BRIAN REID PHOTOGRAPHER

France October 2024 - Day 19 Rennes
Wednesday, 23 October 2024 16:11
It has been a nice easy day wandering the streets of Rennes. The main centre is a short walk from the hotel which is by the railway station. I was surpised to wake up to a misty morning but was not disappointed as a few atomspheric shots do not go amiss. The forecast was for sunshine and that gradually burned its way through by late morning. Rennes has the character of other cities I have visited in France and Rouen comes to mind. This time there is no big river just a little one well channeled and in some places covered. Of course there are plenty of cathedrals, churches, basilica and convents but I only visited a couple. This is a two carousel town with one being very high end and reasonably priced. €2 for one ticket €5 for 4 tickets and €10 for 12 tickets. The big one in the Place Sainte-Anne was very popular. The headline picture is from this square showing the Basilica of Saint-Aubin. The portrait is of Marcel Callo who was beatified under Pope John-Paul (the recent). There is an exhibition of his short life as he was a slave labourer under the Nazis but his actions and attitude against them ended with his death in a camp in Austria. Just an ordinary young man from Rennes. There is plenty of stained glass on show. You will note the headline picture is in bright sunshine and the carousel picture is a bit misty. This square is really the heart of the old city and I criss crossed it several times including once to enjoy the best sandwich on the trip. I’ll drop a few atmospherics in including one suitable for the upcoming halloween. There are many old buildings in the half-timbered style some with no two orthogonal lines. There are plenty of high-end shops in a couple of wide boulevards and the Christmas decorations were up in plenty of time. The Breton parliament building looked good in its own little square and there were plenty of people out in the narrow streets around filling some of the restaurants. Some people were just queuing for crepes as the morning produce market was winding up. The grandest square is reserved for the Mayor and on the opposite face the opera. Of course they have a carousel. That about finishes our tour back across the river which at this point is paved over to create the Place de la Republique. All in all a pleasant morning leaving some time this afternoon for a little shopping.