It’s a pretty short trip from Saint Malo to Dinan, they are only a few miles apart. Saint Malo was a fortification on the coast. The Germans used it as part of the “Atlantic Wall” so it was heavily defended. About 80% of Saint Malo was destroyed, but it was rebuilt to match what it looked like historically. Dinan was not strategic, so it suffered no damage. Our hotel was built in the 1400’s! Although there have been some improvements to the interior, the bones of the building are original.
Many of the old houses have a second floor that overhangs on the street. Some of them look a little rickety which terrifies Deb. I don’t know if the fact that they have been standing for 600 years is a good thing or a bad. The reason that they built the houses this way is because the city taxed them based on the square footage at street level. You’d think that the tax collectors
would have seen that coming!
There is a heat dome over New England with temperatures reaching near 100, so I’m a little apprehensive about mentioning that today was the first day that we were comfortable in short sleeves.
The day we got to Saint Malo was the Festival of the Corsaires (pirates). Pirate parades, face painting, street performances, etc. So it was pretty crowded. Well…in Dinan, it’s the Festival of Music with 50 bands performing on the streets and in the squares. The place is packed! Our host suggested that we make reservation for dinner, which was an excellent idea. The other choice was to finish the half sandwich that Deb didn’t eat for lunch.
Tomorrow, we will roam the city and the port. Maybe eat lunch, take a nap, have a drink, eat dinner before retiring for the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment