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the week ending September 1, 2019 – la semaine se terminant le 1 septembre 2019

02 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by philipdenotto in 2019-France

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

azamara journey cruise ship, backroads bicycle tours, boulangerie, butcher, cdgval, delta, digue, door handles, genevieve, guy, hotel quic-en-groigne, jean-louis j, La Fournee Malouine, monsieur alix, museum of poop, paramé marché, Place du Marché aux Légumes, plage du mole, Porte Saint-Louis, rennes, restaurant, riviera cruise ship, toulouse

This is our last week in Saint-Malo for this year. Mixed emotions as usual.

lundi 26 août 2019 – Monday August 26, 2019

in addition to the marmot entertainment on France3, we are often highly amused at several French television programs. France5 has shows which are considered documentaries but often their content is very funny and/or peculiar. We always watch the shows in the French language with French subtitles to help with comprehension.

A show titled “Les trains, pas comme les autres” (The trains, not like the others) features an extremely friendly presenter name Philippe. He visits various countries around the world. The trains, train stations, passengers, local sites and cultures are featured throughout the show in a very casual way. We always learn something or see new places from watching the show. Last night England was the featured destination. The presenter took a ferry to the Isle of Wight. The presenter interviewed two local men who were searching the countryside of the island for animal poo. We’re thinking they are scientists studying something interesting. That would have been funny and quite bizarre. However they are founders of the Museum of Poo, which is really funny and bizarre. The museum is housed in a former public restroom still complete with urinals where they display many varieties of poo! The Official Poo Website is a bit different. Peculiar for sure! The presenter, Philippe, was laughing during most of this portion of the show. Not surprising.

Another show, “J’irai dormir chez vous.” (I’ll go to your house and sleep.) features an even more amusing presenter. This presenter, Antoine, walks around with a couple of video cameras. One is mounted on his shoulder at about head height. He does the show on his own when visiting countries. He does a lot of walking and introduces himself to local people. After talking to them he asks if he can sleep at their house. He has been housed in sheds, dilapidated houses, caves, tents, and other odd places. He carries his own sleeping bag and always wears red shirts. One episode was about the washing and wearing of his shirts. Wearing the same color means never having to decide what to wear and is easier when doing laundry. No whitening additive needed. He has visited Peru, Bolivia, Indonesia, Albania, and many island nations. We have learned a lot about other cultures from watching this show.

Sandy began to organize our apartment for the winter. She seals any dry food products (rice, pasta, risotto etc) in glass or plastic containers until next year. She places scented clothes dryer sheets inside linens, clothing or anything soft so they don’t retain any musty odors over the winter. While we leave our heat set very low, it is seldom cold enough for it to turn on.

At the boules game Phil talked to Geneviève and told her we would invite her and her partner Guy for an aperitif next year. They exchanged email addresses and she said they’d look forward to a visit.

Phil spent much of the day replacing the handles on all the doors in the apartment. No door knobs in Europe, only handles.

  • New door handles – much more modern in style

mardi 27 août 2019 – Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Sandy wished Michel, Monsieur Alix’s son, a good year and told him au revoir pour cettee année, goodbye for this year.

We had our last hair cut for this year and told the stylist the same thing. She said she looked forward to seeing us next year.

Our neighbor below, from Toulouse, stopped us on the stairway and talked for a few minutes. This was the longest conversation we’ve had with her in the 8 years we’ve been coming here. She asked where we were from and was surprised when we told her the USA. (Most people think we are English.) She also didn’t know that Jean, our neighbor on the 4th floor, had died last year.

At the boules game this afternoon, Geneviève said we’d exchange “bise”. We are officially friends if we greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks. Sandy sat between Pierre and Josette during the game and they chatted a little with each other. Alain told us he’s planning to visit Denise in Paris sometime in the next two weeks. He has a couple of medical things to correct before he can head off to Paris.

After the boules game we went to the Mole and saw the RIVIERA cruise ship in the harbor.

  • Flower garden by the Porte Saint-Louis on our way to the Mole.
  • The Plage du Mole had quite a lot of people but only a few in the water.
  • MS_Riviera

mercredi 28 août 2019 – Wednesday, August 28, 2019

We took the bus to the Paramé marché to buy two pork chops. We also wanted to tell the butcher and his assistant goodbye for this year. His assistant told us they are starting their two week vacation this Sunday. She told us she’d see us next spring.

