for the season we could not tour the abbey buildings proper, but the cloister gardens and small cathedral were open for a stroll. The gardens were still in flower and the sound of the bees on the mint was noticeable from 10 feet away. We walked about the gardens, ancient stone buttresses above our heads, the sun and clouds playing tricks with shadows. It is a very beautiful and somber place.
In the small cathedral, 10th century artifacts are still used for daily mass. Tombs of local knights line each wall, their effigies carved from local granite while a gold and mica panel reliquary holding the bones of a couple unnamed saints.
We had the abbey and cathedral all to ourselves. No other tourists, workers, locals. Just us. It was a very special time.
Walking down to the river from the abbey we found the river Rance mooching along the valley bottom. Along the way we found a house with the oddest, copper scallop shell roofing over its porch. I have been ordered to recreate that effect on our house in Shawnee. (Fine, but its gonna wear the numbers right off the American Express)
Lehon is the location of one of the small locks that control access up and down the Rance. As we watched, a small boat sailed into the lock to begin the transfer to Dinan. Time was pressing so we left them to their work and make our way back to the car.
Back that the house, the rest of the crew wandered in and let us in on their adventures at Mont-Saint-Michel. Most had a great time, but Donna was suffering the flux. Never fun when you are traveling.
Donna was tucked into bed and the rest of us went to the port for dinner. 2 bottles of wine and a lazy dinner later we made it back home to bed.
Another magical freaking day!
Cancale for an oyster lunch was first on the to-do list, so we jumped in the cars for the half hour ramble through the countryside to the coast. Nita packed a long a basket of cidre, wine and other essentials to make our seaside lunch more pleasant. Swooping the stalls, we all sat down on the sea wall to entertain France with our very best raccoon impersonations. We got a thumbs up from the nice lady I like to buy oysters from when she saw us opening bottles of cidre and wine so I guess we are doing it right.
 |
| Whats left of a dozen oysters. Damn raccoons... |
 |
| Doing it right with cidre and wine! |
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| My personal oyster pro. |
After a stroll down the boardwalk, we trooped back to the cars and split up for the rest of the day. Michael, Donna, Kim and Ryan headed off for Mont-Saint-Michel while Nita and I explored Cancale city center.
It didn't take long.
Cancale proper is quaint as hell with an adorable little town square at the foot of the church. We threw the Peugeot into the church parking lot and took a stroll about the town. Second lunch was quick but tasty bar sammiches and Breton Cola. Tasty stuff.
 |
| Baguette sammich and a Breton Cola. |
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| Cathedral in Cancale |
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| The Oyster Women of Cancale |
On the way home from Cancale we got all adventurous and detoured to the tiny village of Lehon. From looking at the map, it seems that Lehon is just a short distance from Dinan. Well it is. Its about 10 feet from Dinan but took us a while of wandering down random roads to find it.
Lehon is the site of a fort dating back to a mott and bailey structure in the 10th cent. Over the centuries, the fortifications were improved to full stone fortifications. At some point, the Duke of Brittany gave the fort to the Abbot of Lehon who gleefully started pulling it down to use the stones for repairing and enlarging the Abbey of Lehon in the river valley below.
 |
| Fortress of Lehon |
The Abbey of Lehon is a beautiful cluster of stone and slate huddled along the river Rance. Closed for the season we could not tour the abbey buildings proper, but the cloister gardens and small cathedral were open for a stroll. The gardens were still in flower and the sound of the bees on the mint was noticeable from 10 feet away. We walked about the gardens, ancient stone buttresses above our heads, the sun and clouds playing tricks with shadows. It is a very beautiful and somber place.
In the small cathedral, 10th century artifacts are still used for daily mass. Tombs of local knights line each wall, their effigies carved from local granite while a gold and mica panel reliquary holding the bones of a couple unnamed saints.
We had the abbey and cathedral all to ourselves. No other tourists, workers, locals. Just us. It was a very special time.
