More Sights of Rennes, France

     I asked a French guy how to pronounce Rennes. He rolled the "R" heavily, and the "s" is silent. Sounds like "Wwwwrrrrrrrrren".  This little city has won my heart, and that's a huge compliment coming from someone who has no desire to see Paris.

     See all the fireplace flues? It's no wonder almost all the buildings have been masonry construction (more fireproof) for the last six or so centuries.

     This mason is crafting a wall with rocks and mortar. He's chipping away a stone with a hammer to make it fit.

 The doorways range from very elaborate . . . .

 

to semi-elaborate . . . .

to sublime . . .

and to simple but elegant.

And one can drive under buildings with a little car.

. . . and sometimes with a big car.

This drive-through has a lot of French ambience.

This is the Doge Ram ProMaster's daddy and momma, the Iveco.

Lots of European auto companies make these popular large vans.

Rennes is improving their subway system near a very old cathedral.

This outdoor food stall had me salivating.

I think these are open-faced panini on crusty thick bread slices, ready to be pressed to order. Center ones look like prosciutto, and the others look like cheese and pepperoni.

 And served with a bowl of soup, maybe potato and bacon soup??

All the bakeries look amazingly scrumptious with that French thing they sell so well, AMBIENCE.

This capital city has its share of official looking buildings. This is Saint Georges Palace.

This is the Place de la République.

This is the courthouse.

This is the Commerce Building. See the Sprinter?

The Visitors' Center is an old building, too. The ceiling looks at least 300 years old.

This is the entrance to the Visitors' Center.

 Lots of cathedrals and churches!

And inside St. Pierre's is a beautiful rotunda .. . .

and a beautiful pipe organ.

I'm hoping to hear Christmas music at one of these churches this weekend.

This is the Municipal Swimming Pool built in 1924.

     I swam there today with about 60 other swimmers, round-robin style -- very crowded, very limited lap swimming hours for too many lap swimmers. Males and females share the same showers (with bathing suits on), then walk to little 2x4 feet dressing stalls (on left and right side of pool) to change back into street attire. Two of those little stalls have a toilet for men or women. Unlike the USA, they certainly have solved the transgender bathroom issue  :)

     I am in awe of the old homes that still function today, probably as office buildings. I'm glad someone is taking care of them.

     I've noticed Christmas lights strung across all the streets, so hopefully tomorrow night, I'll stay awake and have Christmassy night photos to show you all.