france - day 7

We were back on the road again this morning, headed to St. Malo on the English Channel. But first we went back to Vannes, an important port on the Golfe de Morbihan. There we learned more about Brittany and the Breton people and language. Originally Celts, the Bretons share the roots of their native language with the Irish and the Scots. Today, parents can choose to have their children learn both French and Breton in school. Brittany was strongly independent for many years, but in 1532, signed a treaty to become part of France. The Bretons still honor their past with many festivals during the year where they wear their native dress, including the tall, lace headdresses of the women. Each headdress is specific to a certain parish, so Bretons can tell where someone is from just by looking at their attire. Here is the sign (in Breton and French) commemorating the signing of the treaty:

Again, we saw impressive gardens; these are near the old medieval walls of the city:

We approached the Cathedrale St-Pierre through a side street:

Begun in the 13th century, the cathedral has been remodeled and restored. I believe this window is original, however:

After a stop in the city square for possibly the best hot chocolate I have ever had in my entire life, we were back on the bus for the drive to the small town of Josselin. But along the way we were stopped by the cops. A gendarme (military police) was standing in the middle of the road and signaled Placido to pull the bus over to the shoulder. He wanted to see all of Placido's paperwork, including the activity log from the bus' computer. Off he went to his vehicle, returning 5 minutes later. He returned the paperwork to Placido and sent us on his way.

Placido told us that the gendarme ran his computer disk, showing when the bus engine is turned on and off and the top speed of the bus, and only because Placido made sure to take his 45 minute break the other day, was he allowed to go and was not fined. The gendarme also asked Placido when his next day off was scheduled. Bus drivers are only allowed to drive 6 straight days and Placido was scheduled to have a full day off the next day in St. Malo. We were all glad to be headed to the hotel and not to jail!

But first was a stop in Josselin, a charming village which is dominated by a medieval chateau owned by the de Rohan family since the end of the 15th century. We approached and were let in the small red door:

We had a tour of the inside of the chateau, but were asked to refrain from taking photographs, as this was a private home:

The gardens are beautifully maintained and although they look as if nature designed them, they were in fact designed by a famous landscape artist, who determined the placement of each plant:



We were then delighted to be introduced to the Duke and Duchess de Rohan, who were at the chateau that day. Both English-speaking and very charming, they welcomed us to their home. While not in Paris, this is where they live and have raised their children. The Duchess has an extensive doll collection and when Larry asked if she had ever seen the Margaret Woodbury Strong collection of dolls, she said she had not, but that she was very familiar with the collection. They were on their way to New York City in a couple of days, and she asked how long it was to get to Rochester. When told it was a six hour drive, she said that it would have to be another time.

The 72 year old Duke, Josselin de Rohan, was mayor of Josselin and has been a member of the French Senate since 1983. He served as regional president of the Brittany region until 2004 and is currently president of the foreign affairs, defense and armed forces commission. Here is his official Senate portrait:

We were very impressed that they both took the time to speak to our group. After they left us, we saw them sitting for an outdoor portrait with a professional photographer.

After looking at the Duchess' doll collection, we were off to our next stop, St. Malo. Located on the windy English Channel, this was the view from our hotel room window:

We made a joint decision that we were NOT going to go windsurfing, but did take a nice walk down the boardwalk.