We walked back on the digue, almost 5 kilometers and it was so pleasant with a lot less tourists. The tide was out a long way and it was hazy and cloudy. A lovely day to be out anyway.

  • Low tide on the beach by the digue on our way back to the apartment.

In the afternoon we took a walk on the mole and a new cruise ship was in the harbor, the Azamara Journey. As the tourist crowds go down toward the end of August, more cruise ships usually start showing up in the harbor.

  • AZAMARA JOURNEY CRUISE SHIP

jeudi 29 août 2019 – Thursday, August 29, 2019

After breakfast we told Marie-Dominique and Michel, owners of the Hôtel Quic-en-Groigne, good bye for this year. Michel was on his way to meet with his mother to help her choose someone that will help her clean etc in her apartment.

We stopped in the street and had quite a good talk with Madame Yvonne (boules observer). She told us the players Philippe, and Lillian were on vacation this week. Her son will come from Rennes to pick her up and take her back in September. She said she plans to return next April. We told her we’d see her this afternoon on the boules terrain.

Next we stopped at Jean-Louis J’s pottery shop to tell him good bye. He wished us a good trip and a good winter.

It was an interesting morning full of French conversations.

Sandy continued cleaning, sorting, and putting things away for the winter. Our cabinets and refrigerator are pretty bare!

At the boules game, Jean-Yves arrived towards the end of the game with his little dog. Another player had to leave early, and Jean-Yves took his place. Geneviève, and Sandy watched the dog and kept him from getting hit with the balls. He is very cute, very spoiled, and tiny.

We bid Alain good bye for the year and thanked him for everything he does for us. He confirmed with Sandy to leave the mail on the small kitchen table and dispose of the publicity.

There was a small cruise ship in the basin today. We got a picture of it as we were walking to the boules game, but it left the basin before we saw its name. Oh well.

  • unknown small cruise ship in the basin

After the boules game, while were walking home, we passed two vans from BACKROADS tours. Every year we see a lot of bicycle tours in Saint-Malo. Our friends a the Hôtel Quic-en-Groigne have lots of bicycle tours staying at the hotel each year. Bicycling the Brittany region is always a popular sport.

  • BACKROADS bicycle tour vans

vendredi 30 août 2019 – Friday, August 30, 2019

We continued to clean, store items, clean out the refrigerator and run the cleaning cycle in the dishwasher. We watched several families pack up their cars and leave.

Before going for a late lunch, we stopped at the boules game to say goodbye to the players and spectators we knew. It has been a very good experience watching and talking with all the people each day.

We had a late afternoon lunch at the B’Art à Thé restaurant in the Place du Marché aux Légumes which is a 1 minute walk from our apartment. Actually from our kitchen window we can see in the kitchen at the restaurant. We had a delicious meal. The owner of the restaurant has been very nice to us and we said a nice goodbye to her. We told her we will be back next year for more good food.

  • Phil’s veal stew
  • Sandy’s bruschetta

samedi 31 août 2019 – Saturday, August 31, 2019

Saturday morning we went to the La Fournee Malouine boulangerie for breakfast. It was great as usual and we got to say goodbye for this year.

We took a bus to the train station, gare, and waited a bit impatiently for our train to Rennes. It was a local train which made about 5 stops on its 45 minute run to Rennes.

At the Rennes train station we had about 55 minutes before our fast train to the airport arrived. The train station had been undergoing remodeling for the last three years. Now it was complete and it is very nice. We bought a sandwich and drink to have on the 3 hour ride to the airport.

  • The floor in the train station had a marked path for visually impaired people to follow to allow them to navigate the station. We had not seen this before.

Our train was on schedule and since we rode first class it was a very nice experience. The train arrived on time at Charles de Gaulle Airport on time and we had a 2 minute walk to the hotel.

dimanche 1 septembre 2019 – Sunday, September 1, 2019

Departure day started just fine with a continental breakfast at the hotel. We got to the departure terminal quickly, waited about a half hour in line to check our baggage and only about 15 minutes to go through security.

  • This AIRBUS 380 was not our airplane,…
  • but it was parked at the gate next …
  • to us and it sure is huge, typically holding 525 passengers.