Walking down to the river from the abbey we found the river Rance mooching along the valley bottom. Along the way we found a house with the oddest, copper scallop shell roofing over its porch. I have been ordered to recreate that effect on our house in Shawnee. (Fine, but its gonna wear the numbers right off the American Express)
 |
| Copper shellfish roofing. We want this... |
Lehon is the location of one of the small locks that control access up and down the Rance. As we watched, a small boat sailed into the lock to begin the transfer to Dinan. Time was pressing so we left them to their work and make our way back to the car.
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| Private boat heading for the lock. |
Donna was tucked into bed and the rest of us went to the port for dinner. 2 bottles of wine and a lazy dinner later we made it back home to bed.
Another magical freaking day!
Friday, September 27, 2013
Chokes and Ladders (Thursday 9.26.2013)
As usual, Thursday was market day. Hordes of hungry, hungry Frogs heading to the grand parking lot that was once a medieval tournament field is a grand spectacle.
After brekkers, we hired several surly Sherpas and made our way up THE HILL(tm). The market was teaming with not only the usual vendors and crowds of French, but roving bands of little UK hooligans on a school holiday. Amazingly rude little bastards they was. They had a habit of attempting to haggle down the sellers in some most unsavory ways. I had the urge to give several of them a clip about the ear hole once or twice.
Properly provisioned with cheese, artichokes and fruits, we took the side streets over to Monoprix to load up on wine and weird sugery/milk crap for Ryan's coffee.(I deeply suspect it is actually bathtub caulk, but he seems happy)
On the way down THE HILL we opted to swing by the ramparts and gaze down to the river. Just down from the Jerzual Gate, there were some men installing a new chimney cap on a large, 3 story home. Their ladder setup was a thing of horrifying beauty. Next to the old wooden piece o' crap they were using on the roof itself to get across the slates, it was a marvel of modern technology.
Guiltily, we took lots of pictures of men we assumed would soon be dead from gravity and its after effects...
Dinner was a quiet affair in the garden of gigantic artichokes, another cheese souffle' and wine. Lots of wine.
A grand day.
After brekkers, we hired several surly Sherpas and made our way up THE HILL(tm). The market was teaming with not only the usual vendors and crowds of French, but roving bands of little UK hooligans on a school holiday. Amazingly rude little bastards they was. They had a habit of attempting to haggle down the sellers in some most unsavory ways. I had the urge to give several of them a clip about the ear hole once or twice.
 |
| Surly Sherpas |
Properly provisioned with cheese, artichokes and fruits, we took the side streets over to Monoprix to load up on wine and weird sugery/milk crap for Ryan's coffee.(I deeply suspect it is actually bathtub caulk, but he seems happy)
 |
| Random Dinan house near the market |
On the way down THE HILL we opted to swing by the ramparts and gaze down to the river. Just down from the Jerzual Gate, there were some men installing a new chimney cap on a large, 3 story home. Their ladder setup was a thing of horrifying beauty. Next to the old wooden piece o' crap they were using on the roof itself to get across the slates, it was a marvel of modern technology.
 |
| Cultural Ambassadors to Dinan(Calontir Division) |
Guiltily, we took lots of pictures of men we assumed would soon be dead from gravity and its after effects...
Dinner was a quiet affair in the garden of gigantic artichokes, another cheese souffle' and wine. Lots of wine.
A grand day.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
.5 (Wednesday 9.25.2013)
Today marked the halfway point of our trip. It has been yet another life changing time in France, we really, really love this place...
Early this morning Clayton, Deanna, Wayne and Deb headed off for the train ride to Paris. They have been fantastic guests and it has been a rare treat to make casual friends into much closer ones.
Nita and I spent the day doing another round of laundry and light housekeeping before the next crew showed up. Kim and Ryan were sweet enough to make the run to the Rennes train station to pick up Michael and Donna since they were out and about.
Everybody made it to the house with no issues and the wine flowed. A tad later we held firmly to tradition and went to the Italian place for dinner and drinks.
Tomorrow is market day, lots to do and see!
Early this morning Clayton, Deanna, Wayne and Deb headed off for the train ride to Paris. They have been fantastic guests and it has been a rare treat to make casual friends into much closer ones.
 |
| Bye guys! |
Nita and I spent the day doing another round of laundry and light housekeeping before the next crew showed up. Kim and Ryan were sweet enough to make the run to the Rennes train station to pick up Michael and Donna since they were out and about.
