這天從 Rennes 駕車離開 Brittany 南部向北方沿海城鎮 Dinard 出發，行程約三小時。當風景如畫的Brittany 北部名勝城鎮 St Malo 和 Dinan 都是離開 Dinard 約半小時車程時，為何要花時間在沿路的 Dinard 停留一晩呢？
實情是 Dinard 的海濱長廊有著遠眺 St Malo 的最佳位置 (見首張相片)。還有就是影壇流傳希治閣在 《觸目驚心》(Psycho; 1960) 的古老大屋是在 Dinard 取得靈感，另外 Dinard 那黃昏時份滿是海鷗的海灘 Plage de L’Ecluse 亦令我想起他另一名作《Birds》(1963)。
而 Dinard 在十九世紀後期由英國貴族建成的渡假大屋確實是跟美國東岸 Rhode Island 的 Newport 沿海官廷式巨宅不相伯仲；最後當然是Dinard 有而在St Malo 和 Dinan 都找不到的寬闊海灘和那些漂亮的藍白色間條沙灘悵幕，確令我們感到盛夏迫人。
Why bother to stay in Dinard when picturesque St Malo and Dinan are less than a half hour away?
Because Dinard has the best view of St Malo from across the bay (see first photo on top left); because Hitchcock was said to have referenced a house in Dinard for Norman Bates’ home in the film 《Psycho》(1960); because the grand houses built by the British aristocracy in late 1800s rival those in Newport, Rhode Island; and because St Malo and Dinan do not have the sprawling beaches and the long line of bathing tents at Dinard....
Dinard 面向英倫海峽的主灘 Plage de E’cluse ，寛濶程度比得上里約熱內盧的 Copacabana 海灘，夏季時份海水藉著一股大西洋䁔流變得令人極為舒𣈱。加上海灘週圍的古典建築酒店和別樹一格的藍白色間條泳灘悵幕，使我想起威尼斯的 Lido 島上海灘，有古色古香的 Hotel Excelsior 和白色尖頂的木板泳屋; 可惜維斯康提執導的 《魂斷威尼斯》( Death in Venice; 1971) 那主要場景 Grand Hotel Des Bains 自 2000 年已經關閉，靜待拆除重建的命運。
趁著仍未有太大改變，還是早點到 Dinard 感受一點上世紀末 Belle Époque 的風味吧 ！
Plage de L’Ecluse with its unmistakable blue-and-white striped bathing tents, and the warmest water on the Atlantic due to the warm Gulf Stream. Eric Rohmer shot 《Conte d’ete》(A Summer’s Tale; 1996) here; in August it’ll be as crowded as Times Square on New Year’s Eve....
從 Dinard 駕車到聞名已久的 St Malo 只需半小時，但我們選擇先到需要個多小時車程的沿海小鎮 Cancale ，全是因為這個年產四千噸生蠔的地方有一個即買即開即食的生蠔市集，位置在鎮中心沿海的燈塔旁。
到步後才知道所謂市集原來是只有七間生蠔檔子，但價錢確是便宜。雖然夏季不是生蠔的旺季，僅有一檔子有 Belon 生蠔，但仍算肥美。顧客都坐在海旁的石碮上，食完的生蠔殻就一手抛進海中 ！
在夏季的週末，小鎮臨海的街道滿是當地人和遊客，不少都光顧路旁的海鮮和薄餅餐廳，亦有泳客在碼頭側的海灘流連。好一個寫意的海旁小鎮，與香港的流浮山蠔田和市集是異曲同工，潮退時可以見到一包一包的蠔田在海岸處，唯一分別是流浮山的淺灘跟 Cancale 的海灘不一樣。
離開的時候才記起，之前在 Rennes 和 Vannes 吃到的生蠔也就是 No.3, Cancale !
The small fishing port of Cancale produces 4000 tonnes of oyster each year in its oyster beds, visible in low tide. Very much like 流浮山 in Hong Kong, with a nicer beach...
Here, on weekends, local Bretons and tourists alike would descend upon the 7-km waterfront promenade to enjoy the seafood and crepes. Oyster lovers would buy the oysters at the cluster of oyster stalls near the lighthouse on the pier, eat them nearby and throw the shells into the water.... oh we only drove half-an-hour for oysters by the sea!
