Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - Then there were two - Rennes

 The day has arrived much too fast that Janis and Clark head back to the U.S. But getting from Brittany to Paris and then back to the U.S. is an adventure in itself. I'm sure Janis will post their experiences on Facebook, but we can fill in the beginning of the journey.

To start, the U.S. requires a negative CoVid test to re-enter the U.S. and it must be done the day before embarking on the plane home. That's a bit of a problem because it takes much of a day just to travel from here to Paris, so how to fit in that little detail. 

When we arrived, we went to the pharmacy next to the grocery store where we shop, explained the need and they understood perfectly. So, Janis and Clark set up an appointment for 9:10 this morning to have an antigen test done. The pharmacy reports the results by email (or text) with a certificate if the test is negative. That downloaded to a phone should get them on the plane. 

The test went fine, Janis reported a couple hours ago that they got the results and figured out how to download them (directions in French, of course).  Step one complete. While we were waiting, I saw this truck pull into the parking lot of the supermarket next door. Oh, and I made Dave give 2 Euros to a woman who approached us asking for help to buy gasoline for her car. (We weren't all that generous - 2 Euros will only pay for a liter of gas (1/4 gallon)

It's a food bank truck for the region. Under the name it says "together we can help everyone get better"

Next adventure - drop Janis and Clark at the Rennes train station, which in our research has been completely remodeled over the past couple of years. We hope we've figured out where to drop them, but as the train station is right in the middle of the largest town in Brittany, it could get complicated.

The trip went smoothly - 1 hour 20 minutes on good roads. But all good things must come to an end. We got to where we could see the train station, but one way roads made us turn away. We wandered the streets a few minutes and eventually came to the parking garage we thought we'd use. Dave drove in and pushed the button to get a ticket - no ticket. A man came out to tell us the garage was full and Dave argued there was no sign. He insisted, so we backed up a few feet and got out to let Janis and Clark walk to the station from here (according to our calculations, it shouldn't have been far. I'm waiting to hear from Janis.) The man kept telling us to leave, so we gave quick hugs (not the happy good by with photos I had imagined) and got back in the car to back out. By then, there was one car coming in and one car trying to go out and we were blocking them both. In the front seat now, (I had been in the back seat) I could see the sign that said "complet - seul abonnées" Full - only those who pay rental fees could enter. So our good-byes were short and unsatisfactory. We learned later that Janis and Clark made their train with plenty of time to spare.

As for Dave and I, we planned to explore the old part of Rennes, so we headed toward the old center of the town. And found a primo handicapped parking space right on the Michelin walking tour we planned to do. (Did I mention that a U.S. handicapped card works in France?) As it was now about 11:30, I wanted to go directly to the tourist office to get a map and information, as most offices close for a couple hours over the lunch period. Payback for getting star parking: the tourist office isn't at the address given in the Michelin guide. (It's a 2017 version.) I saw a woman on the street with a map and asked her where the tourist office was. 

Chapel St. Yves is now a restaurant. This is where the Michelin guide said the tourist office was. But it wasn't.

So, we continued the tour in the Michelin guide because we were already on the path (Dave's logic). I gave up hope of finding an open tourist office. We headed off along the tour in the right general direction of the tourist office. 

Rennes is an old city in two parts. It was filled with 15th century half-timbered houses and narrow streets. Then in 1720, there was a fire that destroyed part of the town (300 year old wood buildings burn fast). These parts were then re-built using granite. There seem to be an abundance of churches for the size of the area which today is lively with bars, cafés and restaurants. (Perhaps this being a university town has something to do with that liveliness. Rennes also has a single line metro that runs from northwest to southeast Rennes, with several stops in the old city.) 

The first church is the Cathedrale St. Pierre which Michelin likes for its interior and altar piece. It's exterior is part 18th century and part 19th century (the center between the two towers collapsed). 

The center part is 19th century

The tour led us through the Mordelaise Gates, the 15th century main entrance to the city and the only remains of the city's fortifications. 

outside the walls

walking toward the gate

Then down a street that has kept its 15th century flavor - even some of the bars are the same as then (How would Michelin know that?) 

Along the Rue St Michel

Some places look tired, but, hey, they're old and still working

Could this have been an original tavern? Maybe.

