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France's Wild West - 1: Brittany: Rennes
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Mar 13, 2019 16:00:30   #
weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA
 
I am starting today a new travel photo series, covering a trip we did in the spring of 2015. You might wonder why I post these pictures so late. I have to confess that I am rather slow at working on my photos, as I am still honing my post processing skills, and other travels keep getting in the way of completing my albums.

A drive into BRITTANY and NORMANDY had been near the top of our European Bucket List for a long time, so finally after another stay in our favorite European city Paris, we got our act together and headed for that really quite close area. The pictures in this series are excerpts from my more voluminous 3 photo albums, which I posted last year on my website (weberwest.weebly.com). Obviously I can only show a brief selection here and as the pictures come from these albums, they will at times, but not consistently, show titling overlays. I hope you will enjoy this foray into France's "Wild West" - we certainly did!

RENNES, the capital city of Brittany, lies 350 easy driving kilometers west of Paris. It is certified as a city of art and history going back for more than 2000 years and its center boasts a large number of very interesting and historic half-timbered buildings as well as a cathedral and a number of churches. Rennes invests heavily in arts and culture, is a major university town and enjoys a good reputation of excellent food.

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2380 - Quiberon: Rocky beach at low tide with Turpault Castle
2380 - Quiberon: Rocky beach at low tide with Turp...
(Download)

Map of our drive through Brittany & Normandy showing major places covered
Map of our drive through Brittany & Normandy showi...
(Download)

0003 - Opera building in Rennes
0003 - Opera building in Rennes...
(Download)

2192 - Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes, built and re-built 1541-1845
2192 - Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes, built an...
(Download)

2199 - Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes: Nave, altar and ornate ceiling
2199 - Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes: Nave, al...
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2228 - Square Rallier du Bati with ancient buildings
2228 - Square Rallier du Bati with ancient buildin...
(Download)

2231 - Holy Saviour Basilica: Nave with main altar
2231 - Holy Saviour Basilica: Nave with main altar...
(Download)

2239 - Holy Saviour Basilica: Modern stained glass window
2239 - Holy Saviour Basilica: Modern stained glass...
(Download)

2181 - Ancient half-timbered building in the old town core
2181 - Ancient half-timbered building in the old t...
(Download)

2032 - Eating well in Rennes: Appetizer of crabmeat tartar
2032 - Eating well in Rennes: Appetizer of crabmea...
(Download)

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Mar 13, 2019 16:14:19   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
Interesting images, thanks for the tour.

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Mar 13, 2019 16:17:42   #
weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA
 
Longshadow wrote:
Interesting images, thanks for the tour.


You are very welcome - thanks for looking in.

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Mar 13, 2019 16:49:30   #
RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia
 
Good set. I particularly like 2228 - Square Rallier du Bati with ancient buildings.

I wonder why there are no people around.

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Mar 13, 2019 17:01:22   #
weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA
 
RichardTaylor wrote:
Good set. I particularly like 2228 - Square Rallier du Bati with ancient buildings.

I wonder why there are no people around.


Hi Richard - thanks for looking in. Yes, square Rallier du Bati is nice and there are actually a multitude of old buildings in this city. As to why there are no people around .... it was not a very nice day, and I think shortly after I took the square picture, we actually had a very heavy downpour - so possibly the feeling was already in the air. But I also have to say that I try to get as little as possible people into my pictures, I guess just a bad habit of mine - I actually like to see locals in the pictures, but would prefer not to see tourists (like myself) in there - go figure!

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Mar 14, 2019 01:33:23   #
saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee
 
I find the interior shots to be absolutely stunning.

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Mar 14, 2019 01:42:48   #
weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA
 
saxman71 wrote:
I find the interior shots to be absolutely stunning.


Thank you Saxman71.

