This past weekend-over the Pâques (Easter) holidays- some friends and I decided last minute to go on a trip to Bretagne (Brittany) with the Erasmus Student Network in Nancy. We took an overnight charter bus from Nancy last Friday at 11 pm and arrived in the lovely city of Rennes around 9:15 am the next morning to begin our Brittany journey.
- Rennes: On Saturday, we spent the whole day in Rennes and began our exploration of Breton history and culture.
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| L’église Saint-Aubin |
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La galette- This is a regional dish, which is essentially a savory crêpe. The crêpe mixture is made from sarrasin (more commonly referred to as blé noir and known as buckwheat in English).
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| Recruitment poster during World War II at the Musée de Bretagne. |
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| Hôtel de Ville |
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| Opéra de Rennes |
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| What a magnificent chocolate display at a store! Unlike in the U.S., French children actually hunt for real chocolate eggs during Easter (and not plastic eggs that have candy inside them). |
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| Musée des Beaux-Arts |
- Mont Saint-Michel: The first part of Easter Sunday we got to spend in one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Christianity- the Mont Saint-Michel. Technically Mont Saint-Michel is in the Normandy region and not in Brittany, so be careful not to upset a Norman by saying that it is part of Brittany.
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| The voyage to the Mont Saint-Michel was meant to be very symbolic for religious pilgrims. They had to take a boat across the bay ("enfer" / "hell") in order to reach the Mount ("paradis" / "heaven"). |
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| The design of Mont Saint-Michel is also very representative of the feudal system in Medieval Europe: The abbey (the "Church") is situated at the top and therefore physically closer to God, and the ramparts represent the aristocracy and how they are suppose to protect the poor villagers. |
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| Rooftops of the Mont Saint-Michel village |
L'abbaye du Mont Saint-Michel (The abbey)
- Saint Malo: The second place we visited on Sunday was the beautiful port city of Saint-Malo. Fun fact: Jacques Cartier, the explorer who claimed Canada for France, was from Saint-Malo! We really enjoyed walking around the ramparts of the city and the beach.
- Dinan: We spent the rest of Sunday evening and Monday morning in the city of Dinan.
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| Basilique Saint-Sauveur |
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| Vitraux (stained glass windows) in the Basilique Saint-Sauveur |
Viaduc over the Rance River
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| Old town in Dinan |
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| Château de Dinan |
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| Château de Dinan |
Every region in France has a distinct history, culture, and heritage and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to explore a little bit of Brittany this past weekend.
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