Rennes-le-Château and Rennes-les-Bains

In the place de Deux Rennes is "The Clock" café.

  It's very friendly, in a French style, and all are welcome. 

 Lots of dogs, lots of ordinary people, lots of French everyday life, shady, pleasant and serving good wine.

Then I noticed the three flower-tubs in the square were carved in a Visigothic design with a religious significance, for you know this grape design symbolised Jesus as the true vine?  I wondered what Pierre Plantard would have thought, certainly his writings implied Jesus would come back to Rennes-les-Bains, as did the writings by Henri Boudet. Later,  in July, the tubs were full of flowers.

Most people sit outside the café, especially the tourists, and so they never know what treasures are to be found inside.  It's an artist's studio!  The owner Bruno, quite a local character, is also an artist.

  It all started when an author called Regine Salvat wrote a novel,  Le mystère de la femme à l'Oiseau (the mystery of the bird woman), set in Rennes-les-Bains.  Two of the characters in it were based on real people who lived in the village, one of whom was Bruno. Bruno found himself famous overnight as Basile and it has stared a new career for him.

 In quiet moments he paints.  Many of his pictures reflect the mysticism of the area.

Here's the Angel of Bugarach, the upside-down mountain, and Isis from Egypt.
  And he works very quickly.  Just a month later he had many new pictures displayed.

 
Who knows what you might find in the garden of Bruno's heart?

  So visiting Chez Bruno is great fun.  Snacks are available and he also serves an excellent rosé, in nice large glasses.  We had fun with a mini-photo session, of which the rosé was the star!

       

Chin chin! as the English say.

December 2013.  Bruno has re-organised things for Christmas and will be open for festivities, especially on the 24th - Christmas Eve.  Here's Trebha's photo.

 

    And Bruno's latest creation.

  Of course I sit out in the sunlit "Place de Deux Rennes" many times throughout the year, in front of Bruno's café.  Thursday lunchtime is the best - it's market day, and "everybody" is around.