Rennes Scenes

Rennes is the capital of Brittany, a very old city, now a high tech center, and France's 10th largest city. The chief draws for us were its Saturday market--reputedly France's 2nd largest--and its traditional and historic architecture. Yes, half-timbered. Tall half-timbered, as we'll see in a subsequent post. But first some other sights about town. Oh, we stayed in a free aire adjacent to the municipal campground and took the bus. Actually, we stayed two nights in Rennes, but that's another story.

You get off the bus right in the heart of the city and think you
are in a flower market or at least an outdoor garden store; but no,
it's just the open public mall with hundreds (thousands) of
flowering plants in pots on these stands, going on for blocks

After the market (next post) we went to the
Rennes cathedral; these Romanesque towers
are all that remain of the two previous
cathedrals on this site since the Middle Ages;
these great buildings don't always stand the
test of time, and in particular, a part of the
first Romanesque building collapsed in
perhaps the 12th or 13th century; a Gothic
building followed but it began throwing stones
in the 17th, and so was taken down

What then was built, and which stands today, is a sort of
Baroque neo-classical; not very French-looking, but interesting

Elaborate chandeliers throughout; a very dark place, as one might
imagine

Central dome/tower/oculus

Pantokrator, sort of

Dying, no, Dead Gaul

Pretty organ

Our next church--I failed to get its name--has
been turned into the TI and city history display;
the building actually slopes downhill and features
this outdoor holy water thing

Barrel vaulting inside

Many interesting historic displays; note slope

And historical photographs; this is a line of mounted soldiers
guarding the building where the second Dreyfuss trial was going
on, in Rennes; tough times in France...gross maldistribution of
wealth, emerging socialism vs nationalism, toss in a dose
of racism...sound familiar?

Interesting window treatment

Plus the usual funnies, carved in wood

Ditto

Down the street, a cobbler's shop

Speaking of which, an incipient shoe wall (mixed)

Actually, being a bastard is not always a draw-back; worked
for the mayor, worked for William the Conqueror, among others

Today's wedding photo