Bretagne (Saint-Malo) 布列塔尼 Brittany–聖馬羅

Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo is a port city located on north Bretagne. It was established in 6th century by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan who settled in Saint-Malo. Between 1490 and 1493, Saint Malo declared an independent republic, claiming that those lived in Saint-Malo were “not French, not Breton, but Malouins.” It was also during this time that Saint-Malo became the dwellings of pirates and privateers, who prayed on ships in English Channel. Due to its location, Saint-Malo also has many seafood restaurants, and is especially famous for the oysters from nearby village. (Too bad I don’t eat oysters… )

Outside the city walls is a more modern area.

Near the city walls.

The castle and great keep of Saint-Malo. Part of it has been converted to a museum.

There are several forts in Saint-Malo: Le Fort National, Le Fort de l’ile Harbour, Le Fort du Grand-Be, Le Fort du Petit-Be, Le Fort de la Conchee. Le Fort National and Le fort du Petit-Be could be walked to during low tide. Le Fort du Grand-Be was severely damaged during World War II and only the foundation remained now. Le Fort de la Conchee was also damaged during the war but is being restored. Le Fort de l’ile Harbour can’t be visited.

This is Le Fort National was commissioned by Louis XIV and built in 1689 to defend Saint-Malo.

Closer view of Le Fort National

The beach farer away from Le Fort National.

Clear blue ocean…

Entrance to the walled city near Esplanade Félicité Robert de Lamennais. Old city center is encircled and protected by these 6-meter thick walls.

Place Chateaubriand.

Offices? Residential houses?

Part of the ramparts.

A seafood restaurant’s takeout window around the corner of Place Chateaubriand. You can see shrimps, lobsters, crabs, shells, and oysters getting arranged and packed up here.

Street views in old city center.

This store sells native Breton products. The white cups in front of the store are cider mugs. Cider is a traditional beverage in Bretagne that goes with “crêpe” and “gallete.”

More street views…

A cathedral right on the street, but I’m not sure if it’s still in use since the ground level is used as a candy store.

The store that sells all kinds of canned fish.

You can walk on top of the ramparts and enjoy the magnificent view of the city and ocean. This is a residential building just besides the rampart.

On of the residential buildings with very green courtyard.

Marvelous coastal views from the fortification.

On top of a platform of the rampart.

I think the farer isle is Le Fort du Petit-Be.

Cathedral of St-Vincent.

A black cat enjoyed the sunshine.

This is the traditional food in Bretagne–gallete and cidre. I read somewhere that in order to save food but also not feeling hungry, Breton invented gallete which is a very thin pancake made of buckwheat topped with vegetable and/or some meat. I think most people are more familiar with crêpe. Crêpe is also a Breton food but different from gallete, crêpe is made of wheat flour and topped with fruit and sweet things like chocolate, sugar, or whip cream. Crêpe is usually served as dessert. Gallete is more like a main course and Breton people eat it with a cup of cidre–apple cider brewed in Bretagne.

During night time~

This is the hotel where I stayed at Saint-Malo, which is the best hotel in my trip this time, very spacious and elegant. Even better–it offered a great deal while I stayed. I stayed in the top floor and could see the ocean from the balcony.

The lounge area in the hotel with very oceanic atmosphere.

Splendid view from the dining area. The decoration matched the oceanic scenery very well.

Jacuzzi area in the courtyard of the hotel.

Bretagne (Rennes, Carnac, Quimper, Perros-Guirec) 布列塔尼 Brittany–雷恩市, 卡那克, 坎培, 派洛吉瑞

The first time I’ve known Bretagne was from L’île aux trente cercueils (The Island of 30 Coffins), one of the Arsene Lupin series, written by Maurice Leblanc. The heroine in the story, Véronique d’Hergemont, was lured to Bretagne peninsula to begin her bizzare adventure in a small island near Bretagne. Although I considered the island at which Veronique d’Hergemont arrived was fictional, I managed to find the cities she had been to in Bretagne–Concarneau and Quimper. Asides from the story I’ve read, I’ve also heard that Bretagne was a vacationing place for French people due to its beautiful landscape and pleasant weather, though not as popular and well-known for foreign tourists.

Probably due to the geographic benefits, Celtics were the first to immigrate to Bretagne during 600 BC. Later came the Irish and Welsh. Despite that Roman empire governed Bretagne from 79 BC to 5th century, Bretagne was an independent country until 15th century. When Duke of Bretagne, Francois II, died in a battle, his only daughter, Anne de Bretagne, married king of France, Charles VIII. Bretagne prolonged its independence but not for long when Charles VIII died in 1498 and Anne again married Louis XII, the newly enthroned French king. Bretagne submitted to France in 1532 when Anne de Bretagne died. Mixing various cultures especially those from Britain, Bretagne has its own unique traditions, food, and language. Bretagne still uses "Breton" language. Bretagne is French for "Brittany" which also means "Minor Britain."