St Malo 可能是 Brittany 北部最為熱鬧的旅遊景點，單是從英國南部樸士茅夫海港 (Portsmouth) 開出到此的渡海遊輪就不止每日一班。從旅遊手冊上看到 St Malo 沿岸被英倫海峽巨浪衝擊的映象亦確是懼人。
但我們之前一晚在 Dinard 隔岸遠眺 St Malo 時卻是風平浪靜，當然圍繞 St Malo 舊城的大型古城牆和 Cathedrale St-Vincent 那歌徳式教堂尖塔都是一見難忘。
在這個週日，當 St Malo 的大街小巷都滿是吃著雪糕或在拍照的遊客，在 Cathedrale St-Vincent 內的聖詩彌撒為我們帶來了絲絲平靜，就像黃昏時分教人心曠神怡的落日餘光。
Two features dominate picturesque St Malo in Brittany : the fortified wall of the Intra-muros (Walled City) facing the sea, and the soaring Gothic spire of Cathedral St Vincent.
On an early Sunday evening, the song prayer at the Cathedral was as soothing as the sunset glow. A beautiful former seaport now receiving more tourists than goods from Portsmouth across the English Channel and elsewhere in the Continent.
Reminds me of Dubrovnik and Valletta; the latter my favourite Mediterranean walled city by the sea.
巴黎鐵塔之後，聖米歇爾山 (Mont St-Michel) 是法國最多遊客到訪的景點。這個在十世紀已是天主教Benedictine 修士用以靜修的修道院在十三至十六世紀被擴建為大型歌徳式教堂和修道院，給訪客的感覺就是高聳而立的山上教堂和室內修長直立的歌徳式空間；週圍卻是伸延超過十二公里，仿似無盡的浮沙海床；再加上過去十世紀的天主教歴史在這兒的變遷，以及現今每個夏季都出現擠滿整個小島的遊客... 所有關於聖米歇爾山的事物都似乎可以用上「最」的形容詞！
而我是希望旅客遊訪聖米歇爾山後，可以體會或多或少關於這個基於宗教與建築的不朽傳承，亦不要忘記整個聖米歇爾山經驗可以説只有一半是人為的，另一半是源自大自然每次滿月前後的大海潮和它的創做者... 人類文明是多麼渺小啊 ！
The obligatory visit to Mont St Michel, France’s second most iconic tourist sight next to the Eiffel Tower... everything is a superlative here : the amazing height, the expansive seafront sand bed, the 10-century evolution of Catholicism, and the tourist crowd... I hope visitors would come away with one insight or another about this incredible religious and architectural feat that is only half man-made, the other half belongs to nature and the monthly high tide....
美籍歐遊作家 Rick Steves 對在 Brittany 北部的 Dinan 讚不絕口是容易理解的。這兒有頗為完整的中古世紀護城牆、St-Sauveur 教堂内裏兩側展現著不同年代遺留下來的建築風格如何融匯一起、古城中心的磚木屋亦見證了早期較為簡單結構至後期具有有蓋行人路和偌大窗戶、室內搭建旋轉木樓梯等; 加上在 Dinan 側的 river Rance，真是具備了所有中古世紀城鎮的特色原素。
我個人倒是覺得在 Brittany 南部沿岸的中古城鎮Vonnes 有稍微優勝之處，就是它只需半小時船程就到達近似人間天堂的小島 L’IIe d’Arz.
The picturesque medieval town of Dinan has witnessed plenty of history starting from Roman times. From 9th Century onwards and for the town folks in Dinan, God as symbolised by the Church and the thick city wall were their only hope of salvation against the war-faring Normans aka Vikings from Scandinavia. The Basilica St-Sauveur would clearly illustrate the pillages by the Vikings, and subsequent rebuilding by the Bretons (of Celtic origin) who had emigrated in large numbers from Wales, England to Brittany since the 6th Century. Note the plain Romanesque wall on the right and ribbed Gothic vaults on the left, culminating in the soaring Gothic chancel at the nave. An unusual beauty in its asymmetry.
Beauties abound in Dinan, from the interior spiral staircase of the 15th Century blue-and-white striped half-timbered house that is the Chez La Mere Pourcel restaurant, to the Place des Merciers, and the lovely River Rance besides the city wall and runs through Dinan to Dinard and St Melo... in my words, “Brittany’s golden triangle in the north”.
