Dinan - A jewel on the Rance.

Dinan is the most wonderfully picturesque town I have ever seen. It is still almost entirely surrounded by city walls and towers and the old town centre with its medieval timbered houses and narrow cobbled streets has been largely preserved. Our apartment is in a building that is snuggled up to the outside of the ramparts, right next to the Jerzual Gate which was once the main entrance to the city. There is a steep road running from this gate down to the old port, on the River Rance. We walk everywhere and even a trip to Monoprix supermarket for milk is like an adventure in time travel. When I look out our apartment window, if it weren't for the car parked down in the sqaure below and the ocassional TV antennae, the view could well be from the 13th or 14th century.

Shopping is fun as it is mostly conducted in French. A few people speak a little English but we have had quite a lot of conversational French practice with the locals. Australians are a bit of a rarity in Dinan as most tourists are from the UK or other parts of France. There are lovely shops here and lots of artists studios selling ceramics, paintings or glassware. There are also some divine clothes! Everything is very good quality and very tasteful by Australian standards. Even the fashions in Monoprix (which is sort of the equivalent of Target or KMart) are much nicer than what we could get at home. For those of you who are fashion gurus, I can tell you that the colour for next winter in Australia will be purple! It is everywhere in the shops here now - all shades from deep plum through to heather and fuschia.