le lundi 2 juillet 2018 – Monday July 2, 2018

It was much calmer and more quiet at the boulangerie today.  Sandy shopped there for our breakfast. She saw our friend Michel, owner of the Hotel Quic-En-Groigne, picking up a huge basket of various breakfast breads for his guests.

After breakfast we tried to beat the predicted rain and do some grocery shopping. By the time we finished our shopping, the rain had been delayed until after 15h00.

After lunch we walked to the boules court to see if Alain was playing. He was playing but throwing with his left hand. He said he had “tennis elbow” in his right arm and was using his left arm today. The rain had again been pushed back until after 16h00 so we walked towards the Mole, the breakwater.

while on our walk on the Mole, breakwater

On our return we walked down Rue de l’Orme.  This short street has a butcher shop, a cheese shop, a Le Bar à Babas shop (rum desserts), the world famous butter shop Bordier, a small vegetables and fruit shop, 4 restaurants, and the Halle Blé.

This is the “year of the terrace” since the butcher shop and Le Bar à Babas were having terraces installed today. Rue de L’Orme is a very congested street now, with terraces and tourists it will be a challenge when walking.

le mardi 3 juillet 2018 – Tuesday July 3, 2018

It rained over night and the streets were wet.

Sandy shopped for our breakfast at Maison de Pain. When she walked through the door the lady greeted her with a “Bonjour,” and then asked “Pain au raison and un baguette gana?” Sandy answered oui, paid for her purchases, and was out the door on her way back home.

Michael took the train from Paris Gare Montparnasse to visit us today. He arrived around 13h30.

After a quick sandwich at home we walked along the Ramparts and admired the views. The sun was shining but the temperature was not hot. Sandy and I enjoyed a “Menthe à l’eau” (mint syrup and water) and Michael had a beer at Le Charly’s Bar before heading for home. At the bar, the waiter asked Michael if he wanted a lo-cal beer. Michael thinking he meant a light beer said no. However, the waiter was referring to a locally brewed beer – aka “local”. We still find it interesting to hear culturally appropriate phrases and understand the true meaning of each phrase.  In the end Michael got a regular beer.

This is the week of the 23rd edition of the Folklore du Monde, World Folklores. There are 20 different groups performing throughout the week from the countries of: ALGERIA, MACEDONIA, URUGUAY, GEORGIA, THE REPUBLIC OF TUVA, MEXICO, and IRELAND. They perform at different places round town and also feature Bretagne (Brittany) dancers and musicians. We watched two groups perform from Algeria and Macedonia just a few steps outside our apartment on the main street. Very colorful and entertaining!

from ALGERIA

from MACEDONIA

For dinner we ate at one of the restaurants on the Place du Marché aux Légumes. It was a beautiful evening and especially enjoyable since Michael was with us.

le mercredi 4 juillet 2018 – Wednesday July 4, 2018

The USA is celebrating a holiday today!

The weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon so we headed to the beach around 11. Michael was swimming while Sandy and I sat on our beach chairs. It began to rain, even though at that time there was a 15% chance. We picked up our chairs, climbed the stairs to the street, and by then it had stopped. Back down to the sand we went and watched Michael dive off the “high dive”. Since high tide had just occurred, the distance to the water from the high dive was not as high as normal because most of the platform was still under water. That was the end of the rain for the day.

sandy reacting to the cold water

Michael on low high dive

After a quick-lunch at home we decided to walk to the harbor to check out the boules game. Our friend Alain was in the lobby picking up the mail for Denise. He told us he was meeting the immobile so Denise could sell her apartment. Another sad bit of news.

The entertainment from the Folklore du Monde was from Uruguay and Georgie. Part of one of the dances included swords, so there was a lot of music, noise, and dancing!

