Trestrignel to Dinan via St Malo

 Unusual today, we did not stay in a hotel but a private apartment last night. Therefore no hotel breakfast we had to go on the hunt. Fortunately it only took a few km’s to find a nice brasserie with outdoor tables overlooking a lovely bay. “Deux petit dejeuner si vous plais” gets you tea or  coffee a glass of orange juice, 2 baggettes, 2 croissants and a variety of spreads. 

Replete, we hit the road and a couple of hours later we arrived at the picture postcard town of Saint Malo. Just another amazing fortress town although this one has grown substantially beyond its original fortress walls. However it is the old town we came to see. 


The cars were parked along the road for miles, we knew it is a popular tourist town but really?  Soon we realised a half marathon event was in progress, people absolutely everywhere. 

One advantage of the motorbike is that parking is never an issue, just look out for other parked bikes and line up alongside, usually on a footpath or in a town square seems to be normal and acceptable. 

We spent several hours wandering about the place, the fortress buttress still has the walkway, complete with sentry posts and cannons still in place. 


There are several access points to the inside town and to the outside beaches. We took to the promenade and just strolled around it. 


Lots of people just like us and also sunbathers and swimmers as well as shoppers.


 Several restaurants on the beachfronts but most of them are in the old town within the walls and all of them very busy. 
A lot of older apartment style houses, built by the rich privateers returning from California after getting rich from gold. Many of the houses were bombed during the Normandy invasion of WW2 as was the cathedral, they have been reconstructed to be in keeping with the old town. 

The blue tinge to the photo is from the incense  burnt at the mass.

 We had a pastry and coffee at a little kiosk in the old town and later drank lemonade overlooking one of the beaches. 



It really is a picture postcard  place espcecially in fine weather which we were enjoying. 

In the harbour there are several small islands by and four of them have forts on them also, presumably to soften up the invaders before they get to the main defenders. 

We then set off again to our destination for the next two nights. 

A lovely old town called Dinan. This splendid old place is also a tourist town but not as well known and busy as the likes of Saint Malo. Robyn has found us a loft apartment in a converted horse stable of which one wall is part of the original fortress wall surrounding the original town. It is very nice and a great place to be for a couple of nights. 


We had a bit of a reccy and then on the recommendation of our host we dined at just another haute cuisine restaurant.

We are looking forward to having the whole day tomorrow to explore this town and all its charms. 

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