La Rentrée - Summer visit to Vannes-Brittany
I can't believe it's already the return to school/return to work for most of the French. The girls headed back to school 2 weeks ago - with my oldest starting September 1st in Paris for her second year.
We have spent the majority of the summer enjoying different parts of France along with a week in the Canary Islands. If you follow me on Facebook under my old blog site- American Mom in Bordeaux - I shared our journeys to Bretagne and Northern France, Fuerteventura and time down South on the Cote d'Azur.
Even with Covid-19 happening around us, we were able to travel by taking extra precautions. Masks and hand gel are part of everyday life now. It's been a strange year and I'm looking forward to tourists being able to return to Bordeaux in the near future. I miss meeting curious engaging people who love to discover this region and what it has to offer.
My goal for this blog and site is to continue to share Bordeaux, its wine and this region but to also share other parts of France too. So I wanted to start with a few photos from Vannes, France, located in the Department of Morbihan in Southern Brittany.
Within the walls sits a medieval town of half-timbered homes and narrow cobbled paved streets sits a charming old town with it's many shops, cafes and morning markets; it's a truly a thriving and vibrant town to behold.
La Porte de Saint Vincent - One of the several entries into the old city.
Old & new mixed together - renovated half-timbered homes/shops and a lovely blue Vespa scooter.
One of several squares where cafes serve drinks, coffee and of course, a local favorite crepes. There is even a wonderful chocolate store called Larnicol - which was born in Brittany but has shops all over France including our area, Libourne & Bordeaux!! It’s one of my favorite chocolateries !
Located next to the remains of the old wall and ramparts is a statue of Saint Emilion, the monk who is considered to perform miracles and who fed the poor. Yes, he's the same monk who's name is used in our region for the village and the wine appellation. He took a pilgrimage South along the religious path- Chemin de St. Jaques and ended up settling in a cave of what is now called the village of Saint Emilion. I always knew he was from Vannes, Brittany - but it's very interesting to put the whole story together.
Place Henri IV.
The Port Gate - where you can enter or exit the old city from arriving in the port.
The Port of Vannes - where boaters and fisherman have direct access back out to the Atlantic.
Vannes was a very charming and lovely town and it was great to be able to link it back to the region of Bordeaux with Saint Emilion and even one of my favorite Chocolate stores. (By the way, Larnicol make excellent macaroons also!!!!)
Hope you enjoyed a little visit up North and would love to hear from my new followers.