2018 年，十二天的英倫 Cotswolds 和利物浦之旅已經結束，隨著是十二天在法國大西洋沿岸的 Brittany (布列塔尼半島) 遊覽。從英倫到 Brittany 的首府城市 Rennes 是乘坐 Flybe 的螺旋槳客機，飛越英倫海峽時，在機上認識了一個新朋友。
Brittany 西北部和南部沿岸海產豐富，以蠔和龍蝦最出名。我們在 Rennes 的首度晚餐卻是簡單不過的鹹薄餠 (galette)，單是在十多種配料中選擇已不容易，我貪心叫了火腿蛋加䒦士磨菇，卻遠不及太太叫的當地豬肉腸那麼美味 ！
Made a friend over the English Channel. First meal at Rennes, Brittany; what else but galettes (savoury crepes) with ham, cheese, egg and sausage?
2018 年七月十五日，世界柸隨著法國奪得冠軍，克羅地亞於決賽雖敗猶榮而正式落幕。這一屆世界柸是年輕創新的表現，法國隊有數名球員不足二十歲，引證足球進入年輕新世代！
我們就在這裏重溫七月十五日在法國 Rennes 的一些映象吧！
End of 2018 FIFA World Cup during which the Young and Daring have made their marks... France has a handful of players less than 20 years old and England’s squad not much older. Welcome to the new order of youth !
I wish to leave you with a few images of what it felt like on that summer day of July 15, 2018, from Rennes, France.
世界柸決賽翌日，在 Rennes 的咖啡店午餐有特別準備的冠軍焗餅 (Tarte des Champions)，食材是紅番茄、白磨菇和藍芝士，好一個「紅白藍」的冠軍組合啊！
The morning after.... cafe at Rennes serving the Tarte des Champions for today, with blue cheese, white mushroom and red tomato, tri-colour all the way!
Rennes 現時是法國西部 Brittany 區域的首府，透過在市中心的歌劇院前擺放的旋轉木馬和雪糕車，及市政廰前的 pop up 日光浴場地，Rennes 在告訴我們 2018 的盛夏已經到臨。
雖然 Rennes 在十八和十九世紀建成的宏偉古典建築多的是，我們卻是鐘情於在舊城區那群沒有被四百年前的一場大火燒掉的磚木屋 (half-timbered houses)，是充滿著十六和十七世紀的 Briton 風格，反眏了西歐數個沿海國家的中古城鎮建築，而以法國 Brittany 和 英國 Cotswolds 這兩個區域的中古城鎮最能保留至今。
With the merry-go-round and ice-cream cart outside the Opera, and a sand pitch for deck chairs in front of the Town Hall, summer has arrived in Rennes, administrative capital of Brittany.
Classical 19th Century grandeur architecture aside, we found the less-than-perfect half-timbered houses, some dating back to 16th Century, to be more charming. Wait till we get to Vannes later this week!
離開 Rennes 約一小時半車程的 Vannes 同樣是由羅馬帝國年代已經發展的城鎮，而 Vannes 更具備臨近 Brittany 南部 Golfe du Morbihan (Gulf of Morbihan) 的沿海位置，是中世紀的重要海港。
它保留至今的古城區建有宏偉的護城牆、高聳的大教堂和精緻的小廣場，感覺上比起 Rennes 的中世紀舊城區還要具規模。而在 St Pierre 大教堂週圍的數個小廣場 (尢其是 Place Henri IV 和 Place de Valencia) 更建有樓高四層並用上 cantilever 建築原理的漂亮磚木大屋 (half-timbered houses) ，可以想像十七世紀的 Vannes 是如斯人氣爆燈 ！
Vannes and Rennes with their medieval city walls would attest to their historical importance in Brittany; some of Vannes’ old town buildings and the Cathedral St Pierre dated back to 13th Century.
Indeed, Vannes boosts the best preserved half-timbered houses this side of the English Channel, some even incorporating cantilever structure above its stone masonry street foundation. Beautiful!
從 Vannes 乘觀光船到在附近海域 Golfe du Moriban 的小島 L’lle d’Arz 只需大半小時，這裏有著平靜如鏡的大西洋䁔流和海灘，它那幽靜悠閒的小村落種滿了顏色瑰儷的花草，亦有我所見過最為漂亮的郵箱.... 這一切一切，實在距離人間天堂不遠爾 。
Gulf of Morbihan and L’lle d’Arz, half an hour by boat from Vannes and worth spending a whole day cruising on the Gulf. For me, this is the most beautiful stretch of water dotted by sailboats other than Portofino, with a secluded village exhibiting the best of Briton gardening in L’lle d’Arz, and some of the prettiest mailboxes I’ve ever set sight on... hmmmm....
