Josselin's Giant

Not quite as ancient as yesterday, but Rochefort En Terre is a pretty little village which is determinedly remaining a pretty little village marked by an absence of telegraph poles or modern road signs. Mind you, the stream of cars through the village is somewhat limiting on that Olde Worlde retention, but the place is undeniably beautiful, crooked chimneys and all.

Jossinel, a bit further north, hosts this, the finest castle in Brittany, on a site originally built on in 1008, and the short French guided tour of a few of the rooms on the ground floor of this still-in-use-as-a-family-home chateau was a nice glimpse into the history.

A day of spinning about around the place, with horrid grey light, occasional drizzle, but temperatures upwards of 20 degrees giving a muggy storm-is-coming feel (though the storm never came...). Still in Jossinel we climbed the tower of the large church in the town centre, for an on-high view of the castle. Most of the entertainment then came from the various, slightly odd, gargoyles around the church. Monkey riding a sheep anyone? Or a, anatomically correct pooch? How about a knight being eaten then?

We struck for the coast afterwards, taking in a distant view of Lorient, which as the guidebook describes, looks pretty much like a concrete wasteland. In fairness to the place it was used by the Germans a a submarine base during the war and so was virtually flattened by the Allies during the war, ergo it's rebuilt 50s modernity. Bit of a contrast to Rochefort en Terre in the morning.... Oh, and despite the place being levelled it appears that the Allies managed to completely miss the submarine bays.