Everybody made it to the house with no issues and the wine flowed. A tad later we held firmly to tradition and went to the Italian place for dinner and drinks.
Tomorrow is market day, lots to do and see!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Up THE HILL(tm) there are Pelicans (Tuesday 9.25.2013)
Plans to drive down to Carnac were abandoned over a breakfast of fresh bread and tech issues. Between the phones, booking issues and bank issues no-one wanted to sit in a car for hours to go take a look at the standing stones at Carnac.
Instead, we loafed till lunch and then went to a terrific restaurant, Aburge le Pelican. They offer a nice lunch menu and a decent wine list(no roast pelican), so what the heck. One last nice meal out for the crew and an evening in the garden eating up leftovers.
We had a spread of items from mussels to lobster, chicken in cidre to salmon cake "burger". Splendid food, yet again!
After lunch we mooched through old Dinan, visiting our butcher, Emmanual and checking the shops for last minute tourist fun. The weather was clear and sunny, a perfect afternoon to soak up the warmth.
On the way home, we found the entrance to the ramparts that pass across THE HILL(tm) just up from the house. Great spot to see the roof scape and take pictures.
Nap time struck about 3, and we all spent a quiet evening in the garden eating up the cheese, sausage, cookies and snacks that had piled up in the kitchen. I grabbed some left over baguette and threw together a quick bread pudding with Brittany apples, raisins and apricots. Had issues with oven again, but what the hell, even a bad bread pudding is mighty tasty!
Early to bed as Deb, Wayne, Clayton and Deanna are hopping the train to Paris in the morning.
Instead, we loafed till lunch and then went to a terrific restaurant, Aburge le Pelican. They offer a nice lunch menu and a decent wine list(no roast pelican), so what the heck. One last nice meal out for the crew and an evening in the garden eating up leftovers.
We had a spread of items from mussels to lobster, chicken in cidre to salmon cake "burger". Splendid food, yet again!
After lunch we mooched through old Dinan, visiting our butcher, Emmanual and checking the shops for last minute tourist fun. The weather was clear and sunny, a perfect afternoon to soak up the warmth.
On the way home, we found the entrance to the ramparts that pass across THE HILL(tm) just up from the house. Great spot to see the roof scape and take pictures.
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| THE HILL(tm) from the ramparts, winding down to the river. Looks innocent from here... |
Nap time struck about 3, and we all spent a quiet evening in the garden eating up the cheese, sausage, cookies and snacks that had piled up in the kitchen. I grabbed some left over baguette and threw together a quick bread pudding with Brittany apples, raisins and apricots. Had issues with oven again, but what the hell, even a bad bread pudding is mighty tasty!
Early to bed as Deb, Wayne, Clayton and Deanna are hopping the train to Paris in the morning.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Le Lundi est Bunday (Monday 9.23.2013)
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Monday morning was an odd combination of humid as hell and cloudy. Warm, wet clouds hunkered down and threatened rain for a while, but bravely we all decided to hire our regular Sherpas and make our way up THE HILL(tm).
Shopping trolly in hand, Nita and I dropped by the butcher shop for a brace o' bunnies we had ordered since everyone was in the mood for fast food. Get it? Fast food... Bunnies? I slay me.
Bunnies wrestled to the ground, we trekked over to the larger market on the for side of the old city for the rest of dinner. Veggies, wine, mustard, taters, everything looked fantastic as usual. This country is spoiling us with stellar produce.
We stopped in an unfamiliar district and enjoyed a cidre while the sun finally got off its ass and burned the clouds off. A welcome chill breeze sauntered in and turned the day into something quite nice to be out and about.