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Mar 14, 2019 06:26:52   #
johneccles Loc: Leyland UK
 
We often visit Brittany using the car ferry from England to Roscoff, Cherbourg or Oustrieham so we know that area very well. Your photographs show the typical buildings found everywhere in that region and I like them very much.
Looking at your map however, my initial thought that with all those kilometres you drove it makes me wonder how you had time to see anything properly.

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Mar 14, 2019 10:08:48   #
loboimages Loc: Texas
 
Beautiful and interesting photos. I vacationed in Normandy several years ago, but didn't have the time to tour Britany. The map you provided is the tour I would like to make. How many days was your trip, time of year and hotel accommodations? I don't usually make hotel accommodations in advance and find lodging as I travel. Especially visiting an area that is new to me, it gives me flexibility, but risky during tourist season.

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Mar 14, 2019 10:38:49   #
Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida
 
I am so glad you finally did these and I got a chance to see them. The images of the insides of those Cathedrals are incredibly beautiful and I wish I could do the same some day ......health & finances permitting.

Nice work and more please whenever you're ready. HA.

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Mar 14, 2019 10:42:46   #
Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas
 
Great series, Weber.

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Mar 14, 2019 11:00:26   #
olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida
 
Great set, nice tour, surely there must be more!!!

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Mar 14, 2019 11:09:06   #
reguli Loc: Uruguay
 
Excelent shots but in particular the last one for the end of the day.

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Mar 14, 2019 13:06:42   #
weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA
 
johneccles wrote:
We often visit Brittany using the car ferry from England to Roscoff, Cherbourg or Oustrieham so we know that area very well. Your photographs show the typical buildings found everywhere in that region and I like them very much.
Looking at your map however, my initial thought that with all those kilometres you drove it makes me wonder how you had time to see anything properly.


Hi John - thanks for your comments, and yes, I am very fond of the typical building styles in this area, it brings you back to ages long past.

As far as the driving is concerned and having time to see anything properly: our normal mode of operation is to start reasonable early in the morning, see a couple of interesting places on the way, get into the final destination in early afternoon and have sufficient time to properly explore this final destination. Many of these destinations on this trip were relatively small, so that gave us enough time.

Every few days, we stay for a couple of days in one destination to have a bit more rest and to explore the town and/or the surroundings at more leisure. Starting from Paris and ending up in Honfleur was a total distance of 1880 km, done over a period of 12 days this averages out to 150 km which you easily drive in 2-3 hours, plus the in-between sightseeing. Included in that is the first day drive from Paris to Rennes with 350 km, so the rest of the average comes in at some 120 km, we find this a relatively easy schedule. I managed to shoot some 2300 photos during that trip segment, so I must have had some time ... ;)

Of course after that, we had a rather long, 810 km drive from Honfleur to Switzerland, but that's another story - and basically just a test of endurance.

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Mar 14, 2019 13:16:25   #
weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA
 
loboimages wrote:
Beautiful and interesting photos. I vacationed in Normandy several years ago, but didn't have the time to tour Britany. The map you provided is the tour I would like to make. How many days was your trip, time of year and hotel accommodations? I don't usually make hotel accommodations in advance and find lodging as I travel. Especially visiting an area that is new to me, it gives me flexibility, but risky during tourist season.


Thank you for looking and for your comments. I first wasn't going to include the map, as it is not a photo, but then thought that this would bring things a bit more into perspective and make it more informative, and it seems that this is welcome. This drive was part of a much longer visit to Europe, we started out in London visiting our daughters family for 10 days, then spent 2 weeks in Paris, then after this drive we spent another 2 weeks in Switzerland. All places we often visit for family reasons, so this drive was the real "adventure" part and new to us.

We did the drive from May 18 to May 30. Like you, we only make hotel reservations for the first day and have a good idea of the route we want to take, but then decide from day-to-day how long to stay and where to stop. We normally try not to drive at the height of the tourist season, so finding accommodation has never been a problem for us, and we have used this method basically for 30 years or so.

In a short while, I will send you by private mail a bit more material on this trip.

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