When we began our travels a couple of decades ago, we had to rely on guidebooks like “Lonely Planet” and Rick Steves. Now the internet is chock-a-block with tips and destinations for independent travelers. Much of it is shamelessly commercial and poorly written by wanna-be “influencers” but we occasionally find a nugget or two worth exploring.
Take La Roche-aux-Fées for example, which we discovered on-line as a day trip from Rennes. Once we were out of town it was a pleasant drive through the French countryside. Even on an overcast day the fall colors were vibrant. Cattle grazed near golden fields of rapeseed, the source of canola oil, and blue and purple tansy, planted by astute French farmers solely to attract and nourish bees.
The“Rock of the Fairies” is perhaps the best preserved dolmen—single-chamber megalithic tomb—in Western Europe and the largest in France. Roche-aux-Fées is a long corridor sixty-feet long by twenty feet and more than twelve feet high, made of forty or so shale slabs. Its origin, unlike that of Stonehenge which is still debated, is known. Roche-aux-Fées was built by fairies! And big fairies they must have been! Big enough to carry stones weighing as much as forty tons in their aprons.
Neither Vitre nor Fougeres is a match for Dinan but then, Dinan doesn’t have its own castle, either. Chateau Fougeres covers nearly five acres and is the largest medieval fortress in France. The castle comes complete with eleven towers and a water-filled moat that powers four water-wheels. Overlooking the town, the Church of Saint Leonard, the Fougeres Bell Tower and the Jardin Public give panoramic views of the countryside and the Chateau.
Vitre is dominated by its own Chateau but it was closed for the lunch hour when we arrived. We just wandered around the streets, admiring the architecture and reading the signs. Connie’s iPhone translator was much better than my very rusty—and never very good—French
We each had a favorite building in Vitre. Mine was called “Island House,” a half-timbered building set in the Y of two diverging lanes. John chose the slightly newer stone Hotel de Bol d’Or. We were both fascinated by the unique system of hinged shelves along the merchants houses that could be retracted after business hours.
Probably the most pleasant surprise of the day was the town of Josselin where we spent the night in the most charming “chambre d’hôte. When John asked Alain how old the B&B was he replied, “Plus de quatre cent ans”—more than 400 years. La Cour des Ursulines was the perfect blend of old and new with the best shower I’ve had in months. Breakfast was great, too with locally produced jams and honey. And fresh croissants!
Josselin has its share of half-timbered houses, the oldest dating back to 1538. The towering Basilica of Notre Dame is lighted at night and comes complete with grotesques. And Josselin’s castle could have come right out of a fairytale. I could almost see Rapunzel’ s flaxen hair cascading from the tower.
