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the week ending June 30, 2019 – la semaine se terminant le 30 juin 2019

30 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by philipdenotto in 2019-France

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

bacs, bank of france, bastion de la hollande, boules, brittany ferries, canicule, carrefour city, chennevières-sur-marne, chez marcel, condor ferry, corsaire ferry, fleur-de-lis, haircuts, heatwave, jardiland, mahe de la bourdonnais, mole, secours catholique, Shara, trehouart

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lundi 24 juin 2019 – Monday June 24, 2019

It was raining when we woke up so we chose not to purchase fresh croissants for breakfast. The forecast for this week is extremely hot. A heatwave (“canicule” in French) is coming up from the Sahara desert. The forecast for Paris is high temperatures of 33C to 39 C (91F-102F) for six days. The forecast for here in Saint-Malo is 21C to 33C (69F-87F) with only two days being hot. There are few buildings air conditioned in France. The newer major hotels are air conditioned, but many older ones are not. Saint-Malo is located on the ocean or English Channel in the northwest of France. We almost always have a breeze, usually from the north or northwest which keeps it cool. When the wind is from the south or southeast, it is much warmer. Our apartment building is made of granite. We have shutters similar to hurricane shutters on all of our windows. When it is hot, we keep the windows and shutters closed and the apartment is fairly comfortable. It almost always cools off at night. We’ll see as the week continues. The high today was 19C (66F).

In the middle of the afternoon, tea time, our friends from upstairs came for tea. Denise and her son Gilles, age 62, brought a bouquet of fleur-de-lis. I didn’t have a vase that was tall enough, so Denise went upstairs to loan one of hers to us. We had a lovely conversation of French mixed with English for about 90 minutes. Denise and Gilles live in Chennevières-sur-Marne
which is a southeastern suburb of Paris.

  • Fleur-de-Lis in Dennis’s vase
  • Fleur-de-Lis in Sandy’s vase

You can click on a photo to see a larger image.

We had a bowl of chili for dinner that Sandy had made over the weekend. Different from the USA, but delicious!

We took a walk out on the mole, watched the Condor ferry depart and headed for home as it started to rain.

mardi 25 juin 2019 – Tuesday 25, June 2019

Sandy wanted to shop at our Intra-Muros marché before we did anything else today. She bought a melon, appears to be a small cantaloupe, but the variety is “Bowl of Honey.” She also bought brown mushrooms. They are similar in size to the white mushrooms sold in the USA, but have a stronger taste. Delicious when cooked with chicken. She also bought a lot of fresh fruit; cherries, peaches, and apricots.

Next we took the bus to the gare, waited for a #5, then took it up the hill, past the hospital to the Tréhouart stop. We were on our way to the Secours Catholic boutique and depot. We had a difficult time last year finding the new location that they moved to. We wandered through all kinds of neighborhoods, up steep hills and were hot by the time we located the building. Secours Catholic is the French version of a Catholic Charities shop or the Community Action House General Store in Holland. In three rooms are clothing for men, women, children, purses, shoes, small bags, and household linens. Sandy wanted another table cloth for our dining room table. The one we are currently using is similar to oil cloth purchased at a market in 2012. She also purchased aprons for Phil and herself. We wear aprons at church in Holland and thought it would be nice to have our own. She was also looking for a tall vase, so she could return Denise’s vase to her. We were directed downstairs to the depot. The depot is where breakable items are sold in addition to a few articles of clothing, shoes, beds, etc. They had several vases that were the correct size and we chose one made in Portugal. We also spotted an oven mitt and a decorative glass cutting board. Today is the final day the Secours Catholic boutique is open until September. Since we leave on September 1, this will be our one and only visit until next year. Au revoir jusqu’à l’année prochaine.

On our walk to and from the Secours Catholic we saw several flowers which were worth taking pictures of.

