FRANCE VANNES

FRANCE 

VANNES. 

Sunday June 11.

VANNES is a walled town in the Brittany region of NW France. It's old town is characterised by narrow cobbled streets and medieval gates.

At its heart, cathedral Saint-Pierre d VANNES blends Romanesque and Gothic styles. The market square is lined with colourful timber houses.

We parked right in the centre of the town after doing a few laps along the canal where all the very expensive boats were moored. The harbour is busy with boats which cruise the Gulf of Morbihan, and many colourful restaurants.

 

After arranging a time to meet Libby and Eric for lunch, we headed through the the arch into the old city.

We were really surprised to see the castle and its manicured gardens open out in front of us, and even more so to see a huge marquee with crowds of people streaming in. It turned out to be a book fair but a bit disappointing as everything was in French! Each stand seemed to be manned by the author who was signing the books as they were being sold.

   

On our way out of the garden I noticed the terrific web below strung through the trees and them saw there were about six other smaller ones visible on foliage along the banks of the stream.... Such a contrast to medieval stones!

 

The narrow cobbled streets led uphill past interesting small shops and buildings. Often the sign or shingle outside indicated the good displayed inside. Unfortunately, most of them were closed for the weekend. We were lucky though, to catch the tail-end of the market and see the huge dish of homemade Pate du Campagne which looked deliciously chunky!