We had dinner at restaurant L’Aristide for this first time. The dinner was delicious and beautifully presented. However, the prices were high compared to other restaurants in the area. We’ll save this for special occasions.

le jeudi 5 juillet 2018 – Thursday July 5, 2018

After breakfast we took the Corsaire ferry to Dinard. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze blowing and the temperature was around 70 F. We Walked to the Dinard marché, looked at a few stalls then returned to the beach. Michael went in swimming and we sat on a bench enjoying the day and watching seagulls. We watched a lady become very startled when a sea-gull walked up to her pizza box and helped himself to a slice of pizza. She wasn’t happy but it was amusing to watch. We purchased ham sandwiches to eat on the bench after Michael finished swimming. Then we walked back to the ferry dock and returned to Saint-Malo. It was a lovely 4 hour trip.

on the Corsaire ferry heading to Dinard

Around 18h00 we watched the Folklores du Monde entertainment from Mexico and the Republic of Tuva.

throat singers from the Republic of Tuva, on the TV show “The Big Bang Theory” the Sheldon character was attempting to learn Tuvan throat singing

folklore dancers from Mexico

After the entertainment, we walked along the beach out of the walls near the ocean. It was a great walk and we stopped at PIZZERIA L’OLIVIER for dinner. We each enjoyed a pizza, had a nice walk back and bought ice cream cones from Sanchez for dessert. Sandy read in the newspaper that SNCF, the train company was having a strike today and tomorrow. We’ll check in the morning on Michael’s train trip back to Paris

le vendredi 6 juillet 2018 – Friday July 6, 2018

After breakfast Sandy looked up Michael’s train trip for Saturday. His train trip was one involved in the strike and it had been cancelled. We discovered he could take a direct train tomorrow from here back to Gare Montparnasse. So, we booked a hotel room for him again at the Hotel Plaza Opera, cancelled his hotel room at the CDG airport, and took the bus to the train station. Upon arriving, there wasn’t anyone waiting in line and we were able to change his train reservation. We then took the bus to Saint-Servan, looked at the market, walked to the Rosarie Sainte Anne garden, down to the beach and back home. It’s a great walk.

flower garden by the Tour Solidor in Saint-Servan

At home, we received an email from the owner of the Hotel Plaza Opera. She saw we had booked another night for Michael and asked us to do her a favor. Her son had been here this week visiting our mutual friends who own the Hotel Quic-En-Groigne here in Saint-Malo. He accidentally left his keys at the hotel and wanted to know if our son would bring them with him tomorrow to their Paris hotel. No problem. Glad we can help out. She has always gone out of her way to take care of us at her hotel and this will help them a lot.

Michael complained of ear discomfort today. Around 15h00 we decided it was worth a trip to the doctor’s office to see if an appointment was available in the afternoon. We were in luck.  The receptionist, who knows us, was still there.  She was very kind and scheduled him for a 19h40 appointment later in the day. He didn’t feel well all afternoon. Dr. Bernard-Griffith diagnosed an outer ear infection.

On the way back from the doctor’s office we stopped at Chez Marcel for a kebab sandwich for dinner.

le samedi 7 juillet 2018 – Saturday July 7, 2018

Since the pharmacies closed at 19:30 last night we weren’t able to pick up Michael’s prescription. Phil took care of that this morning. We translated the instructions and he was set for the next 7 days.

At 11 am all of us took the bus to the train station, There were many people waiting and 4 trains parked at the station, Michael’s train left 5 minutes late, but at least it was running. A few later trains had been cancelled due to the strike. We were sad to say good-bye, but anxious to hear of his next 3 days in Iceland before returning to the USA. It was a very pleasant visit and we sincerely enjoyed having him with us. He is such an easy-going, fun person to be around. We are very proud of him and all of his accomplishments.

Michael and Sandy – about to escort Michael on to the train for Paris

It was a quiet afternoon with just two of us at home. At 17h00 the last Folklore du Monde performed at the Esplanade Saint Vincent. The trees next to the ramparts are large enough next to provide shade for the performers and some of the viewers. We were in the shade. The group from Uruguay performed for over 30 minutes. The dances and songs were different from what we had seen earlier in the week. The next group from Algeria was not as interesting to us. They had several drums, the dancers wore masks, and had sword fights. After 15 minutes we headed for home.

le dimanche 8 juillet 2018 – Sunday July 8, 2018

We took a walk on the digue this morning.  A lot of people on the digue, on the beach and in the water.

people on the beach and in the water

In the afternoon, Michael was at the airport for his flight to Reykjavik Iceland.  He will stay in Iceland until Wednesday.  Then he will return to the USA via Chicago.