  • Sandy looking at the Pôle Surcouf which houses the Secours Catholic
  • flowers on our walk to/from
    Secours Catholic
  • flowers on our walk to/from
    Secours Catholic
  • flowers on our walk to/from
    Secours Catholic
  • flowers on our walk to/from
    Secours Catholic
  • flowers on our walk to/from
    Secours Catholic
  • flowers on our walk to/from
    Secours Catholic

The temperatures are still unbearable in most of France. The high temperature here in Saint-Malo was 20C (68F).

In the afternoon we took a walk out Port Saint-Louis to the môle (breakwater). It was a nice day and resulted in some pretty good photos.

  • planting flowers at the statue of Mahé de la Bourdonnais
  • Brittany Ferry in the harbor
  • Plage du Môle
  • Fort on Petit Bé
  • curve of the mole (breakwater)
  • swimming pool and sail boats
  • Grand Bé and Intra-Muros
  • Corsaire Ferry and Petit Bé
  • the harbor
  • Bastion de la Hollande

We had chicken, ratatouille, risotto and mushrooms for dinner. Chez Sandy restaurant! Delicious!

chicken, ratatouille, risotto and mushrooms

mercredi 26 juin 2019 – Wednesday 26 June, 2019

We planned to go grocery shopping today but had to make a stop at the doctor’s office on the way. Phil realized last night that he was having problems with his ear. While we were in Paris he had trouble with it for a day but it improved. Today we needed to make an appointment with the doctor. The receptionist remembered us from previous years. He was given an appointment for 11h40 and we were on our way to the local Intermarche store. When we boarded the bus, our neighbor Jean-Michel was there and he and Phil chatted until our stop. We were able to buy everything on our list today except for Cheerios. They had Cheerios two weeks ago, but nothing today.

We took the groceries home, put everything away and walked to the doctor’s office. The office only took cash in the past but today had a machine for credit cards. The diagnosis was an outer ear infection so we needed to fill a prescription for antibiotics. The pharmacy near the Carrefour City was still open at 12h15 (stores normally close between 12h and 14h for lunch) and we had the prescription in less than 5 minutes. The antibiotic is a powder that needs to be mixed with water before taking. Let’s hope they work!

After lunch we watched Alain play boules for a few minutes. The temperature was 23C (74F). It is warm in the sun but still a nice breeze blowing in the shade. All schools were closed in Paris today due to the extreme heat of 38C (100F) since school isn’t out for the summer until next week, and none of them are air conditioned.

boules court

After the boules match we walked to the harbor to watch the boats. The Corsaire Ferry was approaching the ramp on its return from Dinard.

Corsaire Ferry returning from Dinard.

jeudi 27 juin 2019 – Thursday 27 June, 2019

The forecast for all of France, except around us in Brittany, was for another day of the heatwave (a “canicule” in French). Our peak temperature was 28C (82F). Sandy had made arrangements to see Christine, her tutor, an hour earlier due to the heat. As with most things here, the buses are not air conditioned and they are hot.

Phil took the same bus and picked up a few items at E.Leclerc hypermarché.

After lunch, they watched Alain play boules for about 30 minutes. There was still a nice cool breeze in the shade. This is the first year that other boules players have acknowledged us and a few are even initiating conversation. After 8 years, they must have decided we’re okay.

We had our first haircuts of the summer later. The owner of the shop, Studio 3, cut both of our hair. Sandy took photos with her from last year to help the stylist. We were both pleased with our haircuts.

vendredi 28 juin 2019 – Friday 28 June, 2019

Today, we felt the heat. The forecast is for a high of 34C (93F). We have kept our windows closed and the shutters and curtains drawn when the sun faces the windows. Our second bedroom, dining room, and living room windows face east. The kitchen, shower room, and our bedroom face west. We always have daylight coming from one side of the apartment even with the shutters down.

After breakfast and a trip to the Intra-Muros marché we took a walk on the beach. Low tide was around 9h30 so the sand was fairly hard and dry an hour later. The temperature was great, low 20’s and the wind was blowing. We came across a fairly large group of people all digging in the sand. A closer look showed about 7 teams, with around 5 people on each team.

Bank of France employees from Paris in the team building exercise.

