After our visit to the incredible Mont Saint-Michel, the tour bus took us to the fortified city of Saint-Malo. That was also our evening destination for a truly enjoy able dinner at Restaurant Le Pritania in Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine.
The following two paragraphs are from wikipedia.
Saint-Malo during the Middle Ages was a fortified island at the mouth of the Rance River, controlling not only the estuary but the open sea beyond. The promontory fort of Aleth, south of the modern centre in what is now the Saint-Servan district, commanded approaches to the Rance even before the Romans, but modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the 6th century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of Brendan, Saint Malo or Maclou.
Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of the corsairs, French privateers and sometimes pirates. In the 19th century this “piratical” notoriety was portrayed in Jean Richepin’s play Le flibustier and in César Cui’s eponymous opera. The corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute, but also brought wealth from further afield. Jacques Cartier, who sailed the Saint Lawrence River and visited the sites of Quebec City and Montreal – and is thus credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo, as did the first colonists to settle the Falklands – hence the islands’ French name Îles Malouines, which gave rise to the Spanish name Islas Malvinas.
If you’ll note the above paragraph, the founders of Quebec City and Montreal came from Saint Malo. My brother remarked that since Saint-Malo tries to be independent and fly it’s own flag, it’s no wonder the Quebecois are separatists. I guess there’s an element of truth to that statement. However, given the centuries old rivalry and differences between the English and the French, not to mention the Protestant vs Catholic schism, a cultural bifurcation of Canada was inevitable. The fact these early explorers came from Saint-Malo is just more fuel on the flame.
We arrived outside the fortification and entered the city. Elaine and I took advantage of our free time to roam the streets and also take a walk along the tops of the fortified walls.
As always, feel free to peruse the rest of the photos from Saint-Malo and Dinard.
