2023    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Fougères - Sept   
2022    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2021    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2020    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2019    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2018    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2017    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2016    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May    Jun    Jul    Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   
2015                                                                               Aug    Sep    Oct    Nov    Dec   

01.08.2018

We often find ourselves in the center of the city and we are always highly impressed/in awe of the architecture and history. This morning we enjoyed the details of the Parlement de Bretagne which includes a great sundial, golden angels and gargoyle rain spouts. The Rennes Opera House is always magnificent as is the city hall of Rennes.

Rennes is a city of music, as well as a university town. There are always interesting concert posters appearing and then new posters covering up the old.

Later in the day we went to Parc des Gayeulles and visited with the four new fawns that were added to the herd.

An early morning stroll through the Place du Parlement de Bretagne.	Sundial on the facade of the Parlement de Bretagne.	City Hall of Rennes.
Rennes Opera House across from the city hall.	Great looking poster for music festival.	New fawns added to the herd at the Parc des Gayeulles.

02.08.2018

Kathleen and Dave, friends we met in Nice, just moved to France from Oregon on Aug 1. They'll be here in Rennes for 2 months and then move on to Nice for 8 months.

John filled them in on much of what he's learned about Rennes and French legal necessities for becoming a resident in France, getting a bank account and the types of apartment rental rules. In turn Kathleen and Dave shared with us other useful information they had acquired which we didn't have.

03.08.2018

We met Kathleen and Dave at Thabor Park and toured the entire park this time. They were impressed and so were we. The park is lovely with a lot of variety. We've written about Thabor Park in this blog, but if you'd like a refresher follow this link.

The east end of the park is laid out in a mandala configuration. (Refer to the image of the satellite view of the garden mandala.) We visited the aviary, which is an attractive construction with a number of species of birds. There are dozens of parakeets. The doves fly free and hang out in a dovecote at the top of the aviary.

We toured the park's waterfalls and enjoyed the mist mixed with sunshine. We are fond of the many parks in Rennes.

Satellite view of the garden "mandala" at Parc du Thabor.	Sunbeams and water mist in the air at Parc du Thabor.	Waterfalls at Parc du Thabor.
These two parakeets came over to visit when I was snapping pictures at the aviary.	The doves were sunning themselves on the aviary roof near the dovecote.	We've never seen this shade before on a morning glory.

04.08.2018

The four of us attended the Saturday Market and Kathleen was very pleased with the quantity and variety of the selections (produce, meats, seafood, prepared foods, jellies, potted plants, cut flowers, wines and beer). John and I go to the market most Saturdays.

Many, many varieties of lettuce at Marche des Lices.	Fresh squid!!!	And sardines!!!

05.08.2018

We visited the Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes and John took many photos of paintings by Picasso, Gauguin, Rubens and others. He likes archaeology so he took many photos of Egyptian death accoutrements including steles, canopic jars, sculptures, a sarcophagus and mummies. There was also a Cabinet of Curiosities which formed the basis for the museum in the 1790's.

Nu à mi-corps (1923) Pablo Picasso	Saint Peter (1351) by Lippo de Benivieni	Perseus delivers Andromeda (1580) by Veronese
Still Life with Oranges (1882) Paul Gauguin	Le Nouveau-Ne (1645) by Georges de La Tour	La Chasse au Tigre (1616) Peter Paul Rubens
Egyptian stele bearing hieroglyphics.	Egyptian canopic jars for organs.	Mummified baby crocodile.
Mummified cat.	Colorful Egyptian stele.	Egyptian sarcophagus.
Another exquisite Egyptian stele.	There were many Greek vases.	Roman sculpted heads.
Cabinet of curiosities.

06.08.2018

Today is the end of a 5 day heat wave (88°F - 95°F each day). This is our first heat wave of the year. And we think there won't be another one. John and I used only fans and we were very comfortable. Our apartment has roll down shutters which very effectively block the heat on days like these. We were also comfortable visiting our park because of the large number of shade trees and the low humidity. Overall our heat wave was not unpleasant in and near our home. And it was short lived. That made us happy.