This house could use a bit of love

And voilà! We're in Place St. Anne - home of another large church. And the Tourist Office! And it's open! It's new and spacious inside (down  some steps, but there's an elevator for handicapped) and staffed with several very friendly and helpful experts who also speak English. (And one who thought my French was pretty good and asked me if I lived in France (I wish) and why I spoke French so well. (The rust must be wearing off my French after 6 weeks.) 

The tourist office is in the building on the right. This former Jacobin convent now hosts meetings and large groups.

Place St. Anne is full of life. And lunch. The French take their midday meal seriously, filling cafés, buying sandwiches in boulangeries or snack places and eating them in parks, on steps, or on benches in the public squares of the city. 

Tables for the Creperie Saint Anne

Place St Anne is a Metro stop

Place St Anne - a lunch restaurant

more lunch restaurants - all of them busy

Remember how I said everyone was riding scooters? This young man can't be more than 3 and he's already proficient on his 3-wheeled scooter.

Continuing on to Place du Champ Jacquet we are on another street of half-timbered houses. And we're greeted by a man who says he's from Senegal and wants to know where we're from. He's a bit unsteady on his feet - drugs maybe, not alcohol- so I greet him politely and listen as we move on down the street. He finally wishes us a good day. Never asked for anything. So who knows. Why do we seem so approachable today? 

Another one of those bicycles where the child rides in front. I'm not sure how you steer it, but it seems very practical

Place du Champ Jacquet

Now we're hungry, so we headed to our next stop, the square in front of the Parliament of Brittany. We shared our lunch on a stone bench just below the Parliament building. 

Brittany Parliament building with park (I know gravel, not grass) in front of it

view from our bench

fancy rooftop decorations

Down Rue St. Georges.... 

carvings on house below

carving on house above

Rue St. Georges

Then on to the Palais St. Georges, a former Benedictine Abbey. As Dave said, Those Benedictines had a lot of money. The gardens are just being planted with annuals as we walked through. 

I thought the municipal swimming pool building was cooler than the Palais

Palais St. Georges

newly planted flowers

planting the new beds

a big crew needed for this project

The shape of the red designs was laid into the dirt then holes were dug for the plants to speed the planting.

Another block or so, and we arrived at the Eglise St. Germain. (That's 4 churches and an abbey if you're counting.) 

Eglise St. Germain

built in 15th-16th centuries

wood vaulting is typically Breton

modern stained glass

Then to the Place de la Mairie with its very classical Hotel de Ville (town hall) and Theatre. 

Hotel de Ville with its clock tower - townspeople call the clock "le gros"

the theater

And one more church to make 5 - St Saveur (our Savior) which seems to be only a half block away from the Cathedrale St. Pierre. 

Saint Saveur

the organ loft

side chapel - Our Lady of Miracles believed to have saved Rennes from the English in the siege of 1357.

the nave

the tiled floor

A few more half-timbered houses to round out the tour 

this house has unusual designs

the carving above the door of the house below

Look closely at the beam above the window. Seem a little catty-whompus? And aren't those floor joists on top of that beam? 

Carving on the 1505 house

Carving on the 1505 house

This house was built in 1505

On a break, this cook was kibitzing with someone from the restaurant across the street 

...and then back to the Theatre where there are toilets that will open at 2:45. These are toilets as there used to be in France - you paid to use them using a token purchased from the attendant (always a lady for a ladies' toilet) She kept the toilets clean and ready for the next person. Well, someone did come unlock the gate at 2:45, but the toilets no longer cost and they're only so-so clean. But they are free.

Our car is just around the corner from here, so we're headed home in short order. 

Apéros when we got home and a late dinner where we made plans for the next few days. Tomorrow, however, won't be too exciting - laundry, groceries, a bit of cleaning. 

Our hostess stopped by tonight to add chemicals to the hot tub (which we haven't used yet) and she brought us some local honey. It's white, she said, because it's from spring flowers. And she explained that the reason the garbage wasn't collected last week was because the sanitation workers are on strike. How perfectly French! But I hope they figure it out soon. Nathalie says they're working on settling wages and work hours. Perhaps this week.