April 25 - A day in Bayeux

 

Today we stayed in Bayeux all day. After a sumptuous breakfast, served by the owner, Frank, we took a walk into the center of town and then along the Auge, the small river here. It was not as long a walk as we'd thought or hoped. 

It was lovely weather and we listened to lots of birds, but didn't manage to see most of them flitting about in the trees. But, we did see a beautiful grey wagtail in the river and we did see a Common Chafinch. We heard a lot of blue tits, but, try as we could, never saw one.

When we spotted the wagtail, a French woman was also interested and we got to talking. She pointed us to the farmer's market, so we walked there and bought fresh strawberries, asparagus, cheese of Normandy (Liverot), baguette and some of the yogurts made in St Malo that we so liked - even Mark who is not a big fan of yogurt.

   We strolled "home" to our room in the tower and microwaved the asparagus and had a lovely lunch. We both liked the cheese, which is a bit like Camembert, but harder and a little stronger.

    We also talked to Nick as it is his 53rd birthday today.

    After a short rest, we walked out again, this time to the Cathedral (another Notre Dame)  which was dedicated in 1077 (!) by Odo, the half-brother of William the Conquerer who was the bishop here. It is a huge cathedral and so very old. We did not stay long as Barbara had a migraine coming and we went back to the guesthouse. We had a quiet evening of reading, corresponding and blogging. 

  

April 24 - on to Bayeux

    We left St. Malo at almost noon, taking another walk along the ramparts and having our morning coffee and croissants where we bought them yesterday. We also revisited the butter store and bought more delicious yogurt. Mark got a photo of the little butter shop which escaped the destructive bombing which was all around it.

     We really enjoyed our time in St. Malo. It is walkable and, with the huge tidal changes, the scenes are every changing and mesmerizing.

      Once again, we had a gorgeous, sunny day with blue skies. We drove about two hours and had our picnic in St. Lo. We didn't find a great place to eat there but did find a bench along the river.

      From there, it was about half an hour to Bayeux. Wow- another beautiful town which largely escaped the destruction of WWII. (Again, but it did not escape the suffering.)

     We are at another old guest house, dating to the 15th Century. And, we are in the tower! We found a parking spot (free) not too far from the guesthouse, Le Manoir St. Victoire.  Once again, we are up two flights of stone spiral stairs, but the friendly owner kindly carried our suitcases up. This was a great pick! We can see the large and beautiful Bayeux Cathedral, which is immense, from our window.

     

 We took a walk and fot our bearings. We visited the Cathedral quickly. (We will return tomorrow) Then, we found a Carrefour and got a few provisions. There is a lovely little river running through the town. Then, we walked back to our guesthouse and at baguette, cheese, ham, the best butter ever (St Malo!) and a yogurt in our room. 

        Another fantastic day.

         

      

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.

Mark at Boulangerie de la Cathedrale in St. Malo

You could still walk out there - but risky!

    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.

On the ramparts looking down

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.