The lady below us and her son arrived yesterday from Toulouse in southern France. She is probably close to 90 years old and he is in his 50’s. They keep pretty much to themselves. They arrive sometime between the first and middle of August and generally stay one month.
A comment Sandy has been forgetting is an item that is included on our salads at the restaurant B’ Art a Thè. The object appears to be the size and shape of a clear “Vitamin E” type gel cap but is full of balsamic vinaigrette. It is delicious! Wonder if we can find them in the US?
balsamic vinegar pearls
This morning we wanted to go to the Intermarche in Rocabey.We boarded the bus and wanted to get off at the first stop. We pressed the bell, the sign lit up showing a stop was requested. Sandy stood up, the man next to her also stood up and walked to the door. The driver drove past the stop. We called out “madame the stop please” in French and she kept driving. Another passenger said in English, you have to press the button. Sandy answered that she had, pointed to the red light, and finally the driver stopped at the next stop. The other passenger muttered to himself as we exited the bus. Apparently the driver was not having a good morning.
We were on our way to the Intermarche to look for packing tape. We found it in the hardware section with the adhesives.
We decided to walk home from the Intermarche and saw a lot of gulls on the basin.
GULLS on the basin
GULLS on the basin
GULLS on the basin
Later in the morning we packaged our two new watercolor paintings inside the tube, Christine gave us. We sealed it up with our new packing tape, and went to the post office. The lady who runs the post is always polite and patient when we mail items.
After lunch, the boules game was on and we were greeted by 6 players. It was almost too cool in the shady court, but the players didn’t have much choice. The sunny court was still quite wet from the recent rain while the shady court was dry.
There was an interesting ship moored in the basin: Sea Cloud II. We think this is the second time for it to be here this summer.
Civil ensign of Malta, not the official state flag
SEA CLOUD II from Malta
SEA CLOUD II from Malta
Lovely sunny day today.
mardi 20 août 2019 – Tuesday, August 20, 2019
At the market this morning, Sandy asked for 6 stems of small roses. The lady florist must think we’re frequent shoppers as she gave us 8 but only charged for five and a half. That was a nice discount and the flowers look great. Unfortunately, it’s our last bouquet here of the year.
After we shopped at the marché we took a walk through Saint-Servan and the Plage des Bas Sablons. It was high tide, although it was a low high tide, and the beach was very pretty and quite a few people were on the beach.
Plage des Bas Sablons
Plage des Bas Sablons
Another lovely sunny day.
mercredi 21 août 2019 – Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Sandy commented about less tourists being around this week, at least Intra-Muros section of Saint-Malo.
We walked to the Carrefour at Courtoisville, did our little bit of shopping, and then walked home on the digue. It was high tide and the waves were great to watch and listen to. It was sunny and bright. However, Sandy decided she was incorrect on the tourists. There were so many people, bicycles, scooters, strollers, joggers, that it was difficult to walk.
People enjoying the waves
pretty sails on the ocean
sailboats and small cabin cruisers
sail surfers in tow back to the beach
All of the parking lots we passed were full and there were lines of cars waiting to enter. Ugh!
We walked through the Esplanade Saint-Vincent and saw Bubble Guy! He is in the picture below with a purple shirt and white pants. The kids and adults love his act.
Bubble Guy was here and Sandy had just added to his take for the day.
In the afternoon we spent some time watching the boules game and then we went to the harbor.
Corsaire Ferries passing in the harbor
Corsair Ferries leaving the ramp
jeudi 22 août 2019 – Thursday, August 22, 2019
Sunny again, but cool, only 14C (58F).
Sandy spent two hours with her tutor Christine for the last time this year. Christine and her husband are taking off for two weeks at a friends home in southern Spain.
Phil purchased new interior door handles for our inside doors. The current handles were here when we purchased our apartment. Antique looking, brassy/gold in color and not always working correctly. The light fixtures and handles on our french doors are silvery/satin in color in a newer style. Phil was able to purchase enough to change all of the interior doors. They will look modern and in sync with the rest of the apartment.
We talked to Alain at the boules game in the afternoon. He told us Denise and Gilles, in Paris, are doing well. A beautiful, sunny, warm afternoon.
