Page 86 - Traveling 71 eng

THROUGH FRENCH BRITTANY
Manena`s
window
Travel Anecdotes
By: Manena Munar manena.munar@gmail.com
“Those little things…” as Joan Manuel Serrat would sing, are what remain in
our memory after a journey. When we remember them, a smile returns to
our face, or perhaps a tear, or even bursts of laughter. I would like to take a
few of those moments from my travel chest and share them with you
Driving with a friend through the spectacular
landscapes and charming towns of French
Brittany
Before I start recounting the many anecdotes and amusing moments from
my Breton adventure, I must say that most, if not all, of them were thanks
to the company of a friend and colleague who was entertaining and witty.
Testing the cool waters of the Atlantic
In the hands of GPS...
The journey in question was to be taken
by car, taking turns at the wheel—someti-
mes her, sometimes me. Travelling by car
sounds comfortable and practical, but reali-
ty has its quirks: dodging bicycles, finding a
parking spot, locating the meter, figuring out
how much to pay, how to feed the coins—or
worse—how to make the card reader work
and calculate the time. One would assume
at least one of us would be good at this sort
of mundane task. But no—we were perfectly
matched in our confusion, and it cost us more
than a few sighs.
The adventure began in Rennes, the capital
of Brittany: a university city and the gateway
to that Breton sea which appears and disa-
ppears under the spell of extraordinary tides.
In places like Mont Saint Michel or Saint-Ma-
lo, the beaches transform into football fields,
cycling lanes or walkers’ paradises—only to
be reclaimed by the sea with no warning, as if
to say, “This far and no further,” covering it all
up as if nothing had ever been there
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