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Monday, April 24th, 2006    sunrise-07:03    sunset-21:04    low/high temp:7-16C (44.5-61F)

La Roche-Bernard

    Scott and I surprised Kate and the girls with a box of fresh made pastries.  Kate glommed onto the strawberry tarts quite quickly.  Of course, the fresh baked croissant, pain-au-chocolate and baguette were a must as well.  We seem to be buying more pain-au-chocolate each day, and we suspect Danielle is consuming them faster than we can purchase them...
    Today we're off for one of the long boat ride days.  We were told there's not much to see other than countryside until we arrive at La Roche-Bernard.  They were pretty accurate.  We did see several steeples and one large Chateau in the distance, unfortunately, they were either too far for walking or there was no accessible docking area.
    That's OK, though.  We spent the day on the boat, traveling towards the Atlantic Ocean.  The girls caught some rays, played bunko, cards, chatted & laughed while Gilligan and I kept track of our progress and looked for anything interesting to see.
    There were no locks for us to pass through today.  The only lock left on the Vilaine going South is the single lock to the Atlantic, which we will obviously not being passing through.

   
Here's where we entered yesterday and then departed the port this morning.  Folks sit out on the port peninsula and enjoy their picnic lunches while the boats come and go, waving to them all.  The kids are very enthusiastic about this!  Below is the harbor cross and the speed limit, not that that was a problem for our boat.

   
    Grant, here's proof Danielle did practice when she was in France.  She was definitely happier when she got some time in on the keys.  This shop was on a side street.  On the main shopping street the weekly market was happening this morning.  This was a very good opportunity for the girls to exercise their shopping muscles.  Anything and everything was for sale, from music to clothes, fresh produce to cooked meats, mushrooms & truffles, wine, beer and spirits.

   

   
Kate is lovin' life!                                    The Cindys catch some rays on the decks.

   
Gotta watch those Italian                A couple of those steeples in the distance.
girls, they're trouble!

   
Cindy (G) works on her             Danielle works on some ZZzzs.    Nice chateau in the distance.
journal.

   
A fair amount of sailing craft      Just a nice photo.                      More of those rapeseed plots.
were heading to or from the
Ocean.

   
A nice waterfront home.            An impressive Chateau in the    These folks have a heck of a walk
                                               distance.                                  to their home form their yacht.
                                                                                              Notice the switchbacks.

   
   
We passed this very large ship, St. Germain, as it was being loaded, when we departed Redon.  She passed us several hours later.  It was impressive to see her captained through some of the tight turns with sailboats moorings and such on each side.  We were later told that when she passes through the lock for the Atlantic Ocean, crowds always form for the show because it is such a tight fit into the lock, less than 1 foot on each side!

 
Nah, she's not havin' any fun.      I thought the architecture of this bridge was pretty cool.

   
The old and new bridges shoulder to shoulder near                      Great colors for the shutters and
La Roche-Bernard.                                                                    door.  Matches the sail cover.

La Roche-Bernard

(The Rock of Bernard) This small village is about 1000 years old.  It was chosen by the Vikings for its strategic significance.
Many wars and centuries later, the infamous Cardinal Richelieu, transformed the simple port into a significant shipyard.

   
Gilligan at the helm.             On arrival, Danielle caught some shots of these ducks on the shore.

   
A little romantic stroll for us on our way into town.

   
Lovely cottage...                      Cindy (G) enjoys the harbor       Cindy waves on her way up to the
                                               view.                                       cannon.

   
One of the defense mechanisms for the French port back in the days of enemy Spanish and British Navy ships!

   
Off we go into town.            Danielle gets more daring     On the way into town, the
                                          for her shots!                       view of the old harbor.

   
The pathway leading into town from the harbor.                   The roadway leading into town.

   
Visible steeple.                           Yup, Cindy LOVES her purple accents and doors and windows!

   
   
While the girls were finishing some shopping, Scott and I stopped at the local tap and tested the temperature of the beer.  It was cooled properly, so we decided to have another.  While chatting about the town, Scott noticed an image of a guillotine, and went to take a photo.  It was at this point a Scottish gentleman, Edward 'Eddie' John Crockett, sitting nearby explained that the guillotine was actually not in front of the correct house.  Further, the house that would make the image historically correct, the bottom right photo above, was visible from our vantage point, as it was the original Mayoral home.  He knows this because he now owns it.  While chatting, we discovered that he is actually a writer, and he writes historical fiction.  We both bought a copy of his latest book, Condottiere  A Knight's Tale, on the condition that he sign them.  I honestly enjoyed the book.  I was afraid to read much on the boat, fearing water damage, but have since finished and found it an enjoyable read.

   
The girls chat over drinks as       The view of the bar and little    View from the bar towards the
well after some 'grueling'            shop next door.                        other end of the square.
shopping.

   
He also explained that the Inn of the 2 Monkeys (Auberge des 2 Magots) was to be the home of a retired naval officer.
 
 

   
Direction sign...                        Nice architecture on a chapel and the description of the interior of
                                               Chapelle Notre Dame.

   
And you thought Scott wasn't      Two views of the local Church of Saint Michael (Eglise Saint Michel).
the romantic sort!                     Once again, not open, but had we thought of it earlier, we probably
                                               could have asked Eddie if he knew how to have it opened for us.
                                               He seemed to know most of the town.

   
Some views above and below of the town as we started to wander back to the boat.
   

   
And some more pretty nice photos of the town.
   
 

   
We stopped in the artist shop, but she was near to closing for the day.  We then stopped in a honey (miel) shop, La Maison de l’Abeille, and found an amazing array of honey and bee based products.  They also had an active bee hive in the store, with access for the bees to the outside via the back of the building.  We have a little video of it, but it's too large for this site.

   
    I noticed this lovely French lady had Wranglers on, the first I'd ever noticed in France, so I complimented her, in French, on her choice of Western Jeans.  She laughed and then noticed mine, so I asked her to model them for me, and this is the pose I got.  I'm not complaining.  They called adieu and waved as they walked by the boat with their sons so I got this photo of them.  They were quite fun to talk with and their children were amazingly well behaved.

 

    At this point we wandered back to the boat and started cooking up a lot of the food we had leftover in the fridge.  Salad, sausage, foie gras, pâté, fresh fruit, wine and cheese and crackers....
    Danielle noticed a group of swans & geese swimming near the boat and fed them a little of the crackers and such.
    The next morning, I noticed a sign and had to take a photo.  Check it out on the next page...

La Roche-Bernard

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