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17 juillet à Saint-Malo – July 17 in Saint-Malo

18 Monday Jul 2016

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Sunday July 10

Sunday July 10 is a cloudy day with a forecast high of 23 C.  We took the bus to Paramé to see the closing ceremonies and exhibition of the Folklore du Monde.  We were fortunate to watch and listen to the group from L’Ukraine or Kazakhstan.  They were our favorite from watching the parades earlier this week. The group following them were from Brittany.  The clothing of the Bretagne group was black and white.  The music was primarily bagpipes.  Much different than other nations.

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Folklores du Monde at Parc des Chênes

 

Monday July 11

Monday July 11 a fire truck and ambulance arrived on our street.  Sandy watched as men used the “cherry  picker” from the elevated firetruck to bring a man out of the building across from us on a stretcher.  It was quite a feat!

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Firemen evacuating an elderly person from a 2nd floor apartment.

We took care of some shopping after breakfast.  In the afternoon, we made a few stops Intra-Muros and then we walked to the harbor.  As we watched boats come and go, a seagull  (Goeland) flew on the side of us.  It was low enough that both of us spotted it and looked because it had something large and yellow in it’s beak.  Usually they are flying with shells in their beaks.  They fly straight up, then drop the shell to crack it and enjoy their meal.  Today, we watched the gull fly straight up and drop the yellow item.  It turned out to be an apple.  It was really funny to see the bird flying with something as big as an apple in it’s mouth.  We didn’t think they’d eat apples, but sure enough, two or three birds arrived to help the “apple carrier” finish the meal.

Tuesday July 12

Tuesday July 12 was our regular tutoring session with Christine.  Sandy got her two-hour lesson and also a bouquet of roses from Christine.

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Sandy and her bouquet of roses from Christine.

About 16:00 we heard a loud “beeping” coming down the street.  Usually that means a delivery truck is backing up.  This afternoon it was the return of the fire truck cherry picker.  Two firemen were “practicing” using the equipment to go as high as the top or 4th floor of another neighboring building. There are few apartment building with elevators here, so they need to be prepared.

Wednesday July 13

Wednesday July 13 started out partly sunny.  As we waited for the bus to take us to E.LeClerc to look for “camping/folding” chairs, it started to pour.  Good thing we were standing next to the bus shelter!  It only rained for about 5 minutes.  The bus arrived and the sun came out.  We were fortunate to find two chairs at the hardware store Bricorama, next door to Leclerc.  They were hidden behind several other chairs and were all that remained of the lightweight variety.  We took them and headed home.

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One of the two chairs we scrounged for at Bricorama.

After lunch, we took our new chairs to the beach to try them out.  We sat at the edge of the water with our feet in the ocean.  The waves were definitely cool.  We moved our chairs because the tide was going out.  It was a gorgeous day with lots of fresh air, sun, and wind.  A lovely way to spend part of the afternoon.

Thursday July 14

Today is the Fête Nationale – National day.  It is not referred to as Bastille Day here in France.

At 10:30 in the evening we walked out to watch the fireworks.  We walked to the Esplanade Saint-Vincent area right by the Office du Tourisme.  We were just outside of the huge crowd, but could see the fireworks very well.  It was 30 minutes of ground fireworks and aerial fireworks accompanied to music.  Very nice.  As the fireworks ended we made a hasty retreat back to our apartment to avoid the crowd.

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Fireworks on 14th July on the Saint-Malo beach.

This was the same evening in which the tragedy in Nice occurred.  Any place in France celebrating the Fête Nationale could have been a target.

 

Friday July 15

Today we went for our French lesson at Christine’s house in Paramé.

In the afternoon we had Denise and Jean over for an aperitif. Denise is learning some English and brought a little book she had purchased.  It was a tourist phrase book and she had some questions for Sandy about pronounciation.

Saturday July 16

Today we went to the boules court which is outside the Intra-Muros area, right next to the Port Dinan.  Our friend Alain was participating in a boules match. We’re still not clear on all the rules, but it did look like fun.  There were two teams with five people on each team. Each person got to roll two balls.  They seemed to be having a really nice time, competitive, but in a good natured manner.

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Boules game – our friend Alain in the center wearing a white shirt.

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Boules game outside the Intra-Muros right by the Port Dinan

Later in the afternoon we headed to the beach.  Today we arrived when the tide was coming in.  So, we set up our chairs and enjoyed the waves.  With the tide coming in, every 5 or 10 minutes we had to pick up our chairs and move them back a little, away from the ocean.  The chairs have really worked out nicely.  After about 30 minutes we headed back to the apartment.  Phil had forgotten his cap so it was time to get out of the sun. Even after 4:00 pm, he was sunburnt in only 30 minutes.  The sun is very intense here.

