April 23, St Malo, Dinan to see Jecca

 First day without jackets!

   Today we walked to the Boulangerie de la Cathedrale and had coffee and croissants. Then, we walked the ramparts for about a mile.

    We drove to Dinan and parked in the port. It was actually hot today! Jecca was waiting for us at Le Roger Bontemps alongside the river. We all had the same specialty of the day, but added 8 oysters from Cancale to it. The presentation was gorgeous, starting with a Caesar Salad with anchovies.

That was followed by a pasta dish (shells) with gorgonzola cheese which was, as Jec said, it was an adult version of mac and cheese. That was followed by a rhubarb tarte with raspberries, crumbled cookies and some sort of vanilla creme fresh.

We basked in the sun and thoroughly enjoyed a leisurely French lunch. We all thought it was a special meal in a special place with people we love.

     Jec and Barbara climbed back to Jec's apartment and gathered a few clothes for us to take when we meet up again in June in London as she wants to carry as little as possible on her hike in Cornwall in two weeks.

    We drove back to St. Malo and waited to get a good parking spot (and we did). We went back to the butter store and got butter and two yogurts. Then, we went back to the Boulangerie de la Cathedrale for another baguette for dinner.

   A very good day.

April 22 Full Day in St Malo

  Today Barbara wasn't feeling great, so we had a quiet day. 

 

We went into the St. Malo Cathedral; it was significantly damaged in WWII, but has been rededicated and rebuilt in parts.  We walked down to the Bain aux Dames for coffee; it

overlooks the salt water swimming baths which were submerged today due to high tide. We saw them yesterday at low tide. There were lots of people with children digging in the sand and having fun.

After that, we walked around the ramparts and then along the corniche along the waterfront outside the ramparts. We are still so impressed by the wooden breakwaters. They are made of oak, 21 feet in height and there are about 3,000 of them. They were installed 200 years ago.

   We went to Bergamote for a late lunch, a highly rated Breton restaurant. Barbara had a salmon galette and Mark had a chicken pot pie and salad which was more like a quiche than an American-style pot pie. Delicious.

    We walked to La Maison Beurre Bordier, a famous butter store. We read all about butter, but did not buy any as we don't have storage, plus a 'stick' was about 15 Euros, too!

    We spent a few hours figuring out how to put Mark's photos into Barbara's iPhone library in order to put them into the blog. We think we may have figured it out!

     We took an evening walk. Mark got a baguette at the Boulangerie de la Cathedrale, recommended by Jecca and then got some cheese and ham to eat at the hotel. 

April 21 - On to St. Malo

   Today we had another hearty breakfast at La Maison Pavie and said farewell to the wonderful innkeeper, Katrine. The house was once owned by Monsieur Pavie who was a diplomat to Laos and Cambodia and decorated with many things from those countries. Two books that he wrote were in the sitting room, in fact.

Mark by some brakewater pole for scale

    Mark drove about 25 miles to St. Malo where we had to wait to find parking- an indication of just how popular this beach-side resort it. We are at La Maison des Armateurs on the Grand Rue. Coincidentally we are right across the street from where Jecca had a flat for two weeks! She was able to give us a lot of tips about what to do and where to eat.

     

An old picture of St. Malo

We wandered around and got our bearings somewhat. We walked a good deal of the ramparts facing the sea and little islands; we also walked down onto the beach. There are MILEs of wide, sandy beaches here. And, the tide is immense - 16 meters. There are a lot of signs warning people to pay attention to the tides. The breakwaters are made up of huge wooden poles. They stretch for as far as the eye can see - at least a mile. Jec said they are worried these tall, straight poles cannot be replaced with trees that tall and straight.

     St. Malo was largely destroyed in WWII by bombs and fire. It was occupied for a long time. (All the Light You Cannot See)  There was consideration of leaving the rubble as a memorial, but it was eventually decided to restore the city. However, it has never recovered its pre-war population. It obviously does not have the charm of the medieval town of Dinan, but the ramparts are impressive and the sea is enticing.

   

The Swimming Baths at high tide with diving platform

On the ramparts. Rocks and sand

 It is quite windy, but with beautiful blue skies.  People lined up for ice cream, many with winter clothes on and some in shorts. We had a generic pizza/salad dinner; most of the restaurants are closed on Mondays.  After dinner, we walked most of the ramparts we had not yet walked. There were people in the water then as the sun had come out and the tide was way out.

