Un jour près de la mer: Adventures in St. Malo and Dinan

Last Saturday I journeyed with the CIREFE group (international students) to St. Malo and Dinan, two ancient maritime trade cities located about an hour or so north of Rennes. We met Madame Galbrun, our guide and my history of architecture professor, at the métro stop by the university early in the morning (for a Saturday, at least) and were all loaded on the bus and ready to go by 9am. I spent the hour-long bus ride to St. Malo talking with my friend Rhea, a student from Germany working as an au pair (nanny) for a French family. Rhea is trilingual--she speaks German, French, and English fluently--but we stuck to French, since we both agree that while in France our goal should be to speak French.

Scale model of the old city, or the walled city. The château is the four-sided structure to the far right; Cathédrale St-Vincent is in the center; the ramparts enclose the city.

We arrived in St. Malo a little after 10am. After driving through all the "new" parts of the city (those that have been built in the past 300 years), we stopped in front of the oldest part of the city, a fortified village nestled into the rocky coast. We were greeted by gray, cloudy skies and a nippy wind that made us grateful that our first stop would be the St. Malo museum. The museum is inside the 14th century château which marks the beginning and end of the ramparts which encircle the old city. The château is also home to the Hôtel de Ville, or city hall. Madame Galbrun, a veritable fountain of French historical information, gave us a quick briefing before each place we stopped.

In front of Château/Hôtel de Ville/Museum.

Figurehead

Lit clos

Inside the museum we found lots of maritime relics, some interesting, some not. Of interest to me:

-A 8-ft tall figurehead (the wooden figure that juts off the front of a ship) next to a scale model of a ship, the ship being about 1.5 ft tall and the same figurehead measuring about a quarter of an inch. That's one BIG ship.

-A lit clos, or enclosed bed, the traditional bed of Breton homes before the 19th century. It looks like a linen cabinet, but people actually sleep in it. The theory was the enclosed space would provide warmth and privacy to its inhabitants, who, interestingly enough, slept sitting up on the little benches found inside. It was believed during the Middle Ages that laying down completely was a position reserved for the dead, so people slept sitting up. Comfy.

-Ships called "pouquoi-pas?" or "why-nots?" were used by explorers in the late 19th century on voyages to the icy waters of Greenland. The ships were so called because the voyages had no purpose other than pure adventure in unknown and dangerous waters.

After leaving the museum, Rhea and I joined up with Iulius, an Erasmus student from Romania (also trilingual: Romanian, French, English), to explore the rest of the city. We visited the Cathédrale St-Vincent and walked on the ramparts for a couple of hours, soaking in the St. Malo-ian goodness. We even found a traveling carnival, which prompted a long conversation about theme parks in the United States. St. Malo has this great feel. It is so classically French yet so fresh at the same time: the salty sea air, the waves crashing against the ramparts, the mussel searchers (a.k.a. the local St. Malo-ians on the hunt for dinner) in their bright yellow rain jackets and rubber boots, the crumbling walls of the château and the ramparts, tinged yellow-orange and green with growing things, the little village with its winding streets and maritime architecture, the ships, sail boats, and kayaks docked in the harbor, the colorfully bustling carnival full of excited children...it's so nice to be by the sea, in France!

Interior of Cathédrale St-Vincent

Rhea and Iulius exploring the island.

Me on an island accessible by foot only at low tide. Old St. Malo and one of the forts are behind me.

View from the ramparts. The sky finally turned blue!

Rhea checking out a canon on the ramparts.

French fun house, very similar to the one in Grease.

View from château; harbor with 18th century ship.

Around 3pm, we got back on the bus and headed for Dinan, an inland port on the Rance River which begins in St. Malo. While St. Malo and Dinan are almost the same age, St. Malo was almost completely destroyed during World War II and was rebuilt to model an 18th century sea port. Dinan, on the other hand, has maintained its medieval look over the centuries.

Medieval center of Dinan. Note how the buildings seem to be in danger of falling into the street.

Statue of medieval knight. This space, which is now used as a parking lot, was once used as a list, or jousting arena.

Rhea and I on the ramparts of Dinan which overlook the Rance River Valley.

We returned to the university at 6:30pm, tired but exhilarated. I'm hoping I can return to St. Malo for a weekend--attend an orchestra concert, go kayaking in the ocean, spend a day searching for the perfect seaside ice cream shop, collect shells on the beach--and perhaps also to Dinan, if I can find the right bus. I'm really enjoying visiting other, little-known parts of France that hold all France's magic but not its tourists. As I found in Paris, it's those small, simple moments, usually enjoyed with friends, that truly touch me. All those little, everyday, unexpected treasures are the substance of my feeling for a place, more so than its famous monuments, must-sees, and Kodak moments.

On to adventures in Geneva, Venice, and the European train system.