Sunday July 17

The big thing today is the braderie in the Mouchoir Vert (Green Handkerchief) area of Saint-Servan.  The braderie was quite crowded with vendors and shoppers.  It seemed like it was bigger than we remembered from 2014.  We made a small purchase at a stand supporting the local animal shelter.  We also made a purchase of a small shade umbrella which hopefully will work with the new chairs.

As we approached the half way point in the braderie, there was an announcement that a 30 second moment of silence would be held in honor of those killed in Nice on July 14. The flags at the government buildings have been flying at half-staff in remembrance.

Just as we got to the next to last stand in the braderie, we saw our friend Jean-Louis J.  We had last seen him at a braderie in May.  We have known him for 4 or 5 years, when he had a shop here in Saint-Malo and when he had a shop in Quimper.  Now he is slowly moving back to Saint-Malo.  It was very nice to see him.  As usual, we made a small purchase, this time it was two cups and saucers from the HB Henriot factory in Quimper.1

On the way back from the braderie, we stopped at the Rosarie Sainte-Anne to look at the roses.   A lot of beautiful blooms and a lot of flowers needing to be dead-headed.

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Rosarie Saint-Anne

20 March in Saint-Malo – 20 mars à Saint-Malo

20 Sunday Mar 2016

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Today is Sunday March 20, the first day of spring (printemps).

Sandy got croissants and bread from the La Fournée Malouine bakery (boulangerie) for breakfast.  It was great.

At about 10:30 we headed out to the flea market of spring (vide greniers de Printemps) in the Saint-Servan district of Saint-Malo.  It is a 2.2 km walk (1.3 mi) each way.  The flea market  was being held in an all purpose room at a local elementary school. There were parents grilling sausages by the entrance.  Other parents were selling the sausages wrapped in a galette.  A galette is like a crepe but it is made with buckwheat, so it has a darker color.  They are very tasty but it was too early for lunch.

We entered the flea market and started to walk around.  It was mostly children’s clothing and toys.  As we passed one vendor Sandy thought she recognized him.  He was sitting on a short stool.  His items were out of step with the rest.  He was selling cups, dishes and saucers.  I had trouble getting past his stall because it was so crowded.  Seeing my problem he made a comment about it being difficult to move in the aisle.  I told him I was too fat.  He laughed and gestured at his own girth.  I walked a couple of steps past him then I stopped, turned around and spoke with him again.  Thinking Sandy was right, I asked him if he had a shop in Saint-Malo in 2013 and whether he had a shop in Quimper in 2014.  He said he did.   Then I knew it was him.  I explained to him that we had purchased some items from him in 2013 in Saint-Malo and that we had stumbled upon his shop in Quimper in 2014 and purchased some other items from him.  Then he recognized us and we had a nice little discussion about our seeing him in Quimper and how Phil had taken a picture of him and Sandy.  We spent a few minutes with him and purchased some nice mugs for coffee.  It was really nice to see him again.  What a coincidence running into him at a flea market in Saint-Servan.  He said he would be at other Saint-Malo flea markets this year, so we will keep an eye out for him.  By the way, his name is Jean-Louis Jacob.

The blog entry from our last meeting with Jean-Louis Jacob in 2014 can be found here.

Here is the pictures of Sandy with Jean-Louis in 2014 at his shop in Quimper and today in Saint-Servan.

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sandy and jean-louis jacob – june 2014

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jean-louis jacob and sandy – march 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two mugs from Jean-Louis were the only things we bought in the flea market.  As we left we did buy 2 orange juice (jus d’orange) drinks for a 1€.

On the walk back from Saint-Servan we passed a real sign of spring.   Daffodils/jonquils blooming by a bus stop.

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daffodils / jonquils

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daffodils / jonquils

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before we entered the walls of the Intra-Muros, we stopped by the harbor to see what was going on.  Not much, no boats going in or out.  But I did get to see the cormorant.

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Sandy decided to make “Sunday dinner” to eat around 13:30 pm today.  She made coq-au-vin (chicken in wine sauce) yesterday and just had to warm it up, cook some risotto and a vegetable to have a nice dinner.  She is really getting to be “multi-lingual” since she was reading the risotto package directions which were written in Dutch and didn’t even realize it! When Sandy asked Phil to verify the directions, he commented about her reading Dutch.  That was news to Sandy!  Funny how things turn out here.