Back at home we dropped the supply cart off and went to the port for lunch. One of the curious things we run into here are all the Brits, especially those from Jersey. Apparently the island of Jersey is a cheap and short ferry ride from St. Malo so they tend to vacation here quite a bit. During our long, leisurely lunch, we chatted with 2 different tables from Jersey who genuinely seemed pleased to see Americans enjoying France so much. (Easy to do, it's really quite a remarkably friendly place)
For dinner I put on my game face and tacked a couple of recipes that I had been pondering for a while, in fact at least one practicing at home. The rabbit went into a braised bunny in mustard/white wine sauce that was a lot of finicky steps but well worth the effort. Once it was rolling in the oven, I grated Emmentaler cheese, made the base and readied the crock for my first ever souffle' in France.(I had been practicing at home)
Working out the timing for everything was complex, but we managed to get the rabbit, souffle', smashed taters, broccoli and reduced white wine/mustard pan sauce all together just in time.
The souffle' was slightly overdone due to my constant misunderstanding of the damn oven settings, but it did rise properly(almost).
Everything came out wonderfully. Honestly, it's hard to mess up when you start with ingredients like we get here. Dinner was a blast and I got to tick another thing off my culinary bucket list. I made a souffle' in France.
Monday morning was an odd combination of humid as hell and cloudy. Warm, wet clouds hunkered down and threatened rain for a while, but bravely we all decided to hire our regular Sherpas and make our way up THE HILL(tm).
Shopping trolly in hand, Nita and I dropped by the butcher shop for a brace o' bunnies we had ordered since everyone was in the mood for fast food. Get it? Fast food... Bunnies? I slay me.
Bunnies wrestled to the ground, we trekked over to the larger market on the for side of the old city for the rest of dinner. Veggies, wine, mustard, taters, everything looked fantastic as usual. This country is spoiling us with stellar produce.
We stopped in an unfamiliar district and enjoyed a cidre while the sun finally got off its ass and burned the clouds off. A welcome chill breeze sauntered in and turned the day into something quite nice to be out and about.
Back at home we dropped the supply cart off and went to the port for lunch. One of the curious things we run into here are all the Brits, especially those from Jersey. Apparently the island of Jersey is a cheap and short ferry ride from St. Malo so they tend to vacation here quite a bit. During our long, leisurely lunch, we chatted with 2 different tables from Jersey who genuinely seemed pleased to see Americans enjoying France so much. (Easy to do, it's really quite a remarkably friendly place)
For dinner I put on my game face and tacked a couple of recipes that I had been pondering for a while, in fact at least one practicing at home. The rabbit went into a braised bunny in mustard/white wine sauce that was a lot of finicky steps but well worth the effort. Once it was rolling in the oven, I grated Emmentaler cheese, made the base and readied the crock for my first ever souffle' in France.(I had been practicing at home)
Working out the timing for everything was complex, but we managed to get the rabbit, souffle', smashed taters, broccoli and reduced white wine/mustard pan sauce all together just in time.
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| Broccoli, bunny, souffle', taters, bread and cidre. |
The souffle' was slightly overdone due to my constant misunderstanding of the damn oven settings, but it did rise properly(almost).
 |
| Emmentaler souffle'. Well done, unfortunately... |
Everything came out wonderfully. Honestly, it's hard to mess up when you start with ingredients like we get here. Dinner was a blast and I got to tick another thing off my culinary bucket list. I made a souffle' in France.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Quiet Day, Yet Again (Sunday 9.22.2013)
Sunday ended up being a mixed bag of activities. Nita worked all day, I did some reading and writing while Deb, Wayne, Clayton and Deanna headed for Mont-Saint-Michel.
For us it was a lazy day around the house, the pilgrims to the Mont had a great, if yet tiring time.
Home for a late dinner, we went to the port and had a lovely time by the river. Some had the fish of the day, a whitefish and prawn mix cooked in a white wine, cream and saffron sauce. Clayton ordered the duck special, which turned out to be essentially a sweet/spicy pulled duck under a blanket of mashed taters. There was salmon pasta, pork medallions in a light mustard sauce and some amazingly good desserts.
These guys are really good at food...
For us it was a lazy day around the house, the pilgrims to the Mont had a great, if yet tiring time.
Home for a late dinner, we went to the port and had a lovely time by the river. Some had the fish of the day, a whitefish and prawn mix cooked in a white wine, cream and saffron sauce. Clayton ordered the duck special, which turned out to be essentially a sweet/spicy pulled duck under a blanket of mashed taters. There was salmon pasta, pork medallions in a light mustard sauce and some amazingly good desserts.