Rennes

Rennes has been the gate between France and Bretagne peninsula and also the biggest city in Bretagne. It became the capital of Bretagne region when Bretagne was converted into part of France in 16th century.

Jardin St Georges (St. Georges Garden)

Palais du Parlement de Bretagne (Parliament of Brittany)

Place de la Republique

Opera de Rennes (Rennes Opera)

Place de la Mairie, which is adjacent to Rennes Opera and located at Place de l’hotel de ville. (Plaza of City Hall)

Medieval houses can still be found in town center.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes (Partial view of Rennes Cathedral)

Near the Vilaine River.

Carnac

Carnac is a small town on the south coast of Bretagne with population under 5,000. Carnac is renowned for having the largest prehistoric standing stone sites. The number of standing stones is over 3,000 and covers up to 40 acres; some stones are as tall as 12 meters. These stones clustered in three groups–Ménec, Kermario, and Kerlescan. It was speculated that the stones were erected by pre-Celtic people during the Neolithic period that lasts from 5,000 BC to 2,000 BC. The stones were aligned in perfect straight lines so Brittany Arthurian legend had the stones were Roman legion on which Merlin casted spell.

One of the standing stone sites: Alignments du Menec.

Quimper

Quimper is a city about 180 km west of Rennes and was built on the confluence of 3 rivers–Steir, Odet, and Jet; it has been called "Soul of Bretagne" because of its distinctive Breton character adopted from Celtic heritages and being the most traditional city in Bretagne.

An old theater. I was not sure if it’s still in use.

These classical-looking houses are offices.

I especially loved the series of footbridges spanning the rivers that flows through the city. Most of these bridges were even decorated by plants and flowers that added rustic and nonchalant atmosphere to this city. I even "zig-zagged" through some of these bridges while walking along the riverbank toward the old city center.

Outside the medieval fortifications of the old town; part of Cathedrale St-Corentin can be seen from here. It was built between 13th and 16th centuries. The two towers seen in the photo are both 250 feet tall.

Cathedrale St-Coretin is a Roman Catholic cathedral. Different from gothic style cathedrals, Cahtedrale St-Coretin de Quimper bends slightly in the middle to avoid a swampy area when it was constructed.

Inside the fortifications is the old town center, in which most shops and houses still reside.

Pottery is also a distinguishing character in Quimper. The products are often illustrated with men and women in traditional Breton costumes and such pottery goods are called "Quimper faience pottery."

Various shops in the old city center.

I arrived at Quimper in a Sunday afternoon, thus all the shops were closed and I walked through the bridges to the old city center. There were not many people but some were just like me–strolling in the old city center and enjoying the peacefulness of this town. Restaurants were only ready by 7 pm at earliest, so people found small coffee shops scattered in town to relax, read, or chat.

It was nice to discover this kitchenware-gift store that displayed such cute stuff in the window.

The sunset was just at the right time to give me a chance to catch the beautiful silhouette of the bridges, river, trees, and houses for this wonderful photo.

Perros-Guirec

The coast from Plestin-les-Greves to Louannec is a 30 km-coastline in northern Bretagne is known as "Cote de Granit Rose," meaning Pink Granite Coast due to its pink granite rocks along the coastline. Perros-Guirec is a seaside resort encompassed in Cote de Granit Rose. Despite the unusually shaped pink rocks on the beach, Perros-Guirec is a popular place for swimming, sunbathing, and water activities. There were not many people around while I was there; I guess because it’s autumn and the weather was gradually turning cold. The town was very peaceful, and it was serene to walk on the hills and listen to the tide on the beach since there was little crowd while I visited.

The harbor. My camera could not catch the crystal-blue of the sea. There I could see various fishes twirling between the boats.

Some houses are built on the hills. The pinkish stones are the "rosy granites" giving this place a distinguishing touch.

A closer look of the stone. The stones even beams with pinkish light under the sun, but too bad there was not much sunshine on the day I visited. I stood on the beach and saw several white shells got washed up by the tide. There’s one caught in seaweeds.

Residential area with adorable houses on the hills overlooking the sea.

"Who are you?" the orange cat seemed to ask. He was relaxing in front of a house and reluctant to move even when the mistress was driving through. Finally he got a bit interested in me and walked to snuggle against my leg. The mistress greeted me with a warm smile. People in Bretagne are friendly, I guess so are their pets.

Another cat in the residential area. Her sky-blue eyes shined with curiosity.

This big yellow cat only glimpsed at me for a second and went back to meditation.