After talking with Alain we went to the harbor. We saw this great looking sailboat in the distance.
Love the sail on this boat.
Sandy spotted 3 cormorants in the harbor. They are awfully difficult to photograph because they spend a lot of time under water getting their food. When they surface they spend only a few seconds on surface and then they dive underwater. Since you never know where it is going to surface next it is difficult getting a good picture of the cormorant. Phil had been trying for about 4 years and had only succeeded in getting distant photos. But today Phil got lucky. He snapped off about 12 shots very quickly and got a great shot of a cormorant.
Cormorant swimming in the harbor.
vendredi 23 août 2019 – Friday, August 23, 2019
Sandy purchased a piece of watermelon, and other fresh fruit at the market. Monsieur Alix, his son, and lady assistant greeted us even though they didn’t wait on us. Always pleasant to see a smiling, friendly face.
We walked to Intermarche to pick up the last few needed items and walked home along the digue. We occasionally hear a jet or plane, but not often. We looked up, above the beach, to see the French equivalent of the Blue Angels flying in formation and spewing blue, white, and red smoke. We waited a few minutes and they passed again. Interesting!!
French military jets with a blue, white and red smoke trail
Interesting at the boules game today. Alain wasn’t there, which we knew, but another lady we’d watched all summer came and shook our hands and said bonjour. Probably if we were here another month we’d be on “bise,” kiss on both cheeks, terms.
Our son Michael is an assistant professor and librarian at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. A photo of him while presenting to a class has been added to the library web site. So he sent us a screen capture of the web site with his picture. Very nice to see.
Michael on the Hope College library web site.
samedi 24 août 2019 – Saturday, August 24, 2019
The forecast for today is hot with a high of 30C (86F). Absolutely too hot!
However the water temperature st the beach was absolutely cold! The temperature in the water was 19C (64F) and super cold. It took quite awhile of continually moving around in the water before Sandy was numb enough not to feel the cold.
Sandy does not always do well in cold water. Here the temperature is 19C (66F).
On our way back, we met our neighbors that live in Versailles, France and own the apartment on the top floor of our building. They just returned from a trip to Beirut, Lebanon and said the ocean temperature there was 29C (84F). They invited us for an aperitif at noon on Sunday to see all of the remodeling they had completed earlier this spring and summer.
dimanche 18 août 2019 – Sunday, August 18, 2019
At noon we went up to our neighbors apartment on 5th floor (6th floor in the USA) for an aperitif. They are on the top floor of the apartment building. Natale and Nicolas were there with their son Corentin. They were spending just a couple of days here to take a look at the remodeling work they were having done on the attic apartment which is above their apartment. They had purchased the attic and were remodeling it so their children Corentin and his sister Gwenaëlle could use it as their own vacation spot. The remodeling was coming along very nicely and looked great. Gwenaëlle was not with her family because she is spending the college semester in Beirut, Lebanon.
We spent a good amount of time discussing family matters, world affairs and just about anything else you could think of. We really enjoyed the tuna dip and the lobster dip. Phil got to try a new drink which Nicolas mixed. Unfortunately Phil cannot remember the name of the drink, but it was a potent drink.
We had a great late afternoon dinner at the B’Art à Thé restaurant. This was probably our 6th time at the restaurant and every meal had been delicious.
Phil’s flank steak, potatoes, and salad.
Sandy’s bruschetta, with chicken and salad.
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It rained harder yesterday than it had all summer. Today on our way to the boulangerie the streets smelled better. The city of Saint-Malo runs street sweepers daily and use hoses to spray off and wash offensive areas. They do a fairly good job and also empty all public waste receptacles 2-3 times a day. With all of the flowers and garden spots, the city looks very pretty all of the time. The temperature was quite cool today, 13C (55F).