To see a map of our walk clink on this link.

Jour 40 à Saint-Malo – Day 40 in Saint-Malo

26 Thursday Jun 2014

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14327171768_58a2d46713_o 14327127159_c80067e73a_oLe jeudi (26/6 Quimper) nous avons dormi dans presque jusqu’à 8h30, très tard pour Sandy. Nous avons apprécié le petit-déjeuner buffet à l’hôtel et partons pour la vieille partie de la ville à 10 heures. Nous avons visité le jardin à côté de la cathédrale et pris le petit train qui a duré 40 minutes. Nous avons longuement cherché dans un grand magasin de 3 étages Eurodif, qui sont situés dans toute la France. Ils sont égaux à une combinaison de l’Amérique Kohl et Bergners sauf qu’ils ne portent pas de vêtements pour hommes. Ils font tout réaliser pour la maison y compris l’éclairage, rideaux, et un magasin de tissu. Depuis le premier jour de vente a commencé le 25 Juin, il y avait de nombreux acheteurs. Nous n’avons rien acheté parce que je ne veux pas porter de nouveau à Saint-Malo. (Phil et moi avions chacun un pack petit jour pour un séjour d’une nuit.) Nous avons marché une des vieilles rues pavées que nous avons manqué la veille. Nous étions à la recherche dans une fenêtre à Quimper en terre cuite que j’admire et quelque chose a cliqué. L’homme qui court le magasin fait semblait familier. J’ai dit Phil, j’ai reconnu l’homme comme ayant eu un atelier à Saint-Malo 3 des 4 années précédentes, nous étions là. Nous sommes allés dans le magasin et Phil demandé si l’homme avait l’habitude d’avoir une boutique à Saint-Malo. L’homme a immédiatement demandé s’il y avait un problème. Quand Phil a expliqué que nous étions d’anciens clients, a raté sa boutique l’an dernier et nos voisins ne savait pas ce qui lui était arrivé, il a expliqué son départ. Il était très heureux de nous voir et de connaître nos voisins avaient été préoccupé lui aussi. Nous avons acheté un pichet en faïence de Quimper avec un coq rouge sur le front et comme d’habitude nous a donné un cadeau supplémentaire de notre achat. Après avoir récupéré nos sacs de jour de la zone de rangement de bagages de l’hôtel, nous sommes allés à la gare. Nous avons pris un sandwich jambon / beurre sur une baguette pour le déjeuner et un cookie chocolat / canneberges à manger dans le train. Notre voyage de retour à Rennes s’est déroulé sans incident et avec seulement 8 minutes pour changer de train à Rennes nous l’avons fait en 5 minutes. Nous avons attendu environ 5 minutes de Saint-Malo pour le bus de la ville vers les portes fortifiées. Il était bon d’être de retour et beaucoup plus frais aussi! Sandy ramassé kebabs et frites de Chez Marcel pour le dîner avant d’aller à la “Maison de Québec” pour le film du jeudi soir. Nous avons apprécié notre séjour à Quimper et avons été très heureux de voir notre «vieil ami».  Link to all our pictures from Quimper.

On Thursday (26/6 Quimper) we slept in until almost 8:30 am, very late for Sandy.  We enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the hotel and set off for the old part of town by 10 am.  We visited the garden adjacent to the Cathedral and took the Petit Train which lasted 40 minutes.  We shopped in a 3 story Eurodif department store, which are located all across France.  They are equal to a combination of American Kohl’s and Bergners except that they don’t carry men’s wear.  They do carry everything for the home including lighting, curtains, and a fabric store. Since the first day of sales had begun on June 25th, there were many shoppers.  We didn’t buy anything because I didn’t want to carry it back to Saint-Malo. (Phil and I each had a small day pack for a one night stay.) We walked down one of the old cobblestone streets that we missed the day before.  We were looking in a window at Quimper earthenware that I admire and something clicked.  The man running the shop actually looked familiar.  I told Phil I recognized the man as having had a shop in Saint-Malo  3 of the 4 previous years we were there. We went in the shop and Phil asked if the man used to have a shop in Saint-Malo.  The man immediately asked if there was a problem.  When Phil explained we were former customers, missed his shop last year and our neighbors didn’t know what had happened to him he explained his leaving.   He was very glad to see us and to know our neighbors had been concerned about him too. We purchased a Quimper earthenware pitcher with a red rooster on the front and as usual gave us an extra gift with our purchase. After retrieving our day packs from the stored luggage area of the hotel we headed to the train station.  We picked up a ham/butter sandwich on a baguette for lunch and a chocolate/cranberry cookie to eat on the train. Our return trip to Rennes was uneventful and with only 8 minutes to change trains in Rennes we made it in 5 minutes. We waited about 5 minutes in Saint-Malo for the city bus back to the walled gates.  It was good to be back and much cooler too! Sandy picked up kebabs and fries from Chez Marcel for dinner before we headed to the “Maison de Quebec” for the Thursday evening film. We enjoyed our time in Quimper and were very happy to see our “old friend”.