The flight was slightly delayed by some difficulties at the main European flight control center in Brussels. The flight was very uneventful. This was the first time we had flown Delta to France and it was a good experience both coming and going. The flight arrived on time and we got through passport control very easily. The rental car was ready for us and the drive to Grand Rapids was very easy. We picked up our car at our son’s house and Sandy drove it to Holland, following behind Phil who was in the rental. We’ll return the car on Tuesday morning.

Overall it was a pretty good couple of days traveling from Saint-Malo France to Holland Michigan.

Another wonderful experience in France. In 2011 we were not sure how our gamble on a second home adventure in Saint-Malo would work out, but it has been a really great experience.

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 August photos in France

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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le semaine se terminant le dimanche 24 septembre 2017 – the week ending Sunday September 24, 2017

24 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by philipdenotto in septembre poster 2017 - September 2017 post

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

belem, brittany ferries, cathedral, cathedral boulangerie, charley's bar, gare, kandella, La Fournee Malouine, La Madeleine Center, meijers, monsieur alix, paramé marché, parame mairie, poissonnerie, poissonnier, Porte Saint-Louis, saint-michel braderie, Saint-Servan, secours catholique, SNAIL

Monday September 18, 2017 – le lundi 18 septembre 2017

It was quite cool when Sandy bought our breakfast. The temperature was 9C / 49F. The boulangère at La Fournée Malouine reminded Sandy that she will be closed tomorrow on Tuesday, so with a quick <<À mercredi.>> (See you on Wednesday), she was on her way home with our croissants.

We expected a package to be delivered before noon, so after it arrived at 11h00 we were on the bus at 11h07 to shop at the Intermarché grocery store for the final time. Like many stores in France they close for lunch between 12h30 and 14h00. We arrived, completed our shopping and were back in our apartment by 12h00. We love those quick shopping trips. Trips to the supermarket in the USA usually take a long time, but they do have more choices in the stores.  We can make do with fewer choices.

After lunch we spent some time on the harbor. A construction company had used fencing to fence in many huge bags of sand and a cement mixer. All of the benches close to the edge of the harbor were within the fencing so people can no longer sit near the edge. We heard sirens approaching and watched as three fire department rescue vehicles sped in front of us towards the mole or breakwater. Apparently someone fell over the edge of the wall. High tide was in 3 hours so we hoped the huge rocks below the wall were covered with water.

We did see a small cargo ship unloading in the basin.

belem-arrives-in-saint-malo_37134131132_o

cargo ship unloading in the basin

Next we saw the ship Belem come into the harbor and sail right into the ecluse or lock. We waited for it to come through into the basin. It is a very pretty ship and moored just outside Porte Saint-Louis.

belem-arrives-in-saint-malo_37163997051_o

BELEM

Tuesday September 19, 2017 – le mardi 19 septembre 2017

Cloudy, cool, and windy today! Sandy shops for our breakfast at the Cathedral Boulangerie since our usual boulangerie is closed today. It is always a visually and aromatic delight to walk into this boulangerie. It is owned by two young men, pierced nose, lips, etc, but they make fabulous breads, viennoiserie, and pastries.

On her way back to our apartment she greeted our hairdresser, the poissonnier (fish seller), and waves at Monsieur Alix at the marché. Already it is a wonderful day to be up and out in Saint-Malo.

We took the bus to a stop near the hospital and walked up the hill to the Secours Catholic (Catholic Charities). They operate a small clothing and household goods store and we had some clothing to donate. Sandy also saves the 1 and 2 centime coins each year when we’re in France and we gave them a sandwich zip-lock bag full of coins.  Our walk took us past our friend Alain’s residence, so we took a quick picture.

rsidence-vauban_37187906841_o

the gate at Alain’s residence

Next we walked to Saint-Servan to visit the butcher at the marché. He was on vacation for 2 weeks and this was his first day back. The building is being remodeled and his designated spot is under construction. There was a sign on the wall saying he was located near the poissonnerie area. We found him with a long line as usual but he had less refrigerated case space and we noticed a smaller amount for sale.

