AKA Normany and Brittany. I've never really understood why we English-ize the names of foreign lands. How does Deutschland = Germany = Allemands(fr)? Or even something simpler like Sevilla = Seville? I'm sure there is a reason, but the logic escapes me. If you have the answer, feel free to educate me in the comments!

Anyways, back on topic - it was time to hit the road to see some of the French countryside. I rented a car and drove from Paris > Juno Beach > Mont St Michel > St Malo > Dinan/Dinard > Vitré > Nantes and then hopped on a train back to Paris.

It was great to see some more of France on this jaunt and especially from a car instead of a train. I love train-travel, but a car gives you so much more flexibility and the means to see some little towns off the beaten path.

Our first stop was Courseulles-sur-Mer, a little seaside village situated beside Juno Beach - where the Canadian troops landed on D-Day in WWII. There was an outstanding museum dedicated to the role of Canada in the liberation of Europe. Particularly special to me was a couple of short videos describing the Liberation of Holland, as my grandparents were two of those liberated in the final stages of the war. In one video, a veteran spoke of the Dutch citizens and the gratitude they showed to the Canadians, contrasted with the lack of welcome they received from the French and Belgians. As my Opa often said of Canada's role, "the Dutch people will never forget".

After a night in Courseulles-sur-Mer, we moved down the coast to Mont St. Michel - an island fortification straight out of a fantasy novel. Click to make images bigger.

We stayed here for a night and then bombed down to St Malo for the next night. Another impressive, fortified town that was absolutely pummelled in WWII. Most of the buildings are post-1945.

From St. Malo, we made some serious tracks - hitting up Dinard, Dinan, and then ending the day in Vitré. I was really digging the strange, ethereal light in Dinard and I think I ended up with some keepers. I felt "in the zone", which is a rare feeling. When exploring new places with people who don't share my obsessive need to take pictures of every little thing, I often tell them to keep walking and I will catch up when I'm done. In Dinard, this lead to an awful lot of jogging on my part, as I was constantly being forced to stop by the scenes surrounding me, and I kept falling further and further behind the pack. Good way to work off those croissants, I suppose. Click images to embiggen.

I stayed the night in Vitré and caught the train back to Paris from Nantes the next evening. Too bad I didn't get more time in Nantes, as I quite liked it. The highlight maybe being the very surreal mechanical elephant. Click images to enlarge.