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the week ending August 18, 2019 – la semaine se terminant le 18 août 2019

19 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by philipdenotto in 2019-France

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

assumption of mary, bubble guy, Christine, cite alet, digue, esplanade saint-vincent, gavroche, grand porte, hôtel de ville, kir, kite surfer, kite-sufers, La Madeleine Center, liberation of saint-malo, metallica, monsieur alix, Musée 39-45, pastis, plage du Sillon, restaurant

lundi 12 août 2019 – Monday August 12, 2019

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.

We created a special blog for the 17 of August. You can find it at this link: 75th-anniversary-of-the-liberation-of-Saint-Malo.

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

How to view additional photos.

You can view an album of photos by clicking one of the following links. The photo album will open in a new browser window with the photos.

Click here for all the July photos in France

Click here for all the June photos in France

Click here for photos of La Roseraie Saint-Anne

Click here for the photos in Paris

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the week ending August 11, 2019 – la semaine se terminant le 11 août 2019

12 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by philipdenotto in 2019-France

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

braderie, cross of lorraine, fs belle poule, kite flyers, kite-sufers, Le Quai St-Malo, malo metiers d'art, melon de charentais, no logo, ocean walkers, paddleboard, Place du Marché aux Légumes, plage du mole, plage du Sillon, Quest France, raft, renard, restaurant, rue de dinan, sailing students, scottish terrier

lundi 5 août 2019 – Monday August 5, 2019

The Intra-Muros braderie, sidewalk sales and flea market, is all day today and tomorrow. Our friend Marie Dominque and her twin daughters were at the Place du Marché aux Légumes at 5h30 this morning to set up their items for sale. The girls are now 16 years old and have a lot of toys, stuffed animals, and a little clothing to sell. They use the money for spending all year. Their parents have a few household items and pictures for sale outside of their hotel. We walked around quite a bit, looked at lots of things, but didn’t buy a thing.

pirate-play-raft – the local toy store had this raft ready for Sandy, she declined a ride

We spoke to our neighbor, Madame Dominque, from upstairs and the “Parisian guy” at the end of our street. The “Parisian guy” sells old post cards at many of the braderies.

It drizzled off and on all afternoon. Sandy finished washing our french doors both inside and outside. They are the doors leading to our balcony and have an overhang.

mardi 6 août 2019 – Tuesday, August 6, 2019

On our way out this morning we saw Jean-Michel, our neighbor from #6 on our street. We hadn’t seen him for a couple weeks and wondered if he was out of town. He lives on the 4th floor of his building (the equivalent of 5th in the USA) and complained about the heat during our couple of hot days. He’d just returned from swimming and said he prefers the Plage du Sillon.

We purchased fruit and legumes at the marché. We also stopped at the florist and purchased some lovely small roses.

  • small red and white roses
  • small red and white roses

The beach, Plage du Sillon, was named France’s most beautiful beach last year. This year it is number 2 in France. We’ve taken many pictures up and down and love to walk on it.

In the afternoon we had a little walk by the harbor. The town is very crowded.

Sandy in the foreground wearing robin egg blue getting ready to head into the crowd.

mercredi 7 août 2019 – Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Sandy reads the Saint-Malo tourism site daily to see what events are happening. Today she read, again, about a special fishing event. When the tide is low enough, the city offers fishing lessons for catching EELS! The site encourages people to bring headlamps, wear boots, and to try to be quicker than the eel. It’s not an event we will partake. Ugh!

We took a 5 kilometer walk on the digue. We saw quite a few different activities going on at the beach this morning.

  1. ocean walkers, people wearing wet suits walking chest high in the water
  2. sailing students, a group of children taking lessons on sailing boats
  3. people flying kites
  4. people on paddleboards
  5. kids getting a lesson on how to surf
  6. wind surfers
  7. people surfing, or at least trying to surf
  8. three dogs – dogs ride behind their owner’s bike in a trailer
  • 1 ocean walkers
  • 2 sailing students
  • 3 flying a kite
  • 4 paddleboard
  • 5 learning to surf
  • 6 wind surfers
  • 7 surfers
  • 8 three dogs in their bike trailer

At the boules game this afternoon Philippe, Gavroche the Scottish Terrier owner, introduced himself to us. Guy, the player from the town of Nancy in the east of France, also introduced himself. Geneviève, the female player who teases all of the guys, introduced herself. Geneviève told us we were the “spectateurs fidèles” loyal spectators. We’ve been called worse things 😀.

Pierre told Phil again that he had to play boules with them next year.

It was another beautiful sunny day around 24C (75F).

jeudi 8 août 2019 – Thursday, August 8, 2019

Looks like rain on our way to the boulangerie. We dropped off recycling, garbage, and glass and noticed water coming up from underneath the street across from the recycling area. It was running down the street towards the harbor. It must have been going on for a while since there was quite a stream of water heading down the hill. Hopefully someone will notice a broken pipe. Most of France is under water conservation due to lack of rain since early spring and they won’t want any water to go to waste.

Today was Sandy’s day to visit her French teacher Christine in the Paramé area of Saint-Malo. Phil got to do the grocery shopping.

