"Of Dragons and Dungeons" - this is the name given for the last town (or village?) we visited in this Easter trip. Dinan in Brittany is like a place which time has stood still. Very still. Initially I booked a hotel room here such that we would have spent 2 nights here and 2 nights in Pontorson, but K said since these two places are only a 45min drive away, it won't make too much of a difference. We were pleasantly surprised by what we saw when we arrived.
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| View of greater Dinan |
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| A typical street in Dinan |
We only had about 4h in this town and we loved seeing all the old French medieval architecture - houses with timbers, beams and all. I felt like we were on a movie set or something and a dragon would be coming out anytime spewing some fireballs...
K loved this place. Boy he was excited because for him, it was like his childhood storybooks come alive. He hurried me along to see the different sights on our map, and surprisingly asked me to take photos of him when usually he doesn't like to take much photos compared to me.
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| Welcome to the medieval times.. "Guns? What guns?" |
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| My fav timbered house because it's in a nice shade of French blue |
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| Another "inn" which K was keen to meet adventurers |
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| Cathedral |
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| K's fav "inn" |
Excitement aside, we needed lunch and we ended up getting the last table in one of the recommended restaurants on Trip Advisor, which happens to be a Michelin guide restaurant. Must be good, we reckoned. (Must be expensive too, we reckoned.)
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| My fish pate for starter |
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| Mains: Duck with mash and peas |
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| Outside the restaurant |
Carried on walking around after lunch. As it was easter Monday, all shops were closed and there were only tourists walking about in the streets. I wonder how many people actually live here now... would be so interesting to live in such a town.
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| Looking for a dragon to slay |
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| Was surprised that it's in English. Not French? |
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| Spot something amiss? Hint: The window. |
This has been a really enjoyable trip for both of us. One of my least packed trips, and I was so pleased we had snooze time in between but somehow yet we saw a lot in these 4 days. Perhaps Brittany and Normandy isn't the most popular destination in France as compared to Paris for Singaporeans, but we definitely enjoyed this part of France more than Paris itself. In fact, that is the reason why Tomoko and Damien moved from Paris to Pontorson. They didn't fancy the hustle and bustle of a big and busy city like Paris and opted for the French countryside. We met lovely French folks along the way, surviving on my rusty French language skills, and enjoyed good and reasonably priced food. You do need some basic French to get around, especially during meal times because most of the restaurants we went to have only French menus. The only place that had an English menu (and a Japanese menu too may I add!) was at the touristy Mont Saint Michel. I have to make special mention that we were initially handed a Japanese menu and my jaws dropped when our French waitress, thinking we were Japanese tourists, shouted out to us "chottomatte!" (Wait!) when we tried to signal her over. Tourists usually visit Normandy to visit Mont Saint Michel and then leave, but I was glad we chose to stay for 4 days to visit other towns and villages.
Overall this trip reinforced my sentiments. France is definitely one of our favourite countries. Now that I am back in London, probably time to brush up on my French!
J'aime la France :)
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