The man who appeared in charge was speaking English to some groups and French to other groups. Phil asked a lady who was taking photos what was going on. It was a group of employees from the Bank of France in Paris. The man speaking French and English was a champion sandcastle maker from Canada. They were in Saint-Malo for two days doing team building exercises. They were very lucky to escape the Parisian heat and enjoy the beach here. Interesting to watch.

These are pictures from our walk on the beach. The wide beach, sailboats, Brittany Ferries, walkers in the water and team building with staff from the Bank of France in Paris. Quite a few different things happening.

  • the wide beach to the south
  • the wide beach to the north
  • Sandy and the beach
  • a trimaran
  • the wide beach to Intra-Muros
  • walking the ocean with wet suits
  • Brittany Ferry to England
  • Us on the beach
  • Bank of France team building
  • Bank of France team building
  • part of the castle

By the time we were ready to return to our apartment it was hot! We stayed inside the rest of the day. Jardiland phoned and said they would deliver our planters, gravel and dirt between 8h30 and 10h30 tomorrow.

samedi 29 juin 2019 – Saturday 29, June 2019

At 7h it was wonderfully cool! The outside temperature was 17C and 23C in our apartment. We opened all of the windows and the temperature inside dropped quickly. On her way to the boulangerie, Sandy wasn’t able to see the ocean through the city gates. Fog was rolling in from the ocean. No wonder it’s much cooler today.

Phil waiting on the balcony for the Jardiland delivery

Our delivery from Jardiland arrived around 10h. Since we had already cut the black liner, the job went very smooth. Our neighbor above us, Madame Bertin, arrived and talked to us about the planters. She thought it was a nice idea and hoped it helped. We had one extra bag of dirt which Phil took to our cave (our basement storage room). The job was complete in less than an hour.

the new planters in front of the apartment building and Sandy

The temperature warmed up and it was hot in the sun. The high was 26C. Late in the afternoon the temperature dropped quickly and by 19h Sandy had a jacket on outside. Almost everyone walking around had changed from shorts to long pants and added a jacket.

We enjoyed a kebab sandwich and frites at the Chez Marcel restaurant. Every restaurant in the Intra-Muros was crowded. People had been enjoying Saint-Malo all day. We saw on the news where the heatwave in the south of France had destroyed many of the grapes on the vines. The photos they showed were dried up grapes, still hanging from the vines, with the appearance of raisins. A potential catastrophe for wine makers.

dimanche 30 juin 2019 – Sunday June 30, 2019

This morning we went for a walk around 10h30. We are invited to Denise and Gilles’ apartment for tea on Monday. We are shopping for a small gift to bring to them. Since they are leaving for Paris on Wednesday we won’t get them flowers and because of the heat we decided against chocolates. So we bought a small box of specialty cookies.

On the way back to the apartment we met Denise coming out of the butcher’s shop on rue l’Orme. We talked for a few minutes about our plans for the day. When we left her we started to head back to the apartment and met our friend Jean-Michel from building #6 next door to us. He was returning from a swim in the ocean. He apparently does this every day of the year! The water temperature is around 15C (60F) which is just a tad to cold for us. Ha!

Around noon we went for a walk on the beach. It was very interesting as usual.

  • cloudly above us, but sun on Cézembre
  • Fort National
  • a beautiful house on the digue
  • the wide beach
  • Sandy showing the scale of beach
  • sail boats on the horizon
  • Fort National
  • Us on the beach with the sea
  • some colorful bouys
  • Place CHATEAUBRIAND

You can always click on a photograph to enlarge it for easier viewing.

How to find all our photos from our visit France, June 9 through June 30.

You can view the album of photos by clicking on the following link. It will open in a new browser window with the photos.

Click here for all the June pictures in France

How to find all our photos from our visit to La Roseraie Sainte-Anne

You can view the album of photos by clicking on the following link. It will open in a new browser window with the photos.

Click here for pictures of La Roseraie Saint-Anne

How to find our photos from our visit to Paris on June 10, 11, 12, 13, 2019

You can view the album of photos by clicking on the following link.  It will open in a new browser window with the photos.

