Tags
cafe richard, claudine, cormorant, france, intra muros marche, Intra-Muros, Saint-Malo, tomato farcie
Still in catch up mode. Posting March 11 on March 14.
On Friday March 11 we walked on the ramparts to see the high tide. It was not as spectacular because the wind was calm. The water was extremely high as you would
very high tide
expect, but with the calm there was not much happening.
We stopped at the Hotel Quic-en-Groigne to say hi to Michel and Marie-Dominique the proprietors. They invited us into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Sandy commented on their cups which are marked “Cafe Richard” and he handed her a set of four. Our friend Richard in Winona will love having a set.
We stopped at the Carrefour City market for yogurt, bananas, and cranberry juice. Our next stop was back to the Intra-Muros market for small golden potatoes, a sweet potato, zucchini, pears, and oranges. The vendor reminded us that he would be on vacation next week. His wife was working with him today and she remembered us.
At 2:30 pm our friend Claudine Heleu arrived at our apartment. She and Sandy had arranged to spend some time together this afternoon. We visited for a while then went outside for a walk. She wanted to go to a tea salon and took me to Bergamote near the
raspberry dessert
Cathedral. It was a lovely place. We shared a pot of orange and ginger tea and considered the desserts. They had three choices today, a lemon meringue cake, a cream and raspberry cake, and a chocolate creation. We each chose the raspberry and it was delicious. It was so light it almost melted in your mouth yet had a cookie like crust. Phil would love the desserts. They are open for lunch and serve crepes, galettes, and omelette. We walked around the town looking at new shops and climbed the stairs to look at the sea. Around 17:00 Claudine thought she should head home and I walked her to the Porte Dinan where she had parked her car. It was a lovely afternoon and I enjoyed visiting with her. Her treat of tea and dessert were wonderful too.
Phil was off doing some errands in the afternoon. He made an appointment to see the local doctor next week. He also scheduled appointments for us to get hair cuts next week at the Gomina Coiffure.
After scheduling the appointments he went to the harbor. The tide was very low. The most interesting thing was the cormorant. The cormorant is a bird which can fly, but it feeds by floating on the water and then diving into the water to catch its food. It can
fishing boat unloading
stay underwater for quite a long time and will often resurface a long way from where it entered the water. Because the tide was out, the cormorant did not have to dive deep. So it made quite a few short little dives to get its food. There is almost always a cormorant in the harbor which makes it interesting to just sit on a bench and watch. Here are some pictures of the harbor.
You can always click on a picture to enlarge.
cormorant
fishing boat unloading
That cream and raspberry cake does look delicious. I like your blogs about the people you meet and how you seem to be developing new friendships with the other residents and the merchants. I am so envious of how easy you seem to make friends and maintain your friendships. Have you found it easier to do that in France than in the United States? Do the French go out of their way to make you feel more at home because they know you are foreigners?
I also like your shopping stories. I don’t always understand what items you are buying, but I enjoy the French names. When it comes to food, I am very basic…meat and potatoes, but the variety you buy and eat sounds very enticing.
I too am behind in your blogs, but hope to get back on track shortly.
Phil, are you watching the NCAA tournament results there? I should have sent you a sheet and you could have joined our small 4 person pool.
Hi Bill, no i have not been watching the NCAA tournament results. But I guess I will go with Obama and pick KU to win it all. We do appreciate your comments and the dialogue it generates. 🙂
I think it’s much easier to be friendly in this environment. In our town we don’t have a car, neither do the majority of people. So we’re not in and out of cars all day. Everyone walks. You see the same merchants, shopkeepers, neighbors every day. People are very polite and social here. You can hardly pass one person without them greeting you. The French people we see and talk to all want to practice their English. The majority of them recognize us from the last few years.