Tide is in

Tide is mostly in

   

April 20 - Dinan & Cancale (again)

  

A dessert crepe at Suzette's in Dinan

Today Jecca was able to eat with us at our guest house which was nice. From there, we walked onto the ramparts by the English Garden near our guest house. It is the part that looks down to the river.

Cloisters in Lehon

   Then, we walked to Jecca's apartment and put in a load of our wash. Barbara and Jecca walked to a store where Barbara bought a Brittany-style shirt. 

    We all then walked along more ramparts and up to the castle which was closed for the morning. 

       Together we booked a night in Lancaster for our last night with Jecca in England. 

     

Fish soup in Cancale

 We drove back to Cancale for more oysters for a late lunch. We shared a dozen and a half oysters - so so good - right out of the sea.

We all do love oysters!

Mark had a quite unique fish soup. Jecca had fish and chips and Barbara had salmon gravlax. All were good, but it was felt Barbara's meal was the best. We walked down the breakwater at Cancale and then to where oysters are sold in stall. It was interesting to watch the oyster farmers at work.

    

    

    

April 19 - Dinan Walk by River Rance

    

We had another hearty breakfast at our guest house and met up with Jecca mid-morning. We walked into the basilica Sainte Sauveur in our square. There are parts that go back to the 1100s. It is a bit of a hodge podge of architecture with different bits added in different centuries. It is beautiful.

   The weather is beautiful- sunny, but not hot - perfect for walking along a riverbank.

   

So, we drove down the hill to the Port and took a walking path to Lehon, about a 1.5 kilometer walk each way, along the River Rance. People went by in small electric boats which looked very peaceful. 

     It was a nice flat walk, in shade and sun. We heard birds, of course, including a common cuckoo. We didn't actually see the more unusual ones. 

    The town is known for its flowers and it did not disappoint - hibiscus, lilacs, wisteria, camellias, irises, flowering trees etc. 

    We had coffee and a snack at a cute coffee/tea shop in a lovely garden.

    We went into the the Magloire Abbey at Lehon. The area was first inhabited by Benedictine monks in the 9th Century. We walked into the beautiful abbey and into the cloisters where there were more flowers.

   Then, then walked back to Dinan.

   We had a picnic, brought by Jecca, on a bench in the old port. Dinan was once a major port, but the sea receded. The port is now lined by quaint old half-timber buildings and restaurants. After our lunch, Jecca and Barbara walked up Rue Jerzual (on which Jecca lives for two weeks) and Mark drove the car back to the parking garage.

      Later we met up at Moroccan restaurant where we had lovely meals. Barbara and Jecca had tagines; Mark had a couscous kabab combination.

      

Re-uniting with Jecca! April 18, 2026

  Dinan, St. Malo, Cancale

   Today, we had a very hearty breakfast (included at our guest house). Katrine is a very good host.

    Then, we drove about 35 minutes to St. Malo and parked outside the city walls where Jecca met us. She is traveling with just a backpack. It was SO great to see her; she looks so relaxed and happy.

1800 acres of oyster beds.

      Mark drove to Cancale, the French capital of oysters where there are 1800 acres of oyster beds, dating back to the Romans.

   

  First we hiked out toto La Pointe du Grouin. We looked out to rocky islands, even as far as Mount St Michel in the haze. 

     

 It was rather crowded as it was such a nice sunny Saturday. We ate on the water front and, of course, started with oysters which were amazing - right out of the sea. Mark and Jecca had a fish dish wrapped in thin pastry. Barbara had a seafood salad. All delicious.

      We strolled along the seafront where the tide was out; it has huge tides and the boats were on the ground.

Jecca at Rue Jerzual near her flat

      We went back to Dinan, parked and showed Jecca our guest house and then we walked with her to her apartment which is about a 4 minute walk. She has a lovely apartment in an old building. She will be happy there, we think. Mark walked back to our room and Jec and Barbara went to a Monoprix for Jec to shop for food.

     

 Later we met for dinner at a sushi restaurant.  A very good day.

Jecca in the sun waiting for us