These guys are really good at food...
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Markets and Marathons (Saturday 9.21.2013)
This was one of those days that makes France so damn frustrating and magical at the same time.
After breakfasting at the old farmhouse table, we piled into the cars and headed for the big outdoor market in Rennes. (Except Matt and Kim, they went up THE HILL(tm) for the day) The drive down was fairly easy, till we argued with the maps and ended up diving right down into the center of town. As it turns out, that was the simple way to get to the market, yet the most difficult. Early Saturday traffic on market day is far from hectic, it eases comfortably into shambolic. We were very, very impressed by Clayton's ability to stick with our frantic and often impulsive turns.
Finally finding the parking lot we needed, a very kind woman helped us find the market. Once near it was kinda hard to miss...
The Saturday open market in Rennes is the larges in Brittany, and reportedly one of the 4 largest in all of France. Large it is! Centered on the 2 large iron Halles left over from the 1800's, the street market snakes its way along multiple streets for block after block. The Halles hold butchers and cheese vendors, the outdoor stalls are vendor after vendor of farm fresh fruits and veggies at dirt cheap prices. Best in the world produce and fruit so concentrated in flavor that they nearly explode when you bight into them. Hundreds of folks offering samples, street cooks with everything from Indian roti to a big ol guy selling cajun food, the market had everything you could possibly want.
We all split up to explore the offerings. Niters and I ended up just mooching through the Halles, marveling at the butchers and their cold cabinets of critters. As usual we ended up buying too much sausage and a bit of fruit.
This market is a wonderland of food fun. No crappy junk sale vendors here, just farmers and food folks. Much nicer than the other markets we have attended.
Noon or so we jumped back into a relatively calm drive back to Dinan, stopping for a quick grocery run at the InterMarche'. A cart full of wine and cookies satisfied the day's needs and off to the house we went.
All afternoon we hung out in the comfy living room snaking our way through the sausages, olives, wines and cidres. Luckily for me, the damn Ice Cream Hotties were open and my claims of ice cream 27 steps from our door was verified. Damn good ice cream!
Mid snack, we heard a tremendous commotion from the street. An ATV snarled past the door and clapping people were lining the way up THE HILL(tm). To our shock, runners began streaking by our house on their route of a major Brittany run. Sponsored runners, individuals without support crews, some young, some old, some looking like they were praying for death all grimly wound their way up THE HILL(tm).
Half way through the mass of runners, people started hooting and hollering at a group of young runners dressed in "traditional" Breton granny's clothing. Looked suspiciously like French maids uniforms to us...
As the runners thinned out, our neighbor caught our attention and held up 2 fingers with a big smile. Those crazy bastards were making 2 full circuits of Dinan and THE HILL(tm)!
We found some solace in the comfy couch and chairs, secure in the knowledge that our marathon needs had been safely outsourced to France and no further action was needed on our part.
Thank God.
After the sun went down, a sudden squall of health blew through the house and Nita, Deb, Kim and Deanna beat a stupendous chef salad into submission while us menfolk sampled 4 different cidres in the living room. Best to stay out of their way, really.
A salad and 6 bottles of wine later and some FANTASTIC desserts Matt and Kim picked up, it was time for bed.
Matt and Kim leave us for Chartres and Paris in the morning. They are great folk, independent travelers, patient with our shenanigans, and we really wish they were here longer. Having the house full to the max of 8 people has been really easy on us all. SCA folk are used to sharing accommodations, and that tends to lead to an unspoken understanding. We have been delighted at how simple fun this has all been!