After breakfast we decided to take a walk on the digue. It was a beautiful, sunny day and Sandy just grabbed her jacket as a last minute decision. It was fairly warm and just a little windy as we waited for the bus. We took the bus along the coast to the northern end of the digue and just wanted to walk back. Clouds were moving in from the ocean as we stepped off the bus. By the time we walked the two blocks from the bus stop to the beginning of the digue, it was sprinkling. The wind came up very suddenly, and it started to rain harder. We were wet in a few seconds, as was everyone else who was surprised by the change in weather. The forecast was for 0% chance of precipitation, partly sunny, and a high of 19C (66F). All of the way back we fought the wind to stay upright. It was cold! Sandy used a kleenex in her ears to try to block the wind and held her hood tightly underneath her chin. The rain lasted about 5 minutes, but the wind became stronger. We were walking right into it as it was coming from the southwest. We watched several interesting things on the beach, including a man getting ready to kite surf.
Kite surfer heading to the water carrying his kite and his board (hidden behind him).
Kite surfer has the kite in the air and is about to pick up his surf board which is to his left.
When we reached the south end of the digue we walked into the residential streets to avoid some wind. We both heard a noise as we walked by a driveway. Looking up, we spotted Geneviève, the lady boules player we had just met last week. She lived in the apartment building we just passed, and had been dumping her trash in the trash container. She talked to us for quite awhile. She is originally from Nancy, on the eastern part of France and had retired here 4 years ago. She lives with her partner and her apartment has a 10 m2 balcony where she can see the ocean. She said it is exceptional to watch the grand marée, the extremely high tides. Her nephew lives in Los Angeles, CA and is a member of the band Metallica! Pretty exciting information! Who knew our “take a walk” sort of morning would turn into such an interesting and revealing outing.
Pirate flag
interesting wind vane
Great looking house on the digue!
Gulls in the basin as we walked back to the apartment.
However, after reaching our apartment, we both discovered that we were so “wind blown” that we felt unbalanced. A nap fixed us up wonderfully.
mardi 13 août 2019 – Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Not as windy today, thank goodness. We walked to Saint-Servan to visit a boutique that sells art supplies. We wanted to buy a tube to mail our new pictures back to the USA, rather than try to bring them home on the plane. We looked up the opening hours online yesterday and they opened at 9h30. However, we did not think about the store closing for vacation. It was, and won’t reopen until Aug 19th. So, we walked back down the hill, across the bridge and the lock and watched a few boats come and go in the harbor. It started to sprinkle and we headed for home.
At the market, Monsieur Alix told Sandy that the strawberries were not any good and so he didn’t have any today. Too bad. They were still very tasty and nice as of last Friday.
mercredi 14 août 2019 – Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Again, chance of rain and it’s cool today. Sandy met with her tutor Christine this morning while Phil did a couple errands. Sandy tells Christine about everything she did for the week, in French of course! Christine had a tube she’d been saving and gave it to us. Mailing problem solved.
Flowers we …
see on…
the way to…
Christine’s house.
Both of us experienced an extremely busy and crowded bus ride home.
After lunch we took the bus to the Madeleine Center to buy a replacement light bulb for our ceiling light in the kitchen. It is a sort of special bulb and isn’t always easy to find. Again, the bus ride was crowded and long. The wind had also picked up and at 17h the steady wind was 30 mph and the gusts were blowing at 55 mph (NOT KPH).
jeudi 15 août 2019 – Thursday, August 15, 2019
Today was a holiday in France, the Assumption of Mary. The Assumption of Mary is a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed. Many businesses, offices, post office, and government buildings are closed. There is always a procession from the Cathedral to the statue of Mary above the gate at the Grand Porte. They hang banners and decorate with a lot of flowers. Since the holiday is a Thursday, many people turn it into a 4 day weekend and businesses are also closed on Friday.
On our way towards the bus stop, someone honked and waved at us. It was Jean-Louis J., our friend that owns the pottery boutique. We yelled “Bonjour” and waved.
We walked to Intermarche to pick up a few food items. Phil saw the boules player Guy at the cash register and stopped to say “Bonjour”.
We also walked through the Rocabey market and bought a small steak for dinner, a chicken breast, and some farce à tomato to make stuffed zucchini. Sandy purchased a small piece of Comté cheese, which is delicious on a salad.
Usually we take the bus on the way home because we have bags to carry or our cart to pull. Not today due to the holiday. The city buses are running on a Sunday-holiday schedule (about one bus every 45 minutes) making it difficult for tourists to get around. The wind was extremely strong on our return, making it difficult to walk. Glad it’s only a 15 minute walk.