After lunch we walked to see if they were playing boules. They were not! We did see Madam Yvonne reading under the trees. We stopped to say hello and she invited us to sit with her. Phil explained how important it was for Sandy to listen to the conversation. She agreed and was happy to help Sandy improve her listening skills. Yvonne also told us she has a house in Rennes (an hour away) and spends April to mid September each year in Saint-Malo. She was 88 years old and had taken a trip to California when she was 80.

vendredi 9 août 2019 – Friday, August 9, 2019

Sandy read in the newspaper Ouest-France that there are strong wind warnings for this afternoon, evening, and strong waves on the ocean. There was a red flag flying at the Plage du Mole meaning it is hazardous to be in the water. We also read where all nautical activities should be well planned and preparations taken. It was advised to securely attach all tents and marquees.

red flag at the life guard station indicating dangerous surf

We saw the sailing ship Renard (Fox) depart from the harbor and were glad we weren’t onboard. It will be a rough, rocky sailing.

the RENARD (FOX) setting out from the harbor

Christine invited us to come for an aperitif this evening at the “usual” time of 18h. We had a very nice time with Christine and her husband Michel. They served champagne, cherry tomatoes, rillette du pork, chips, cake with ham and vegetables inside, and melon de Charentais.

melon de Charentais – By Marius Kant – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

A Charentais melon is a type of cantaloupe melon, Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis. It is a small variety of melon, similar in flesh to cantaloupes, but with a more fragrant smell. It was developed in western France around 1920 as a more refined cantaloupe. Most are now produced in North Africa, with some limited production in the United States.

Wikipedia contributors, “Charentais melon,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charentais_melon&oldid=860915735 (accessed August 11, 2019).

Michel insisted on driving us home in his Citroën station wagon. It is always good to have a chauffeur.

samedi 10 août 2019 – Saturday, August 10, 2019

On our way back to our apartment from the boulangerie we met our neighbor Madame Bertin’s brother. Her brother’s name is Jacques-Louis and he is a fluent English speaker. He is retired now, but he told us he had worked in the U.K. and Saudi Arabia for ARAMCO. Interesting.

We took a short walk to the basin and found that a nice sail boat was moored there. The FS BELLE POULE is a French navy training ship. It is actually classified as a schooner.

  • schooner FS BELLE POULE
  • French naval jack with the cross of Lorraine

The french words “BELLE POULE” translate to “BEAUTIFUL HEN”. Here is the story behind the name.

The name Belle Poule derives from an incident in 1533. Francis I was presented with the keys of Toulouse by Paule de Viguier, the baroness Fronteville. Paule was a young girl known for her beauty, and Francis nicknamed her la belle Paule. The name became altered over time to belle poule through the difference between French and Occitan pronunciation.[1] The name was later adopted by a Gironde corsair for his vessel, giving rise to it as a ship name in the French navy.
Another version of the story is that Francis called her belle poule, as a play on words. The word belle is “beautiful”, while poule is a reference to her name, Paule, but also means “chick”, which in French, as it was later in English, can refer to a young girl.

Wikipedia contributors, “French ship Belle Poule,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_ship_Belle_Poule&oldid=858016935 (accessed August 11, 2019).

Again this morning the wind is strong. Sandy read in the newspaper Quest-France that a tornado touched down on the border between Luxembourg and France. It damaged over 100 homes and is quite rare there. There were many train delays due to downed power lines caused by the wind in the north and west of France.

We took a walk on the beach. The wind was at our backs as we started out, but was in our face on the return. The wind was so strong that there were small waves of sand blowing along the beach. In the water, the waves were breaking hard against the small exposed islands.

waves breaking against the small exposed islands a few hundred feet from the beach

A music festival taking place this weekend called “No Logo” also experienced wind delays . Since they are primarily using tents for stages, etc., it wasn’t safe for festival goers to be allowed onto the site until the wind calmed down.

“No Logo BZH is steadily establishing itself as one of the top reggae festivals in Europe. Spread across three glorious days in the historic port city of Saint-Malo in northern France, the festival maintains a sense of independence and, as its name suggests, is all about the music.”)

https://www.festicket.com/festivals/no-logo-bzh/2019/

The crowd was really thick today on the Rue de Dinan, the main road in the Intra-Muros.

We did not take on the crowd. We took a short cut through a series of side streets.

dimanche 11 août 2019 – Sunday, August 11, 2019

Just after noon we walked over to the QUAI SAINT-MALO to attend an artisans exhibition called “MALO MÉTIERS D’ART.” We walked around and found two vendors which had some items we really liked. This was the first year for each vendor at the exhibition.

After attending the artisans show we walked over to the restaurant B’Art à Thé. We had a wonderful mid-afternoon meal.

  • Phil’s mystery fish item
  • Sandy’s bruschetta
  • citrus cake and red fruit cake for dessert

How to view additional photos.

You can view an album of photos by clicking one of the following links. The photo album will open in a new browser window with the photos.

Click here for all the July photos in France

Click here for all the June photos in France

Click here for photos of La Roseraie Saint-Anne

Click here for the photos in Paris

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