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.
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.
If you want to see the album of our pictures from June 2018, you can click on this link, June 2018.
If you want to see the album of our pictures from July 2018, you can click on this link, July 2018.
le lundi 13 août 2018 – Monday August 13, 2018
Two French military jeeps, each with 5 soldiers and machine guns, were driving through the streets when Sandy walked to the boulangerie. We’ve seen them several times walking, but not driving around.
We took care of some household chores in the morning.
After lunch, we wanted to walk to the north end of the Digue and return by bus. When we arrived at the Esplanade St. Vincent, a #8 bus was waiting. So we stepped on the bus, and got off at the Digue stop heading north. We walked on the Digue to the northern end. We did hear a whistle blow several times, couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, or what it was about. As we neared a second story overlook, a lifeguard called out, “no dogs on the beach please”. There are signs indicating dogs are forbidden on the beach, but few people pay attention to the sign. There was a large dog playing with his owner in front of the building and as we watched, he put the leash back on the dog. It looked like they were getting ready to leave, heeding the lifeguard apparently. We also saw two policeman on bikes patrolling the Digue.
We exited the Digue, then walked uphill to Paramé and boarded a #3 bus at the Rousses stop. The bus just happened to be passing by so we signaled to the driver that we wanted the bus. That took us back to our starting point. An excellent hour-long walk. The sun was shining, no jacket needed, and lots of board surfers, and kite surfers to watch.
strange clouds on the horizon, distinct cloud like is probably a front
kids were sand surfing on the Plage du Rochebonne
le mardi 14 août 2018 – Tuesday August 14, 2018
Today was haircut day for the 3rd time in France. The coiffeuse (woman hairdresser) was very busy but we only waited a few minutes. Sandy told the coiffeuse her last cut was too short on the sides of her head. This time the coiffeuse didn’t use a razor at the end but “thinning” type scissors. Sandy was very pleased with the result. We made an appointment for our last cut on September 11.
After lunch we wanted to buy some sandpaper. A store called Titi-Gil is close to the Intermarché grocery store in Rocabey and carries many items. It is called a “destockage” store meaning it carries items other stores are getting rid of or selling when the store closes. They carry clothing, household goods, cans, bottled food, wine, hardware, beach items, and linens. Sandy found jars of jam with Kroger labels on them. We stopped in the store and bought a package of sandpaper for 1€50.
Next we walked to the Digue heading north, reached the end, and decided to walk back. We saw a lady carrying what Sandy thought was a weasel in her arms. She walked down the stairs to the beach and put down the animal she was carrying. We decided it was a ferret, wearing a harness and leash. The ferret proceeded to start digging a large hole in the sand. Whether it wanted to hide or was searching for it’s dinner we don’t know. A bizarre site on the beaches of Saint-Malo.
kids learning to sail
we’re guessing this is a ferret on a leash getting a walk on the beach – weird
le mercredi 15 août 2018 – Wednesday August 15, 2018
We planned to shop at the Intermarché grocery store after breakfast. We walked to the bus stop, then realized when looking at the arrival time posted that today was a holiday. It is the day of Assumption a religious holiday. The bus company considers it a holiday too and was running buses on a Sunday schedule. We didn’t wait too long, either coming or going and were soon back home. We’ll need to remember today being a “bus holiday” for next year .
The high temperature today was 21C, 69F. It was cloudy most of the day. Late in the afternoon we walked to the harbor to see what was going on. The tide was on it’s way out and we watched the water disappear from underneath the moored boats. Earlier in the week at high tide, we had counted only 3 visible cement blocks from the top of the water to the street. Today there must have been 20 visible cement blocks and the water was still receding. Quite interesting to watch!
same spot on the harbor wall, the small insert photo is high tide the bigger picture is a low tide
a lot of gulls circling above the harbor
the Sea Cloud II was back in the basin this week – a beautiful ship
We enjoyed a kebab at Chez Marcel for dinner eating outside and watching all of the comings and goings of all the people.
le jeudi 16 août 2018 – Thursday August 16, 2018
Today Sandy spent two hours with her tutor Christine. On the walk to the bus at 9h30 there were more than 500 empty parking spaces around the Esplanade Saint-Vincent. On Sandy’s return walk at 12h40, there were only 8 spaces remaining and people were waiting in line in their cars at the entrances to the lots. Another big day for tourists!
While walking to and from Christine’s house you get to pass a large number of wonderful gardens with all kinds of flowers. Here is a sample.
