Into the interior after a quick look at the coast.: Dol de Bretagne to Combourg
Brittany has the reputation as the rainiest part of France. This morning, though, it wasn't raining and I went across the street from the hotel for breakfast of coffee and croissant. You can get breakfast in most hotels, but the question is whether its cheaper in a bar or worth it in the hotel. I don't eat much at breakfast, so for me the buffet with its ham, cheese, cereal, cakes, etc. is just not worth it if the price is more than, say, eight or nine euros. And for that price I should at least get orange juice. This morning the prices at the hotel didn't look too favorable so across the street I went.
After breakfast I rode north toward the coast. The sky was a dull grey and the weather report called for more rain, but it remained dry as I cruised across the very flat marshland to Le Vivier sur Mer. I turned left in town for Cancale, a few kilometers further up the coast.
Cancale is a lovely old fishing port and from the southeast you get a great view of the upper and lower towns. The grades are very steep getting down to the water, so I stayed on the road to the upper town. I really didn't want to lug my fully loaded bike back up the hill from the harbor!
As the tide was going out, there were some few brave souls trying these sail buggys. Still a few hours to low tide and the wide expanse of beach that means, though.
Mont St. Michel is getting closer, although I won't be going there this trip. In the summer season it can be a two or three hour wait to get into the monastery on the island, even early in the morning.
It was going on noon by the time I got back to Le Vivier, so I looked for a restaurant with a noon special. The "Eveil des Sens" had just what I wanted.
I ordered the special and a glass of this wine. Any relation, I wonder? (Domaine Klein) I've actually visited the domain with Sue, on one of our nearly annual trips to the Alsace.
Sinful dessert of ice cream and meringue with raspberry sauce and almond flakes. Meringue is what happens to the egg whites left over from making mayonnaise, at least as Sue does it.
Lunch safely tucked away, I headed south back to Dol. The rain finally started in earnest, so I ducked into the railway station to see if there was a train going my way, but alas, it was just leaving. So onward I went, stopping in a bus shelter to don my rain poncho. I must not have gotten my pannier properly latched because a few kilometers later, when the rain had eased and I stopped to look at the map, I noticed that it was open and my jacket was missing. Oh, damn! I rode back along the way I had come and with a stroke of luck saw the missing jacket caught in the weeds by the side of the road. Pannier safely latched, I continued on my intended way to Combourg.
I booked into a hotel in Combourg. From my window I looked out on a statue of Chateaubriand, the town's most famous son. Just behind him you can see the garden wall of the family summer house where he spent his youth.
The rain continued to alternate with sun as the afternoon drew to a close. I asked the hotel staff if their restaurant was open in the evening and they told me yes, but when I went down for supper, it was full! With no place to eat in my hotel, I went across the square in front to the other hotel in town for a light supper, and then retired back to my room for the night.
Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles) Total: 307 km (191 miles)