這就是我所說平靜如鏡的大西洋暖流，拍攝於離開 Vannes 大半小時船程，在海峽 Golfe du Moriban的小島 Ille d’Arz。
在 1880 和 1890 年代，眾多後印象派畫家如高更、梵高和馬蒂斯就曾經來到離開這裡一小時多的小島 Belle Ille 寫生，繪畫的就是這靜寂荒涼的沿海景象和日落餘光。
Gulf of Morbihan, on the island of lle d’Arz, near Vannes, Brittany. It is water like these that had drawn painters including Gauguin, Van Gogh and Matisse to the nearby island of Belle-lle in the Gulf of Morbihan to paint in the 1880s and 1890s. Tranquil beyond words....
我的好友 Roger Garcia 看到我們在 Vannes 的行踪，就特地提點我們要試試這兒的鮮蠔。這個晚上在Vannes 一家名叫 Chez la Mere 6 Sous 的餐廳，我們就嘗試了它們那只有幾款菜式的 Brittany 烹調，包括慢煑的豬腩肉、自製的肉醤和附近著名鮮蠔產地 Cancale 運來的三號鮮蠔。
這個晚上，在餐廳門外人氣頂盛的寬闊小巷，在離開海旁不遠處，我們享受了一頓頗為難忘的睌餐，滿意程度隨時高於某些我們曾經光顧，近年在英國《Restaurant》雜誌推薦的五十間餐廳 ！
My good friend Roger hoped I could taste good oysters in Brittany. Yes we did, at a little restaurant in front of a broad alley in Vannes, by the name of Chez La Mere 6 Sous, serving a tiny indigenous Brittany menu of the finest slow-cooked pork, homemade pate and oysters from the nearby town of Cancale.
On a cool summer evening close to the sea, with the most jovial atmosphere at the alley, the dining experience is en par with, and probably more memorable than some of the top 10 restaurants by Restaurant Mag.
從 Vannes 返回 Rennes 後遇上了這間於 1965 年開業的海鮮餐廳，喜歡它那 60 年代的室內空間設計、喜歡它用 shallot vinegar 給鮮蠔調味、喜歡它在男仕洗手間內填滿比賽結果的世界柸比賽時間表... 後者難道已經是一幅在法國售賣的商業印製品？哈哈...
Back in Rennes, delighted by this restaurant’s 1960s decor; delighted by the way it served oysters with shallot vinegar; and delighted by the FIFA World Cup schedule (with scores duly filled out) at the Gents... perhaps a merchandise item in France already?!
Vitré 這個在中世紀 (Middle Ages) 曾經極為旺盛的布料商貿城鎮一般不算是到訪 Brittany 的必遊去處，但法國皇帝享利四世於 1598 年目擊 Vitré 的繁華後，就説過如果他不是皇帝的話，他會情願做一個在 Vitré 的資產階級 (bourgeois)。
現今的 Vitré 保留著由數位 Duke of Brittany 建於十三至十五世紀的偌大堡壘，二次大戰時曾被德軍用作統領整個 Brittany 的司令部。更重要的是 Vitré 現時是歐洲保存得最完整的中古世紀城鎮之一，巿中心的橫街窄巷佈滿建於十六和十七世紀的磚木屋 (half-timbered houses) ，規模比得上 Rennes 和 Vannes 而改變卻是更少，就仿似一個時間停頓在五百年前的古城。這種感覺，跟我們多年前遊訪德國南部極富盛名的中古城鎮 Rothenburg 時有點兒相近。
所以如果你計劃到 Brittany 遊覧，我會衷心推介 Vitré 這個在 Brittany 東部，遠離海岸但離開 Rennes 不到一小時車程的城鎮。
Vitre is not on the list of must-visit places in Brittany; but King Henri IV of France had said in 1598 that “If I were not the king, I would want to be a bourgeois from Vitre.”
To-date, Vitré has retained the Vitré Castle built during 13th to 15th Century and used by the Germany army as headquarter of Brittany during WWII. It also has one of the best preserved medieval old towns in Europe and similar to, but smaller than Rothenburg in Bavaria; and is one of three places in Brittany having the largest number of half-timbered houses next to Rennes and Vannes.
Not a must-visit; yet highly recommended when visiting eastern part of Brittany, away from the coast.
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