In an uncharacteristic way, Rivero lost the game last night agains the Rays. Tied 2-2 going into the 9th and he gave up 2 runs. :-(
Breakfast was ok at this hotel. Would have preferred the eggs a bit more done and less runny, but that seems to be the French style.
We took a coach to the gate of the old city of St.-Malo where we were met by Peter, our guide for the day. He was certainly a character and his English was marked with a very prominent Welsh accent. He was originally from Cardiff, but had lived in Dinan, France for about 35 years. It was quite fitting since Malo was also from Wales.
We started our walk among the old streets and he pointed out just a few places from “The Book.” He explained the microclimate of the area that allows palm trees to grow at such a northerly lattitude. We entered a shipowner adn corsair mansion. La Demeure de Corsaire, that dated from the 18th Century where he explained the concept of privateer vs. pirate. He was a very good storyteller and we enjoyed his tales. The chest is one that would hold all the ship’s documents. The cloth was a paisley one that was stamped with its pattern.
It was a great walking tour where we saw quaint streets, buildings from the 1600s and even a cute little toddler who wanted to say hello when we stopped to look at his house. The sewer covers played a very special role in “the book” as they were used to count where to turn on a given street.
There are a number of forts that served to provide for defense. The two most prominent are the Fort National and Grand Bé Island that is the location for the grave of Chateaubriand. The cloudy weather gave added to the typical Brittany experience.
With Peter as our guide we then set off on coach for the optional tour to Dinan. The weather had cleared, thanks to Peter’s iPhone app, and it really was a lovely afternoon. Before we got to Dinan, we stopped at yet another very quaint village - Saint-Suliac. This was an old fishing village with a extremely old homes. It is on the estuary of the La Rance river. The church is dark, but filled with very different stained glass windows and carvings. The men in the one window all were modeled after real people from the town.
And then it was on to Dinan, a medieval city that dates back to the 10th century. The city is walled and the streets are cobblestoned. We happened upon a flea market as Peter was guiding us through the streets. Lots of interesting items, but the ones we liked were too bulky to bring back home.
The Place Du Guesclin is dominated by the statue of Bertrand du Guesclin on horseback by Frémiet. The horse, according to Peter, is the star of the sculpture as Frémiet was known for his animal pieces.
Back to the hotel and then dinner at Brasserie du Sillon where we had a monk fish with fava beans and then splurged for profiteroles!
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