Mont St. Michel

Sunday, August 8

Cool morning but sunny --great weather for sightseeing and I know I will be doing lots of walking today. After a quick breakfast at the hotel with the usual two cups of cafe au lait, petit pains au chocolat and croissants, which never get boring since they taste so good, we are off. Our first stop is the fabulous Mont St. Michel. For a number of years Ross had a huge poster of Mont St. Michel in his classroom and always wanted to go there but each time we came to France it was not on our itinerary, we finally made it. From quite a distance you can see it and the closer you get the more spectacular it is. We parked the car in one of the many parking lots, which were already quite full even though it was only 9:15 in the morning. We had a look at one of a number of boards advising of the time of the tides. We noticed that since it was low tide there were a lot of people walking on the flood plain. We continued across the causeway and into the fortified town of Mont St. Michel. Cobblestone streets, stone walls, the enormus cathedral with statue of St. Micheal the Archangel high above. Although there are many tourist shops selling souvenirs and local products they have a massive presence of the stone dwarfs in the shops and the many tourists. We climbed and climbed stopping to look out at the magnificient views of the sea and inland, and also to catch our breaths. Many of the shops had pirate shirts and flags and pirate related names and I thought of my young friend Nathan whose imagination would certainly be captured by this place.

Although the smell of crepes and galettes was certainly tempting we continued on as our plan was to have lunch in our next stop, St. Malo. Besides the crowds in the little cobbled lanes were certainly getting thick.

Pulled open the sun roof on the car as the sun continued to shine and on the road again heading to St. Malo. This is where Jacques Cartier left to discover new lands and of course landed in our own Canada. There was a plaque in one of the upper streets of Mont St. Michel commemorating the place where the introduction of Cartier by the Bishop of St. Michel to King Francois happened. The town of St. Malo was so busy, filled with tourists and although they had many parking lots they were full. Of course, it is Sunday and everyone is out and around. But we were determined to find and spot and finally did even though it meant walking a way into the old city. The views of the sea are great, the old town ramparts and interior town is in fabulous shape with stone everywhere and cobbled streets. More pirate stuff! We wandered around the streets snapping pictures around every corner. How can you get tired of cobblestones? Time for lunch and we chose a restaurant on Rue Jacques Cartier, by this time we were quite hungry from the sea air and all the walking.

The restaurant was called La Taverne Breton and like most of the others in the town, offered the local foods. It is so interesting in Europe to see menus. They are very regional relying on the local foods --healthy and tasty. Not that you can't find a touristy place that offers their interpretation of hamburgers and of course there are always Italian pizzerias and pasta, but when in Rome. So, what is the local food in St. Malo - moules of course and galettes and crepes of every imaginable flavour. Both of us chose to start with the moules and they came in a huge bowl, steaming hot and delicious with butter and wine and parsely. I felt full by the time I finished the large portion but there was more. A galette, which is a crepe made of buckwheat flour, which for sure I am going to try to make on my return, and ours was stuffed with sliced pototatoes, bleu d'Auvergne cheese and finely minced walnuts. I was so full but I had to finish it it was too tasty to leave any. The cheese had melted and created a sauce which I just had to mop up with the edges of the galette. We ate every bit of it and we had also ordered dessert --crazy. Dessert was a thin crepe with just butter and sugar, my son's favourite way to eat them. A good thing we had a long walk back to the car --I need to work off some of these calories or I will be sleeping on the drive.

Off to Dinan just 40 kilometres away is a town I had read about years ago and it captured my attention as it was described as a beautifully preserved medieval town which held a great medieval festival each year -- they got me hooked. It has taken a few years to finally get here but better late than never! ....Checked in to the hotel and rested and then out again to explore this medieval jewel, silly me I should have worn my running shoes out. Cobblestones everywhere and steep lanes all heading down to the riverbanks. The walk down in sandals is not a good idea but too late to go back and change. The steep road down is at least a kilometre and I kept saying this better be good and also worrying about the climb back up. No worries the whole way was filled with charming shops, restaurants and ancient timbered houses. The homes that had fallen into ruin have been meticulously restored and the whole effect is one of going back in time.

Chose a restaurant half way up the cobbled slope on our return called La Fontaine du Jerzual. I was still hungry from my filling lunch and chose a Salade Paysanne. The word salade is often a misnomer in France as it was a full meal -- on a bed of tender bibb lettuce were hard cooked egg, lardons (yummy thick hand cut bacon) boiled potatoes and tomatoes all with a light delicious vinaigrette. Ross had andouillette sausage with frites, (how can you say no to frites in France?) and he even ate the green salad on the side. We washed it all down with a pichet of the local cider which was cold and quite good, just the right balance of sugar and a whiff of apple. Ross couldn't resist and had a crepe for dessert with creme chantilly. Good thing the rest of the walk back to the hotel is uphill