A Nice Surprise in France...

Dinan, France

December 13, 2007
N48°27.018
W002°02.657

Our journey north through France continued a little before 11:00 AM. We only wanted to make it to a little town named Dinan. According to the map, the drive should be 150 KM; a little less than 100 miles. No problem, after being on the road for several hours yesterday, a two hour drive would be a breeze.

The view across the countryside was much more enjoyable today, especially since all of the fields were covered with frost. It was nice to look out of the car window, but I didn’t want to venture outside since the outside temperature registered at -1C; it definitely sounds warmer when you think of it as 31 degrees Fahrenheit.

Luckily, the drive was very easy (especially since I was the passenger) and we arrived in Dinan a little before 1:00 PM. We found a recommended guest house inside the old castle walls and set out to explore the town. The Old Town, or area within the castle walls, was built in the 14^th century; again reminding us how young our country is.

Dinan ended up being a quaint, picturesque, village we thoroughly enjoyed; taking us back to our visit of Cesky Krumlov. At night, the streets inside the castle walls were decorated for Christmas, thousands of lights and trees illuminated our way. We finished our night in at a local pub that has been in business for over 20 years and enjoyed a pint of a French stout and the company of the bartender and a couple locals.

We enjoyed our time in Dinan, even if was only for one night, it was one of those little surprises we’ll look back upon fondly.