Today we headed out toward the coast and the border between Normandy and Brittany. The middle ages beckoned. We started in the ancient town of Dinan, where half-timbered houses, built centuries ago of wood and mud, still stand. We explored the castle, thick-walled and somber, built into the city walls.
Avast, ye lubbers! Pirates once ruled these lands. The island city of St. Malo was once their domain. We walked the massive ramparts that protected these corsairs and their great wealth from the English and Spanish from whom they stole. The French king didn’t know anything about it, but somehow got a piece of the action.
Finally, Mont St. Michel, made famous by myriad posters--an ancient abbey perched somehow atop a massive rock outcropping in the ocean. It looks like something out of a fantasy, but it’s real. Kristen and Mike braved the 400 steps to reach the top and explore the abbey, while Jerry and I marveled at the rock and the building from below. Us and a gazillion other tourists.