Jour 39 à Saint-Malo – Day 39 in Saint-Malo

25 Wednesday Jun 2014

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14327174188_38a7c101ed_o Mercredi (25/6), nous étions à la gare Saint-Malo par 7h15 et pris le train tôt à Rennes que nous avions prévu. Comme il s’agit d’un train local et ne prend pas les réservations de sièges, il n’y avait pas de problèmes. Nous avons apprécié un sit bas le café et le rouleau à la gare de Rennes pour attendre notre prochain train. De Rennes, nous avions seulement un train de 2 heures de trajet à Quimper, France. Quimper est une ville charmante. Il est situé sur la rivière de l’Odet qui traverse la ville et a beaucoup de belles, des jardinières de fleurs colorées accrochées aux grilles des ponts piétonniers. La ville a une atmosphère rustique avec des passerelles enjambant les rivières qui le traversent. Nous avons séjourné au Oceania Hôtel Escale qui était 8 minutes à pied de la gare et à 5 minutes à pied de la cathédrale et de la vieille partie de la ville. Nous avons visité la cathédrale (construite entre les 13ème et 16ème siècles), le Musée départemental Bretagne, la faïencerie Henriot Faïence, et avons traversé la vieille ville avec ses maisons à colombage datant des années 1400. Nous avons dîné au restaurant Chez Max, ce qui était situé dans une cour confortable dans une ruelle de brique. Le restaurant est composée de 10 tables à l’extérieur sous un parapluie géant (peut-être 25 pieds carré) et nous avons apprécié un délicieux dîner avec une brise fraîche. Phil avait steak et des frites et Sandy avait une salade de tomates constitué de tomates vertes, les tomates rouges, mozzarella et herbes vinaigrette. Nous avons tous deux apprécié pomme, poire, caramel et tarte encore fumante du four. Malheureusement pour nous, le mercredi s’est avér14327171768_58a2d46713_oé être le jour le plus chaud en Bretagne à ce jour. Nous étions presque malade de la chaleur pendant l’après-midi et parce que notre chambre n’était pas climatisée, dû dormir avec la fenêtre ouverte. Heureusement, il ne se rafraîchir la nuit en Bretagne et il n’y a pas de moustiques, donc le matin Phil avait fermé la fenêtre et nous étions sous la couette. Ce fut une journée très agréable malgré la chaleur de l’après-midi.

Link to all our pictures of Quimper.

Wednesday (25/6) we were at the Saint-Malo train station by 7:15 am and caught an earlier train to Rennes than we were scheduled.  Since this is a local train and does not take seat reservations, there were no problems.  We enjoyed a sit down coffee and roll at the Rennes train station to wait for our next train.  From Rennes we only had a 2 hour train ride to Quimper, France.  Quimper is a lovely city.  It is located on the Odet River which flows through town and has many lovely, colorful flower planters hanging from the railings of the pedestrianized bridges. The town has a rustic atmosphere with footbridges spanning the rivers that flow through it.   We stayed at the Escale Oceania Hotel which was an 8 minute walk from the train station and a 5 minute walk to the Cathedral and old part of the town. We visited the Cathedral (constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries), The Departmental Brittany Museum, the Henriot Faience earthenware factory, and walked through the ancient city with half timbered houses dating from the 1400’s.  We ate dinner at Chez Max’s which was located in a cozy courtyard down a brick alley.  The restaurant consisted of 10 tables outside under a gigantic umbrella (possibly 25 feet square) and we enjoyed a delicious dinner with a cool breeze.  Phil had steak and fries and Sandy had a tomato salad consisting of green tomatoes, red tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and herb vinaigrette dressing. We both enjoyed apple, pear, and caramel tart still steaming from the oven. Unfortunately for us, Wednesday turned out to be the hottest day in Brittany so far.  We were almost sick from the heat during the afternoon and because our room wasn’t air conditioned, had to sleep with the window open. Fortunately it does cool off at night in Brittany and there are no mosquito, so by morning Phil had closed the window and we were under the duvet. It was a very enjoyable day despite the afternoon heat.