Click here for the pictures in Paris

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le semaine se terminant le dimanche 26 août 2018 – the week ending Sunday August 26, 2018

26 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by philipdenotto in 2018-France

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

brittany ferries, bubble guy, condor ferries, corsaire ferry, decouverte, digue, e leclerc, esplanade saint-vincent, gaia, go sport, interemarche, intersport, jersey, La Madeleine Center, Le Quai St-Malo, Paramé, Saint-Malo, stockholm, sweden, Tenacious

If you want to see the album of our pictures from June 2018, you can click on this link, June 2018.

If you want to see the album of our pictures from July 2018, you can click on this link, July 2018.

le lundi 20 août 2018 – Monday August 20, 2018

The people in the apartment below us usually arrive around 15th of August. Normally the elderly mother (70-80?), her adult son (close to our age), and another man probably in his 40-50 arrive together. Phil noticed their apartment door open and one of the window shutters open on Saturday the 18th. We haven’t seen anyone yet. Today around 7h30 there was a lot of banging noises and hammering. We don’t know what was going on at that early hour. When Sandy returned from the boulangerie she could see more window shutters open in the apartment below. Possibly the remainder of their family had arrived. We’ll see.

We walked to the Quai Saint-Malo to view the art show called “Salon Malo Métiers d’art”. In the past few years it was held outdoors at the Tour Solidor in Saint-Servan, just a lovely walk for us. This year the number of days open was extended from 2 to 3 and it was held indoors. There was a 2 euro per person entrance fee and in the past it was free. There were 45 French professional artisans and every stand had beautiful things. Some were expensive, but most were reasonably priced. Since we don’t need anything, we just looked.

Next we walked to the harbor. It was slightly foggy and misting. The lighthouses and peninsulas that we were able to see on Sunday were not visible today. We did see a sailing vessel from Sweden in the basin.  Not a common sight.

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the GAIA from Stockholm Sweden in the basin

After lunch we walked to the boules court to say hello to Alain and his wife. Then we walked to the harbor. The pilot-boat was just leaving and we noticed a large cargo ship in the locks on it’s way out of the basin. We stayed to watch the cargo ship leave. The lock must have just started to open (a couple of hours before and after high tide) and we saw several catamarans and sail boats enter. We have the MarintTraffic app on our phones and it details the arrivals and departures of ships in Saint-Malo. Sandy had read where another ship was due to arrive. We watched the Corsair ferries arrive and depart, the Condor ferry from the Channel Islands arrive, and the cargo ship arrive. It looked like a very busy harbor to us from the sidelines. Very interesting to watch though.

le mardi 21 août 2018 – Tuesday August 21, 2018

The people in the apartment below us are definitely here. Their telltale “scent” is the smell of burnt toast in the hallway at breakfast time. Sandy had confirmation, from the odor, of their arrival when she left our building to shop for breakfast.

We read that the store “GO Sport” was closing. We took the bus to La Madeleine Center to see if they had any camping chairs remaining. The store was empty of everything except shoes and clothing. Too bad we didn’t know of the closing earlier in their sale.

We walked to Intersport, about 10 minutes around the road and they had a large selection of camping chairs. We’ll remember this for next year in case we need to replace one of ours.

We also went into the Carrefour Hypermarché. We needed a replacement light bulb for the stove vent and Sandy was looking for rhubarb flavored yogurt. Since rhubarb is considered one of the “seasonal” flavors they were out but we did find a light bulb. Sandy also found Centrum vitamins from the parapharmacie section of the store. Good to know.

After lunch, we saw the ship “Tenacious” enter the basin following the Pilot Boat and then enter the locks. It was a very impressive, 3 masted, ship. It arrived from the Jersey in the Channel Islands.

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the TENACIOUS sailing vessel arrived from Jersey in the Channel Islands

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got lucky today and spotted a CORMORANT in the harbor, resting on a sign

le mercredi 22 août 2018 – Wednesday August 22, 2018

Sandy counted more than 7 empty parking spots on her way to the boulangerie. It has been cool, occasionally misty, and cloudy for the last 4 days. Maybe the tourists are moving away. Even though our temperature has been around 22C, close to 70F, Paris is still around 30C, hot. Glad we’re not there!

