Rennes

Rennes is one of the largest cities in Brittany--the region just below Normandy.  St. Fraimbault is very near the border of the two regions, so it's not a very long trip--about an hour and a half.

Once again, by sheer luck I managed to find a parking space just a block from where I wanted to go, which was the old part of the city.  And it was very old.  There were half-timbered buildings all over the city--as there has been in a lot of the cities and towns of Normandy.  I've mentioned this before but, whereas in England every half-timbered building is listed in a town's tourist maps, here there are just too many to take notice of them all.

For instance,

That is one of the main squares in town and the buildings are from the 16th Century, apparently.  Even older was this one, from the 15th I think.

I loved the detail over the door.

And then there was this one.

Again with beautiful detailing.

And these.

The thing about Rennes is that, since it has been the seat of government for the Brittany region.  It also has a lot of monumental buildings like the Center for Commerce.

 

And the Parliament building.

That building has a rounded entrance way that fits neatly into the front of the building across the courtyard--the Opera house--also pretty monumental.

But there are also other buildings that look like they should have been in Paris, like this one. 

When I arrived in the city, one of the first buildings I saw was this beautiful church.

But I knew I would like it in Rennes when I noticed that just next door was this very cute little bar/restaurant.

The office of tourism was in another converted church not too far away.  They had a brochure with a walking tour of the city, which I followed.  But just as I left the office I heard a lot of commotion coming from the next street.  When I went over to see about it, I saw these people coming down the street.

  I could not tell what they were protesting, but they were loud.

Later I saw them in front of the parliament building  and it seemed like they were against the building of a new airport.

But there was another group at a different location--surrounded by police--that I thought might have a different agenda.

The walking tour took me past a very beautiful garden that was associated with the local abbey, until the revolution when the government took it over.

The garden had a lovely little cottage and pond made especially for the birds.

I also passed by a monumental indoor pool.

Nearby I stopped for lunch and saw this house across the street.  It looks like they have rigged up a brace to keep the house together.

Nearby was the biggest and most gorgeous abbey I have ever seen.  No vow of poverty here, I guess.

Out front were some patches of what looked like chili plants masquerading as flowers.

There is a river that flows through Rennes--the Vilaine--but it is not a navigable river because the city has built numerous bridges just above the water line.  So it's mostly just for show at this point--but really pretty.

Just a beautiful place.

Lynne and I went to Mont San Michele and Dinan yesterday.  I'll talk about that in my next blog entry.