09.08.2018

Dave and Kathleeen invited us to join them on a drive to the nearby towns of Châteaugiron, Le Bois Orcan, and Vitré.

We visited Châteaugiron, the chateau just east of Rennes. We explored the inside, and walked around the exterior. The chapel is an art gallery currently running an exhibit of a contemporary Polish artist that looks kind of interesting.

The 12th Century castle and chapel of Châteaugiron are striking. See the photos below. A bit of whimsey greeted us in the form of giant ants that were placed on one of the towers as part of an art exhibit.

We had lunch in a modern French restaurant in Vitré. The restaurant was Brasserie Saint Yves. The food was perfect for John and me. We were served 3 courses: a "club sandwhich" which was very much like a white sauce lasagne, a creamy chicken and a pretty pastry with citrus sauces and 2 kinds of chocolate.

12th Century castle and chapel of Châteaugiron.	Another view of the castle tower and chapel at Châteaugiron.	Giant ants were placed on one of the towers as part of an art exhibit.
Le Bois Orcan is a 15th Century castle complex in a lovely country setting.	This castle was a smaller, family owned operation.	Le Bois Orcan is surrounded by a moat.
Small 15th Century chapel on castle grounds.	Le Bois Orcan had a meditative rose garden as part of the castle grounds.	There was a walking path around a pond near the castle.
13th Century tower and city walls of Vitré.	There were many wonderful buildings in the historic quarter of Vitré.	We liked this very unusal house. It seems that they kept adding to it over the years.
13th Century Château de Vitré	World War I memorial in front of the Château de Vitré	Main gate into the Château de Vitré with the drawbridge mechanism above.
Chain to open the drawbridge.	Pointed Gothic arches inside the Château de Vitré	Very impressive medieval stairway in the courtyard of the Château de Vitré
After visiting the castle we enjoyed wandering around Vitré.	15th Century very ornate Notre-Dame de Vitré.	The Notre-Dame de Vitré had hundreds of little sculptures on the exterior.
The ceiling was rib vaulted to support the heavy stone.	Gothic arches defined the aisles.	18th Century pipe organ.
The name of this restaurant is Cabbage Soup.

12.08.2018

Sundays in Rennes ocassionally has organ recitals in churches and we went to one at the Cathedral Saint-Pierre of Rennes.

Ceiling of Cathedral Saint-Pierre de Rennes.	The organ was just behind the altar.

13.08.2018

Kathleen found Dannon cottage cheese at the Carrefour in the Alma shopping center. I'd been looking for cottage cheese since we arrived in France. That encourages me to look for more items I've wanted for a while such as canned black beans. Did I mention before that a great majority of canned food here is delicious? It is.

24.08.2018

Parc des Galleyeus
We guided Kathleen and Dave through the Adrenaline Forest with kids on zip lines and families on net trampolines high in the trees. And there many other activities for kids and adults.

We walked around the lake periodically resting on benches. Kathleen took photos of the lake, the water lillies and the wildlife there. Her photography is very good.

Near the lake we saw a red squirrel with ears like batman's cowl. John was excited since he had read about these squirrels while still in Oregon, but hadn't seen any yet. I almost missed it as it scurried up a very tall tree. We like the nature feel of Rennes. The city is currently studying how to increase nature and water installations and decrease automobile traffic. This is great since Rennes is already one of the greenest cities in France. The study is barely started and won't be implemented for a few years.

Stock photo of a Red European Squirrel.

25.08.2018

Dave, Kathleen, John and I have been to the Saturday Market several times. It's been a fun social time in addition to our picking up great foods.

Kathleen has been writing a blog since she arrived in Rennes. Her blog has some lovely images and interesting cultural and historical information.