While Sandy was at the tutor, Phil went shopping at the E.Leclerc Hypermarche. On returning to the Esplanade Saint-Vincent after shopping Phil saw two young boys looking rather lost. They approached him and spoke in both French and English. They were looking for the Corsaire Ferries terminal. So Phil was able to explain to them how to get there. But rather than letting them walk alone he accompanied them to the terminal. They had traveled from Paris on the train this morning. They were going to their Grandmother’s house in Dinard, across the harbor. The oldest boy was maybe 15 and his brother must have been around 10 or 11. We had some nice small talk on the walk.
In the afternoon the temperature dropped to 17C, 63F, and rained off and on. All of the flowers need refreshing and reviving.
Sandy was able to FaceTime with Michael at noon his time. So nice to hear his voice and see his face.
le vendredi 17 août 2018 – Friday August 17, 2018
Today is National Thrift Store Day in the United States. We hope everyone finds a good buy at their favorite store.
Sandy shopped at the Intra-Muros marché for fruit today. She likes to arrive by 9h15 to avoid the “rush”. Monsieur Alex and his assistants take plenty of time with her at that time of the morning.
Next we walked to Saint-Servan to shop at the butcher. It was a lovely morning, cool and partly sunny with no chance of rain. We purchased our meat, walked around the exterior stalls and headed for home.
We sat on a bench at the harbor and watched boats come and go about an hour before high tide. Since there hadn’t been any chance of rain and the sun was shining, we were very surprised to feel rain falling. We moved under a tree and it stopped in about 10 minutes. We weren’t the only ones caught by a surprise shower. There were quite a few people standing under neighboring trees before it stopped.
We did see a cat in a back pack today, which is rare. Always many more dogs than cats.
cute little cat, probably a teenager, attempting to get out of the back pack
Across the harbor the Brittany Ferries ship BRETAGNE was loading caravans.
Brittany Ferries ship BRETAGNE loading a caravan
le samedi 18 août 2018 – Saturday August 18, 2018
The temperature was 13C, 55F, a little cool when Sandy walked to the boulangerie. She was woken up around midnight last night and could see the results this morning. At the top of the steps behind our apartment the restaurant had their outdoor planter damaged. It was a very large planter with a palm tree inside. It looked heavy enough that it needed two or three people to move it. It had been lifted off it’s bottom container and all of the gravel on top of the dirt dumped on the ground. Then it had been left in the center of the top step. Not nice!
On our way to the Esplanade Saint-Vincent we saw American, Canadian, and British flags flying next to the French flag on top of the wall by the Castle.
BRITISH, CANADIAN, FRENCH and AMERICAN FLAGS on the castle wall
We walked on the Digue from the north end to the south end, after taking the #3 bus to the Rousses bus stop in Paramé. It was a very pleasant mid day with a lot of wind. High tide was only 20 minutes away but with a co-efficient of 62 the Digue did not have any water washing over it. There were many surfers in the water.
A curious thing on the digue today, the cat we saw at the harbor was taking its owners for a walk on the digue.
cat taking its owners for a walk on the digue
Later in the afternoon we spent some time on the harbor watching boats come and go.
le dimanche 19 août 2018 – Sunday August 19, 2018
On Sandy’s walk to the boulangerie, she was almost hit by a low flying seagull. It was one of the new birds, born this year, almost completely covered in brown feathers. Possibly it wasn’t skilled to fly high and was just testing it’s wings. Anyway, it’s a good thing Sandy can move quickly and to the side or they would have collided.
Another interesting note, Sandy saw a large car, double parked with it’s motor running on the street outside of the boulangerie . This is not normal. She noticed the bumper sticker which said, “I love nothing! I am Parisian!”, which would seem to fit in with their superiority complex. Inside the boulangerie a man was trying to put the lid on two “to-go” cups of coffee he had purchased. He didn’t get them on correctly and he dripped coffee on the floor all of the way out of the door . The madam said she would clean it up and to be careful. The boulangerie was busy with 3 of the 4 tables on the terrace occupied, a few tables in back occupied and Sandy was 5th in line.
Between 11:30 and 13:30 we watched the sailboats gather together to “parade” to Cancale for the remaining day of the “Branlebas de Régates : La mer en Fête” which is a 4 day race.
we set up our chairs on the wall to watch the boats on parade
some of the boats which participated in the parade
Over the eight years we have traveled to Saint-Malo we have seen many people fishing from the môle (breakwater), especially at high tide. Today for the first time we saw someone catch a fish and it was a pretty good size fish.
this guy caught a good size fish at high tide in the harbor