We walked back to the Intra-Muros and enjoyed a coffee at Charley’s Bar. Around 2 pm our friend Alain stopped by to say hi. He told us he was playing boules this afternoon and we watched for over an hour. When the sun was out, the day was nice and warm, but when clouds came by, it felt cold.

Wednesday September 20, 2017 – le mercredi 20 septembre 2017

We took the bus to the La Madeleine center to buy a replacement fluorescent circular light ring for our bedroom ceiling light. The Carrefour Hypermarche did not carry that style so we went to Kandella, a lighting store. We purchased paper towels and some caramel sauce to eat with apples while we were out. The sun was brilliant, warm and there was a light breeze.

After lunch, the clouds rolled in and even though the temperature was 19C / 67F, it was cool. We tried to buy Phil’s last prescriptions at our usual pharmacy. All non-prescription items were 50% off since they are closing October 14 for good. They didn’t have the medicine and aren’t ordering any more.

We tried the pharmacy across from the Cathédral but it needed to be ordered. We will pick it up tomorrow.

Our friend Denise called from Paris in the evening. We sent a birthday package to her at the end of August because her birthday was September 2. She just received the package earlier today. It wasn’t much of a gift, just a remembrance for her to know we thought about her on her birthday. We were glad she received it.

Thursday September 21, 2017 – le jeudi 21 septembre 2017

Our final week in Saint-Malo. Today we mailed a package to our friend Jean in Paris, had a coffee, and arrived back at our apartment before it rained. Sandy is organizing our remaining food so we finish everything that might spoil before we return next spring. We also have to finish all refrigerated food because we turn the refrigerator off for the winter.

Friday September 22, 2017 – vendredi 22 septembre 2017

Bright and sunny but cool when Sandy shops for our baguette. Normally Friday is our tutoring day with Christine. She changed the day to Monday because she is having some painting done and there are very strong odors in her house. She was aware of Sandy’s allergies and postponed our session until Monday.

We took a walk from our apartment to the north end of the digue and back. It was a wonderful day outside with a high temperature of 66F / 19C and little wind. The tide was very far out and we could see rock formations and small islands that were new to us.

low-tide_36580119273_o

low tide

When Sandy washed the lettuce to make a salad for dinner, Phil had to remove two snails for her. She doesn’t mind mud on the lettuce after a rainstorm, but she can’t stand the snails. They were tossed out the kitchen window into a hedge.

Saturday September 23, 2017 – le samedi 23 septembre 2017

Sandy could tell as she walked to the boulangerie that the Brittany Ferry had recently arrived. There were several groups of British tourists walking through the street with their luggage. She also passed 4 English girls trying to use their phone to navigate, but the walls often interrupt signals and it is difficult to find your way through the streets. When she entered the boulangerie there were 2 English men looking at the patisserie case and talking to each other about what to order. They were in front of Sandy and should have been waited on first. However, the boulangère saw Sandy, quickly moved over to her, said “Bonjour madam”, and took her order. It is important to be well-known at the boulangerie to insure the wonderful quality of food and to be waited on quickly.

After breakfast we took the bus to the Paramé Mairie bus stop to go to the Paramé marché.  We needed to buy a piece of pork roast for dinner. We told the butcher this was our final shopping trip, wished he and his assistant a good winter, and returned to our apartment. We have not found any meat in the USA that even comes close to the flavor of meat we find in France.

Around 2 pm we took the bus to the Gare for the annual Braderie de la Saint-Michel with around 220 stall holders. It was quite entertaining, a gorgeous sunny day, but we didn’t buy anything. After an hour and a half we headed back to our apartment.

Sunday September 24, 2017 – le dimanche 24 septembre 2017

It was very quiet and calm when Sandy bought our breakfast. She was the only customer in La Fournee Malouin boulangerie at 9h40. It was sprinkling as she walked back to our apartment.

We walked towards the Gare to go to the second day of the braderie. It was less crowded at 11h00 but it was cloudy and the forecast was for light rain after noon. We saw the general  in his “security” clothing. He also had not made any purchases at the braderie. After looking around for an hour, we took the bus back to Intra-Muros.

bradrie-de-st-michel_37285047571_o

the crowd at the Braderie de la Saint-Michel

Sandy spent a couple of hours organizing and packing one piece of our luggage. She also put away the decorative items we enjoy in the kitchen when we are here.

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