Breezing Through Brittany (And Rocking
in Rennes!)
You don't really need a reason to visit
France; it seems only natural. A desire to see what many consider the most
romantic city on earth---Paris---makes France the world's #1 travel destination.
There is, of course, an immense amount of adventure waiting beyond the
City of Light in lesser-explored parts of the country like Brittany, a
vast region in the country's northwest. The Trans Musicales Festival, held
annually in Brittany's capital city, Rennes, served as my introduction
to this diverse and beautiful area.
BONJOUR, RENNES!
 Although
a little off the beaten path, Rennes (pronounced "ren") is surprisingly
easy to get to. Air France has direct flights to Paris from many U.S. cities
and from there you can use Rail Europe's France Rail Pass to get pretty
much anywhere in the country. Charles de Gaulle International Airport conveniently
has a train station attached to it so you can be on your way shortly after
getting off the plane. Heading for Rennes, the train passes through the
scenic Loire Valley en route to Brittany, making several stops including
at Le Mans, the city that loaned its name to the famous auto endurance
race.
The train pulls into the station at Rennes,
in the heart of the city, about three hours after leaving Paris. There's
a hotel attached to the station and many others are within easy walking
distance and no matter which one you choose you'll be among busy restaurants,
lively taverns and tempting bakeries. A number of colleges draw legions
of youths to Rennes so there is always plenty to do for the young or the
young at heart. Among the most highly anticipated annual events held in
Rennes is the Trans Musicales de Rennes, a three-day music festival held
every December.
TRANS MUSICALES
The Trans Musicales festival is mostly held
at the Rennes airport where stages are set up inside several huge airplane
hangars. The airport is on the edge of town but a shuttle-bus service will
have you there in a little under half an hour. Your ticket allows for entry
into any of the night's shows and there are generally three acts performing
simultaneously.
On the first night that I went, in 2007,
I had barely made my first round of the hangars and already I had enjoyed
sets by Scottish rockers the View, an eccentric French/Finnish band called
the Do and some rousing hip-hop from Galactic with Chali 2Na, Lyrics Born
and Boots Riley. Everybody gets a program as they enter the venue so you
know who's playing where and at what time but it's hard to make a decision!
My philosophy is to wander and see as many acts as possible. How can you
choose when the possibilities include the XX Teens, local favorites French
Cowboy, the Willowz and Jamaican reggae superstar U Roy?
The Do
Of course part of the fun is hearing bands
that are completely new to you. That's what I tried to accomplish on my
second night at the festival. I stopped in to hear Rodrigo y Gabriela but
I also managed to sample some unknowns; an amazing guitar-oriented rock
band from England called the Whip, teenaged American popsters Tiny Masters
of Today and French keyboards-and-drums duo Curry and Coco. That's the
kind of diversity you can expect at any given Trans Musicales---bands of
all types and statures from all over the world.
Spotlight on the Whip's Bruce Carter
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Curry & Coco
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The shows start late and go on until the
wee hours of the morning and if you like to drink copious amounts of alcohol
you will not be alone here (good thing you're taking the shuttle bus back
into town!) I always try to wear clothing with lots of pockets when I go
to a festival like this so I have plenty of room to stash swag like CDs,
stickers and buttons, music magazines, etc. I found someone who spoke English
at just about every vendor's booth or information stand and there are enough
of these to keep you busy for a couple of hours. Besides the shows at the
airport there is one other venue that hosts Trans Musicales and that is
La Cite, back in town close to where the hotels are. This venue is within
walking distance of the train station area hotels (or a short cab ride
if you prefer) and you need to pay a separate admission price here. It
is reserved for acts that will draw the largest crowds; in 2007 the buzz
at La Cite was all about British songbird Kate Nash. This festival is one
of the most fun music blow-outs I've ever been to! Since it's three days
of all-nighters though, the key thing is to pace yourself! In 2008 Trans
Musicales will be celebrating their 30th anniversary (December 4, 5, and
6) so the party will be bigger and better than ever. www.lestrans.com
AU REVOIR RENNES
There is plenty to do in Rennes that you can
do on foot and a lot of things that you'll want to experience during the
day while you're waiting for the festival to open in the evening. Every
place I ate at whether it was fancy or casual had incredible food and an
equal amount of personality. Take the restaurant Le Galopin for example.
The food here is delicious and mid-priced and the service is impeccable.
