Paris to Normandy--St Malo

Casa Grande, Arizona
Leisure Valley RV Resort

It's all a blur but I'll try and finish the blog about our fantastic Grande Circle trip from Paris to Normandy.

After the tour of the Caen Memorial we traveled through some beautiful countryside.  Normandy and Brittany are quite a contrast compared to Paris.  Our hotel was the Hotel De Courtoisville in St. Malo.  

Isabelle, our program director, gave us a walking tour of the area surrounding the hotel.  George, Linda, Bill and I walked up to a restaurant for dinner.  If you aren't familiar with France, you might not know that dinner is served sometime after 7 pm.  Restaurants do not open before that hour and also require a reservation.  We walked to a restaurant where we could see someone inside but no one sitting at a table.  We walked in and a very nice lady greeted us and said they don't open until 7 pm.  It was probably around 6:30 pm.  She said no problem we could sit at a table until 7 since it was cold outside.

She came and took our drink order and came back with our drinks and two plates of salmon appetizers.  Our meal was great and when we asked her for our check (you can stay as long as you want) she came with four after dinner drinks.  No charge for the appetizers or after dinner drinks.

The following morning we had another local guide give us a tour of St. Malo, a walled city that dates back to the Middle Ages.  The tour included a tour of a corsair's home.  The house was about a city block long.  

This is the oldest house in St. Malo.

St. Malo was protected by the sea and the walled fortress.  






After our tour of St. Malo we climbed back on the bus for a tour of nearby Dinan.  We had an included lunch at a creperie that served a mug of cider and traditional crepes.  


Before we arrived at Dinan, our guide directed the bus driver to a small quaint fishing village called St. Suriac.  He gave us another walking tour of the village.  This parish is very impressive for such a tiny village.


George found a French fishing hat, like Bill's Greek one.  I think it looks great on him.





The following morning we rode the bus to the tiny village of Mont St. Michel. Here's a view from the bus window.

A causeway connects the island to the mainland.  A tram takes you over to the causeway and you walk from it to the inside.  There are only a handful of people who live in Mont St. Michel.


Our view of Mont St. Michel was awesome as it was high tide when we approached it.  We met two local guides as they wanted to keep the groups small when we climbed up to the Abbey.  

Once again we were happy that before the trip, Anne suggested we bring walking sticks.  I didn't know if I could make it to the top but decided to try anyway.  

 I'm afraid I didn't get too many photos as we were using the walking sticks. Note the entrance behind me has a moat and draw bridge just like you see in the movies.

And up we climbed.....

The view was fantastic.

Notice that the tide is starting to go out now.  The red box around George's neck is "the whispers".  They ensure that you hear everything the guide tells you--now remembering is something else.

Linda always takes a great photo.  George really likes his new hat.

We thought we were done climbing, but there was more.

We're smiling because we all managed to make that climb. We guessed it was something like 900 steps at a mountain like angle.

I wish I could capture in a photo the size of this structure.

I've taken a couple hundred photos every day and this day wasn't an exception.

We took the rampart down. It was very steep!

I can see why this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

It's a beautiful place.

A short tram ride took us back to the restaurant.  This photo was inside the restaurant and a view from our table.  Our choice for lunch was an omelette or salmon and of course a choice of wine.  Those that chose the salmon where also given a sample of the omelette.

I can't understand why anyone would use such a tiny cup for coffee until I tried it and found out how strong it was.

Here's our last view of Mont St. Michel as we leave on the bus.

On our way to Cancale we stopped for a short tour of a German cemetery. It includes graves of WWII soldiers and women and children that died in the  invasion.

Here's another few of the crypts.

Now we are on our way to Cancale "the oyster capital of the world".  Notice the tide is out in this photo.

I was amazed to hear how they "grow" the oysters.

Now I've never bought oysters, but I think 4 Euro a dozen for fresh, really fresh, oysters is a deal.  

I had tried oysters before on this trip, but none that tasted as good as these.

We didn't stop at one.

Linda tried them and went back for seconds.

Cancale was picture postcard perfect.

I learned the word "deviation" on French signs.  Our poor bus driver said he'd drive along the coast and sand dunes on the way back to St. Malo.  Every time he made a turn there was a deviation sign because they were doing some road repairs.  In one place he backed the bus up about a block. He also showed us the tube he has to breath into before the bus will start.  They don't tolerate drivers who even had one beer. 

After we returned, Grand Circle had a farewell party.  Blackcurrant wine with cidre was served for our toasts.

That's Isabelle, our post trip program director, next to Bill.





I'll try and finish the trip blog tomorrow.  Just too tired right now.

Turtle Safely.......