After breakfasting at the old farmhouse table, we piled into the cars and headed for the big outdoor market in Rennes. (Except Matt and Kim, they went up THE HILL(tm) for the day) The drive down was fairly easy, till we argued with the maps and ended up diving right down into the center of town. As it turns out, that was the simple way to get to the market, yet the most difficult. Early Saturday traffic on market day is far from hectic, it eases comfortably into shambolic. We were very, very impressed by Clayton's ability to stick with our frantic and often impulsive turns.
 |
| Rennes is full of hidden gems like this old place. |
Finally finding the parking lot we needed, a very kind woman helped us find the market. Once near it was kinda hard to miss...
 |
| This is about 1/10th of the street vendors at the market. |
The Saturday open market in Rennes is the larges in Brittany, and reportedly one of the 4 largest in all of France. Large it is! Centered on the 2 large iron Halles left over from the 1800's, the street market snakes its way along multiple streets for block after block. The Halles hold butchers and cheese vendors, the outdoor stalls are vendor after vendor of farm fresh fruits and veggies at dirt cheap prices. Best in the world produce and fruit so concentrated in flavor that they nearly explode when you bight into them. Hundreds of folks offering samples, street cooks with everything from Indian roti to a big ol guy selling cajun food, the market had everything you could possibly want.
 |
| One of the 2 old iron and glass Halles |
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| I swear this chick is following me... |
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| Chickens with gizzards and pluck all included. |
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| This is just one of the dozens of butchers under the Halles. |
We all split up to explore the offerings. Niters and I ended up just mooching through the Halles, marveling at the butchers and their cold cabinets of critters. As usual we ended up buying too much sausage and a bit of fruit.
 |
| Raspberries, strawberries and currants! |
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| Avignon radishes in the sun. |
 |
| See? There she is again. |
This market is a wonderland of food fun. No crappy junk sale vendors here, just farmers and food folks. Much nicer than the other markets we have attended.
 |
| Top of the flour market, 3 blocks long. |
Noon or so we jumped back into a relatively calm drive back to Dinan, stopping for a quick grocery run at the InterMarche'. A cart full of wine and cookies satisfied the day's needs and off to the house we went.
All afternoon we hung out in the comfy living room snaking our way through the sausages, olives, wines and cidres. Luckily for me, the damn Ice Cream Hotties were open and my claims of ice cream 27 steps from our door was verified. Damn good ice cream!
 |
| Afternoon snackies and cidre! |
Mid snack, we heard a tremendous commotion from the street. An ATV snarled past the door and clapping people were lining the way up THE HILL(tm). To our shock, runners began streaking by our house on their route of a major Brittany run. Sponsored runners, individuals without support crews, some young, some old, some looking like they were praying for death all grimly wound their way up THE HILL(tm).
Half way through the mass of runners, people started hooting and hollering at a group of young runners dressed in "traditional" Breton granny's clothing. Looked suspiciously like French maids uniforms to us...
 |
| Running in plastic uniforms? Nope! |
As the runners thinned out, our neighbor caught our attention and held up 2 fingers with a big smile. Those crazy bastards were making 2 full circuits of Dinan and THE HILL(tm)!
We found some solace in the comfy couch and chairs, secure in the knowledge that our marathon needs had been safely outsourced to France and no further action was needed on our part.
Thank God.
After the sun went down, a sudden squall of health blew through the house and Nita, Deb, Kim and Deanna beat a stupendous chef salad into submission while us menfolk sampled 4 different cidres in the living room. Best to stay out of their way, really.
A salad and 6 bottles of wine later and some FANTASTIC desserts Matt and Kim picked up, it was time for bed.
Matt and Kim leave us for Chartres and Paris in the morning. They are great folk, independent travelers, patient with our shenanigans, and we really wish they were here longer. Having the house full to the max of 8 people has been really easy on us all. SCA folk are used to sharing accommodations, and that tends to lead to an unspoken understanding. We have been delighted at how simple fun this has all been!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
A Visit to La Latte (Friday 9.20.2013)
When we first decided to come to Brittany, Niters found Fort La Latte on her very first morning of research. Luckily, she was exactly correct...
Fort La Latte dates back to the early 14th cent, with tons of upgrades and improvements until its military abandonment in the early 19th cent. Layers and layers of history blend into a breathtaking clump of stone defenses on the high cliffs above an iron bound shore.
The drive up was amusing, at least the GPS thought it was. At least once along the way our Garmin demanded we take "Road" instead of any recognizable highway. A long, low farm road led us past cows, more cows, an old Frenchman with walking sticks we were sure he was going to whack our car with, some cows and a cow. Popping into civilization again, we had a great view of the tide flats receding off into the low distance and a welcome sign for Fort La Latte.
