The Invasion was Successful (Wednesday 9.4.2013)

We have finally arrived at the house in Dinan and it is beyond everything we could have hoped for.  But first... the back story.

Nita, my folks and I left early on Sunday for a drive to Minneapolis for a couple of days with the family before we got on the big silver bird for France.  A uneventful drive led to an amazing couple of days seeing family we really need to spend more time with.  Joanie and Gary have a marvelous house which was completely outshone by their hospitality.  They are gracious and graceful hosts!

The armed convoy dropped us off at the airport Tuesday about noon.  MSP is an AMAZING airport and the Delta terminal looks to be ripped from a schi-fi movie set.  Loved every damn minute of it, odd for an airport.

Delta service to Paris was quick and fairly comfortable.  As usual, my plans to sleep were totally foiled by a list of movies I really wanted to watch.  7 easy hours later we landed in Paris for our 5 hour layover.  Honestly, I'm glad we did not opt for the 1 hour layover.  Transfer to the smaller Terminal G involved a bus/shuttle that while quick, seemed to take forever as it was the first time.  We spent 4 hours lounging about the tiny terminal, getting rehydrated and waiting for the boarding to begin.  I do wish that when we booked our flights, the 2 hour layover option would have been available.  5 was a bear and I really don't want to repeat that anytime soon.

Landing at Rennes, we quickly grabbed our luggage and jumped in the rental cars.  Our turned out to be a brand new Peugeot that didn't explode as I turned the key, so bonus point to them for that!

The drive to Dinan was oddly boring.  Corn, trees, soybeans, it looked astoundingly like Kansas.  Then we hit the small towns leading into Dinan.  Many "Holy Shit" comments were thrown about with wild abandon.  Reaching the port, we kicked all the luggage out onto the street so Gary and I could go park the cars in the free port parking.  It is far.  Way. Far. Away...

While Gary and I walked back, Nita and the family got the house opened up.  This place is beyond what the pictures we posted show.  Its low, its dark, its musty like an old stone house with 3 foot thick walls should be, it feels medieval in a very visceral way.  Tremendous. 

Front of the house!  The street is too narrow to show all of it!

The front room is low and dark, with 24" square chestnut beams spanning wall to wall.  They were set in place in 1451(supposedly).  As I write this I can reach up and touch a crapload of history just above my head. A giant stone fireplace sits brooding in one corner, giving off the smell of woodsmoke to the whole living room.  The kitchen is very well appointed and we are lacking nothing at all.  Winding chestnut stairs that are small as hell lead up to the next 2 floors.

Front Room

2 bedrooms on the second story are large, with lots of storage.  The top bedrooms are nice, but one is small, really small.  Whoever ends up there, we will buy dinner for at least once!  The bathrooms are clean, nice and quite satisfactory.  Only 2 is a challenge, but the charm of the house makes up for it.

Front Room with fireplace

The Kitchen

The outdoor spaces are superb!  A nice garden off the kitchen has a grill and picnic table and its all enclosed in ancient stone work.  As a bonus we had no clue about, a set of stairs winds up the side of the house to another seating area just above the door to our bedroom with a few chairs set out for a convivial round of drinks in the cool evenings.

Garden outside kitchen

Lounge area up the hill in back of house

 All in all, we are thrilled with the house.  There are some drawbacks, but only time will tell how bad the really are.  First is the parking.  Its not close, but honestly we didn't come to France to jump in a car every 2 hours.  Annoying but not a big deal.

The second is only 2 bathrooms.  Again, not a huge issue but it does mean getting ready in the morning takes a while when we are all trying to get in there.

 The third issue is THE HILL(tm).

The Hill(tm) looking up to Dinan proper.  The total trip up to Dinan proper is about this pic, times 8

Holy Mother of Mary its a hill.  Covered with cobbles.  Its long, its high and all the shopping is at the top of it.  I honestly thought from looking at Google maps it wasn't that long or steep but I WAS WRONG.  It will take a few times to get used to that walk up to civilization.  Shopping takes a concerted effort, not the casual jaunt we are used to in Avignon.

Down the hill from our front door.  Just a few yards from the port.

After a little while searching for the store so we could stock in TP and wine, we opted for a wonderful dinner and drinks down in the port along the river.  Splendid time was had by all!

I think everyone was in bed by 11.  Wednesday is lining up to be an early morning and then off with the whole crew to explore Dinan up THE HILL(tm) and the big Thursday farmers market.

More tomorrow morning!