The place is relatively small and most of the tables have a good view of
happy pedestrians strolling down the tree-lined street. Between bites you
may notice that the restaurant is decked-out with paintings of radishes
and other radish decorations. It turns out that the restaurant owner has
a fondness for the pungent root, for no particular reason, and has painted
them and otherwise been fascinated by them his entire life. It seems everywhere
you look in Rennes there is a similar story to be heard. Regardless, before
you leave town make sure to indulge in a bakery or two, visit the city's
modern design showcase of a library and take a walk through the oldest
part of town where a portion of the ramparts of this once walled city remain.
And by all means talk to people! There's plenty to see in the rest of Brittany
though, so get your Rail Europe pass back out or rent a car and get ready
to get blown away!
TO THE SAVAGE COAST!
Okay, I made a little joke about being blown away. Indeed the scenery throughout
Brittany is spectacular but the region is also often buffeted by high winds.
It is so blustery along the coastline that in places like Saint Malo a
favorite pastime is the sport of beach sailing. Saint Malo is on Brittany's
north coast about forty miles due south of Britain's Channel Island of
Jersey. Saint Malo was at one time a fortified city and a stroll along
the surviving ramparts provides incredible views out to sea as well as
in towards the city. If you want to try your hand at beach sailing but
have never ridden one of the sail-powered sand schooners there are a couple
of places here that will set you up and teach you how to do it. Be careful
though; there's enough wind power to blow you to Belgium! A less physically-demanding
activity is a guided tour of "The Privateer's House," a building that was
once the home of the infamous privateer (a sort of naval mercenary) and
merchant Francois-Auguste Magon. The home is filled with artifacts that
belonged to Magon and other remnants of the day; the building itself is
a remarkable bit of architecture considering that it contains hidden rooms
and secret passages. The tour here is given in French but I would recommend
it even if you go without a translator---the gentleman who gives the tour
is extremely animated and he alone is well worth the price of admission.
Your next stop after Saint Malo should be nearby Dinan.  Dinan
is the ultimate in walled cities; here everything is in tact and you could
easily spend a full day lazily wandering the expansive ramparts. The "lower
level" of the town includes a small business district with a tourist information
center and many quaint shops and you can find a place here to have a hearty
lunch. The pace in Dinan is slow and relaxing and the surroundings naturally
inspire daydreams of days long gone by---blink and you're transported to
medieval times! After you've soaked up the history of Dinan it's time to
roll on to the grand finale of your whirlwind (there's that little pun
again) tour of Brittany; the Cote Sauvage! The Cote Sauvage, or Savage
Coast, is a stretch of Brittany's Atlantic Ocean coastline adjacent to
the city of Quiberon. The city sits on a peninsula so it has beach access
on two sides---one that's calm and one that's not. The constant breeze
makes Quiberon another good place to beach sail but you really need to
take a drive out along the rugged coast and see how the Savage Coast got
its name. A winding road follows the coast closely and there are many pull-offs
where you can get out and take a hike to either the beach or to a cliff-side
overlook. Up high on the cliffs you can really appreciate why ancient mariners
gave this area such a name---the sea roils constantly and smashes into
the rocks with such force that it sends pieces of lichen flying through
the air like snow. It is quite a sight to see clouds of this stuff billowing
through the area. If you get splashed with this foam (you will) don't worry
it is harmless and washes off easily. Don't wear a hat without a chinstrap
up on the cliffs, though, unless you're tired of owning it! Like everyplace
we've visited so far, Quiberon has some great eateries, many of which will
fill you up with all kinds of local seafood. Somewhere along the line make
sure you try a Breton crepe; they're made out of buckwheat in Brittany
and they are mighty good.
THE MYSTERY OF CARNAC
Very near Quiberon you will find the small village of Carnac. This is the
home of row after row of ancient stone monoliths. The boulders of varying
size are not natural occurrences; they were placed there by an unknown
culture for an unknown reason. Driving many of Carnac's roads you'll be
right alongside huge fields filled with rows of the monoliths stretching
into the distance. These areas are all fenced-off but there is an interpretive
center with an adjacent path where you can get up close to some of the
stones. Otherwise, make sure not to cross into the protected area as that
is against the law. Now you have one more thing to think about as you head
back to Paris to catch your flight home. How the heck did they do that,
and why? Let me know if you figure it out.
www.brittanytourism.com
www.discoverbrittany.com
www.raileurope.com
www.airfrance.com
tell
a friend about this review
.
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