The fort itself is low set from the approaching land. Covered head high in thick, impenetrable raspberry, cedar and ferns, a narrow dirt road is the only option to get to the fort gates. The shore surrounding is barely hospitable to a boat of any size, just one or two gravel beaches offer and cover in a hard seascape.
Coming down off the road, we wandered thru the tourist gate into the fort grounds. It is a privately managed historical site and the 5euro entrance fee is below average for this sort of attraction. I guess they have to hire someone to vacuum and Swifter the place once in a while.
The fort is a tumble of walls, towers, gates and keeps, all culminating in a high tower, supposedly impenetrable. I'm guessing not, since my military genius wife made it right up to the top with little trouble.
From the top, we could see all of the coast for miles and the hard stone cliffs of the shore. Angry and grumbling in the surf, it would have been an imposing place to attempt to take by sea. The fort itself took a more logical shape as we could see the curtain walls, buildings and gardens in relation to each other.
Each time we go to another fort, I am amazed at the ambition and skill of the builders who loved without electricity, internal combustion, steel construction and modern heavy lifting gear. It is quite humbling...
On the way home, we stopped for a lovely lunch at a roadside bar before fighting THE F*CKING GPS(tm) home. In order to protect the innocent, let's just say we saw a lot more cows.
For dinner we went back to L'Atelier Gourmand. Again, it was spectacular.
Much food and wine was enjoyed and I am pretty sure we alternately amused and horrified the locals trying to enjoy a evenings repast. Too bad, we had a hell of a time!
Tomorrow is salad day.
Fort La Latte dates back to the early 14th cent, with tons of upgrades and improvements until its military abandonment in the early 19th cent. Layers and layers of history blend into a breathtaking clump of stone defenses on the high cliffs above an iron bound shore.
The drive up was amusing, at least the GPS thought it was. At least once along the way our Garmin demanded we take "Road" instead of any recognizable highway. A long, low farm road led us past cows, more cows, an old Frenchman with walking sticks we were sure he was going to whack our car with, some cows and a cow. Popping into civilization again, we had a great view of the tide flats receding off into the low distance and a welcome sign for Fort La Latte.
The fort itself is low set from the approaching land. Covered head high in thick, impenetrable raspberry, cedar and ferns, a narrow dirt road is the only option to get to the fort gates. The shore surrounding is barely hospitable to a boat of any size, just one or two gravel beaches offer and cover in a hard seascape.
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| Awfully casual for a siege, but whatever makes em happy. |
Coming down off the road, we wandered thru the tourist gate into the fort grounds. It is a privately managed historical site and the 5euro entrance fee is below average for this sort of attraction. I guess they have to hire someone to vacuum and Swifter the place once in a while.
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| We brought wine... |
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| Damn paparazzi are everywhere here!!! |
The fort is a tumble of walls, towers, gates and keeps, all culminating in a high tower, supposedly impenetrable. I'm guessing not, since my military genius wife made it right up to the top with little trouble.
 |
| Just toss down the rope ladder and quit hamming it up, lady. |
From the top, we could see all of the coast for miles and the hard stone cliffs of the shore. Angry and grumbling in the surf, it would have been an imposing place to attempt to take by sea. The fort itself took a more logical shape as we could see the curtain walls, buildings and gardens in relation to each other.
Each time we go to another fort, I am amazed at the ambition and skill of the builders who loved without electricity, internal combustion, steel construction and modern heavy lifting gear. It is quite humbling...
On the way home, we stopped for a lovely lunch at a roadside bar before fighting THE F*CKING GPS(tm) home. In order to protect the innocent, let's just say we saw a lot more cows.
For dinner we went back to L'Atelier Gourmand. Again, it was spectacular.
Much food and wine was enjoyed and I am pretty sure we alternately amused and horrified the locals trying to enjoy a evenings repast. Too bad, we had a hell of a time!
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| The Crew, minus Clayton who was hiding from the waitress for some reason. |
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| Shrimp, monkfish and veggies on light filo dough sheet. |
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| Cod en papillote with potatoes, veggies and a garlic cream. |
Tomorrow is salad day.
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