從七月十四日抵達 Rennes 開始，不經不覺已有十天在 Brittany 渡過，之後這兩天在法國的第七大城市 Nantes ，亦是我們這個 Brittany 行程的最後一站。
來到 Nantes 就離不開接觸它的 St-Pierre & St-Paul 大教堂，和對 Brittany 影響至深的安妮女公爵，後者亦兩度成為法國皇后；奇怪嗎？
1488 年，統治 Brittany 的法蘭二世公爵過世，他年僅 12 歲的女兒安妮繼承了 Brittany 女公爵的地位。兩年後在法國皇帝查理斯八世的悉心策劃下，安妮被迫嫁給查理斯，法國得以政治吞併 Brittany 但亦給予後者保留大部分的自治權。
查理斯於十年後過世，當時二十四歲的安妮基於之前的婚姻合約條款，需與新任法國皇帝（查理斯的表弟）路易十二世成婚，再度成為法國皇后。1517 年安妮病逝，終年 37歲。她在生時曾懷孕十四次但卻不幸多番夭折，只有兩個女兒能活至成年。
在一生中面對這麼多近親死亡，安妮在 Brittany 首府 Nantes 的 St-Pierre & St-Paul 大教堂興建了她雙親的純白色大理石陵墓，並於擺放陵墓的小教堂位置安裝了高達 250 米的顏色玻璃大窗，至現時仍屬法國的大教堂之最。此外，整個大教堂都以白色為主調，保留最小程度的輝煌裝飾，處處表露一種寧靜奉獻氣息，跟其他在法國的天主教大教堂大相競庭，卻是我曾經到訪的大教堂中，最為充滿莊嚴靈氣的一處。
而對於中世紀 Brittany 的人民而言，安妮一身都奉獻給 Brittany 以爭取它的最大自治權，而法國人民亦認同安妮的兩次婚姻確保了法國和 Brittany 的和平結合。安妮在 1517 年的葬禮歷時四十天，顯示她在法國皇室的崇高地位。
如果安妮女公爵一生是充滿悲哀的話，現時的 Nantes 卻是法國又或者歐洲最有夜生活情趣的城市之一。夏季黃昏時分常見到在公爵堡壘外的草地音樂會，而舊城區的餐廳酒吧和咖啡店更是愈夜愈快樂；畢竟 Nantes 有超過三萬多名大學生在此就讀，真的是一個充滿年青活力的城市，就連兩歲左右的小孩也全程投入！
More of Brittany’s history as seen in Nantes, former capital of Brittany and currently the 7th largest city in France.
Nantes’ Cathedrale St-Pierre et St-Paul, while less opulent than its counterparts in Rouen and Chartes, excels in its visual tour de force of white marble and stone solemnity, and partly attributed to the various commissioning of Duchesse Anne of Brittany, also Queen of France...
In 1488, Francois II, the last Duke of Brittany to rule independently of the French king, died in battle and was succeeded by her daughter Anne, then 12 years old. To maintain peace with France, young Anne married King Charles VIII who died ten years later. Upon his death, Anne married King Louis XII, son of Charles VIII in order to guarantee her sovereignty over Brittany. Until her death in 1514 at age 37, she had been pregnant 14 times, yet only two daughters lived to reach adulthood.
To reconcile with so much death in her short life, Anne commissioned various construction works at the Cathedrale St-Pierre et St-Paul in shades of whiteness and devoid of opulent decorations, including the tomb of her parents at the side chapel under the tallest stain-glass window in France, measuring 25 meters tall.
Against such sadness in the past, present day Nantes has one of the most vibrant night life in France and perhaps in Europe, due to its 30,000 plus student population... even toddlers are welcome!
Nantes 是我們到達 Rennes 之後的十二天中，在 Brittany 南部和西北沿岸旅程的最後一站。跟著下來是我們分開兩天駕車前往法國東南部大城市圖盧茲 (Toulouse) 的旅程，而在途中渡宿的郷村民宿 (B&B)的經歷確是意想不到，值得把一些影像紀錄下來。
民宿是在市鎮 Saintes 附近的一條郷村 St-Georges-des-Coteaux ，四週都是農地的田園境色，郤彷佛回到黑色幽默電影高手高安兄弟 (Coen Brothers) 在1987年早期作品《寶貝夢驚魂》(Raising Arizona) 的奇妙境界！
早餐時分，屋主䬲養的動物包括兩隻駝羊和一隻孔雀都在玻璃陽台飯廰外流連；但這兒不是南美洲祕魯，而是法國南部啊！
Nantes was meant to be the last day of our 12-day sojourn in Brittany (including Mont St Michel in Normandy), yet our stopover at the small Roman town of Saintes, on our way to Toulouse, was so unusual that it warranted inclusion in our 2018 trip in Brittany, if only for memory sake.
To be precise, it wasn’t Saintes but rather the B&B we stayed at the nearby village of St-Georges-des-Coteaux that transported me to the twilight zone of one of my favourite Coen brothers movies, their earlier work of 《Raising Arizona》(1987).... How often does one get two Alpacas and a peacock to accompany his or her breakfast, and I don’t mean somewhere in the Peruvian Andes?
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