We shopped for groceries in the morning. The transportation was great because there was a bus waiting at the esplanade Saint-Vincent on our way to Intermarche.

On our return trip, as soon as we reached the sidewalk near the bus stop, we saw it turning the corner coming our direction. We noticed more than 600 available parking spots at 10h30.

Around 15h00 we returned to the Esplanade St. Vincent to catch either a #3 or #8 bus so we could walk on the Digue. A #3 pulled up and we were on our way. Even though it was cloudy and cool, there were many people on the beach and in the ocean.

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on our walk on the digue, a lot of kids participating in an activity in the water

We had a lovely, interesting walk back and decided to catch the #8 bus to return instead of walking. It was 20 minutes late. The ride is normally a 2 minute long ride but took more than 10 because of the traffic and pedestrians. We noticed the 600 available parking spots we saw in the morning had been reduced to 8. Busy day After all!

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the word COMPLET means the parking facility is full

le jeudi 23 août 2018 – Thursday August 23, 2018

Sandy spent two hours tutoring with Christine this morning while Phil took care of a little shopping at the E.Leclerc Hypermarché.

During the walk to Christine’s house there were a lot of beautiful flowers to photograph.

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The sun was out for only a couple of hours mid day today. In the afternoon we walked to watch Alain play boules for a while. Afterwards we intended to sit at the harbor to see what was happening. Sandy looked across the bay towards Dinard and commented that it was getting very foggy or raining. We decided it was rain coming across the bay and headed for home. We reached Porte Saint-Louis before it really began to rain. Glad we didn’t tarry to see if the rain was going to stop. It continued for over an hour.

le vendredi 24 août 2018 – Friday August 24, 2018

The temperature was 13C, 55F when Sandy walked to the boulangerie. She thought the people on the ground floor were gone since all of the shutters had been lowered. She also didn’t hear the dog bark when she opened the door into our building.

We walked to Saint-Servan to buy meat at the butcher in the marché. His assistant told us they would be starting their two-week vacation on September 2nd. I let her know we’d be leaving on the 12th of September, so next week we’ll tell them “au revoir” until next year.

In the afternoon we watched Alain play boules for a few minutes then headed to the harbor.

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the boules game, closest to the little silver ball gets the point

We have learned that when the harbor pilote boat leaves the harbor, he is usually gone for about 30 minutes. Once he returns, there will be a ship arriving in about 15 minutes later. He proved our theory while we watched.

While we were at the harbor, a cormorant was fishing near by.  Here it is.

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a CORMORANT on the surface of the harbor

le samedi 25 août 2018 – Saturday August 25, 2018

Sandy had been back from the boulangerie only 10 minutes when it began raining very hard. There wasn’t any forecast of rain, but you just never know being so close to the ocean. The rain only lasted for about 30 minutes but stayed cloudy and cool.

After breakfast we took a bus to the Intermarche grocery store located at La Decourverte shopping center. We wanted white dryer sheets which Sandy leaves between linens over the winter to stay fresh smelling. This store is always busy and even though they didn’t carry the dryer sheets, we bought 3 other items and the check out lines were long. We were in the self check line and waited less than 10 minutes.

After lunch, the sun came out and the temperature warmed up to 18C. There was a light breeze so we took the bus to be able to walk the length of the Digue. We got off the bus at 15h30, walked to the Digue and then along the length of the Digue.

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it was a low tide so a lot of beach – not very many people this afternoon

When we got back to the esplanade Saint-Vincent, the bubble guy was working his magic.

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the bubble guy on the esplanade Saint-Vincent, young and old like his magic

We were back in our apartment at 16h45. A really lovely walk in the sunshine.

le dimanche 26 août 2018 – Sunday August 26, 2018

The temperature was 10C, 50F when Sandy walked to the boulangerie today. She has had to use the hairdryer to dry her hair the last two days since the temperature is cooler. She doesn’t like to go outside with wet hair when the temperature is in the 50’s.

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