In the afternoon we stopped to see if there was a boules game. No one was playing due to the holiday, strong winds, or lack of players. We watched the harbor for awhile. Philippe, the owner of the dog Gavroche, walked by and waved.
We think…
this gull…
was taking…
a bath…
and getting food…
in the 15 minutes he was in front of us.
Already today we had seen and spoken to more people we knew here than we do on a normal day in Holland, Michigan. We think it’s because everyone here walks so much more than in the USA. No car for us here.
vendredi 16 août 2019 – Friday, August 16, 2019
Cool and cloudy again. The weather reminds us that fall is approaching.
We walked on the beach from the Esplanade Saint-Vincent to the start of the digue. Lots of beach today as the tide was high two hours ago. We wanted to see if we could find the building that Genevieve lives in.
We walked home along the quay (docks) but the wind was still strong. The forecast is for very strong wind after 15h. After lunch we walked to the boules court. We were almost blown down and since there wasn’t a game, we headed back inside the walls. Too windy to be enjoyable near the water.
the Saint-Malo flag was flying above Fort National today, usually it is the French flag
This man has been painting this very large fishing vessel for a couple of weeks. That is quite an extension he has on his paint roller.
samedi 17 août 2019 – Saturday, August 17, 2019
Today is the celebration to honor the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Saint-Malo. There is a wreath laying ceremony and moment of silence at the Hôtel de Ville (city hall). There was a ceremony for all slain soldiers from both wars in the Rocabey section of Saint-Malo where the permanent war memorials are located.
We walked to the top of the Cite d’Alet where the largest Liberation Ceremony was held. The ceremony was at the Cite d’Alet section of Saint-Malo which was where the last German troops in Saint-Malo surrendered. Here was and still is the large WWII German bunker. Today and tomorrow, there is a “Camp” portraying the war with tents, equipment, vehicles, and many men dressed in French and American soldiers. The mayor of Saint-Malo and the US consul for the North West portion of France (the regions of Lower Normandy, Brittany, and Pays de la Loire) spoke and laid wreaths at the memorial. The national anthems for the UK, Canada, USA and France were played. Quite impressive.
At the Cite d’Alet there is a museum for the war years 39-45. We have been in the Museum before. It has many artifacts related to the German occupation. The Cite d’Alet itself is an ancient site. The Romans had a settlement there, so it has been part of much of our Western civilization, but not always good parts.
Bus stop at the Alet
medieval church description
Medieval church ruins at the Alet.
Us at the Alet.
dimanche 18 août 2019 – Sunday, August 18, 2019
We had a nice early afternoon walk on the digue and the beach today. The wind was a bit brisk, so after walking north on the digue away from Intra-Muros, we returned via a city street which was protected from the wind.
The waves were very pretty to watch this morning.
We got some good news when we got back to the Esplanade Saint-Vincent. The Bubble Guy was back! Bubble Guy (not his real name) was here last year. Today was his first appearance in Saint-Malo for 2019.
Bubble Guy was here last year. Today was his first appearance here in Saint-Malo for 2019.
We had a great mid-afternoon dinner at the B’Art à Thé. The restaurant was busy as usual. Phil had a pastis for his aperitif. It is an interesting French drink from the south eastern part of the country around Marseille.
Sandy’s Kir vin blanc with cassis in the background and Phil’s pastis in the foreground
Sandy’s torte of potatoes, bacon and onions in the background and Phil’s brandade of cod in the foreground (mashed potatoes and cod mixed together)
Sandy’s chocolate cake with caramel ice cream and Phil’s Fraisier, strawberry cake, in the foreground
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She talked to us for quite awhile. She is originally from Nancy, on the eastern part of France and had retired here 4 years ago. She lives with her partner and her apartment has a 10 m2 balcony where she can see the ocean. She said it is exceptional to watch the grand marée, the extremely high tides. Her nephew lives in Los Angeles, CA and is a member of the band Metallica! Pretty exciting information! Who knew our “take a walk” sort of morning would turn into such an interesting and revealing outing. 
