Let’s go inside…jaaaa!We’re coming in…get ready–KABOOMY!Lots of steps…no crowds in early morning…perfect.LOTS of stone rooms…abbey life is hard and stoney and uplifting, so we are told.And lots of light…be sure to follow the light whenever you can.Goodbye for now, Mont-Saint-Michel…we hope to return again and again and again…a bientot!
An early morning walk out here is magical…crisp air, no crowds, soothing vibes…perfect time to visit the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel.
We enter the town gate around 8:00 a.m….the narrow walkways are empty…no crowds…lovely–mmm, aaaahh!
We walk up steps that lead to more steps, stairways and walkways…up, up, up…higher and higher.
We have wonderful views of the surrounding plains…sheep grazing in the distance…tides rushing in then rushing out…light breezes…sun shining over the horizon in the distance…same as it ever was here for billions of years.
We enter the abbey…it is early…it is empty…quiet…calm…nice, real niiiice.
Fabulous place with lots of stone rooms here, there and everywhere. . .how the heck did they build this thing? WOW! One stone at a time, baby…one stone carefully placed on top of another over the course of hundreds of years. That’s how.
This is a magnificent place to visit…of course, you can Google “Mont-Saint-Michel” to learn everything there is to know about this thing…but all you need to know from me is that this is totally worth your attention no matter what your spiritual/religious affiliation is…visit this place if you ever get the chance…you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaaayy!!
The gringo can’t believe he is here…let’s check this baby out–jaaaa!There it is in the distance…beautiful 2 km. walkway leads right to the entrance…WOW!We’re getting closer…mmm, aaaahh!Low tide, wide open entryway…the gringo says, “let’s get in there!”High tide…oops…are we gonna be trapped inside? Let’s hope so…we could stay here forever and ever–mmhhmmm!
WOWEEWOWOW! Mont-Saint-Michel here on the north coast of Bretagne in western France is one of the jawdropper monuments of the world. . .come here and check this thing out if you ever get the chance–you will love it, most assuredly.
This church/town is the Abbey of Saint Michel…a church and small town built on top of a huge rock in a bay just off the coast of Bretagne. Imagining all of the effort and human toil that it took to build this thing over the course of hundreds of years is mind-blowing. . .and even more mind-blowing are the dramatic tides that roll in and out of the surrounding tide plain every six hours or so. The tide is something like forty or fifty feet…really dramatic…so dramatic that the French have constructed canals and dams that assist in the flow of silt in and out of the surrounding plain…and they have also constructed a wonderful walkway and roadway that allows all gringos like us to come and go as we please throughout the day even as the tides roll in and out.
Mont-Saint-Michel has been a pilgrimage site for Christians and other religious folk for centuries. . .no matter, if you are a believer or a non-believer this place is a wonderful hang-out spot. The town surrounding the abbey, built into, on and around the rock is amazing…totally charming and worthy of wandering around in for a day, a week or however long you want to spend…lots of shops, restaurants, hotels and cozy corners to chill in…worth every effort to get here…and you can stay forever if you like–jaaaa!!
Of course, you can Google “Mont-Saint-Michel” to learn more…but all you need to know from me now is that we give this place huge thumbs up. . .come to Mont-Saint-Michel, hang out, you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!
The gringo is hungry for lunch…this joint looks good…let’s check it out.Amuse bouche…savory and tasty–mmm!Pate foie gras…soothing and totally gobble-worthy.Poached egg in savory sauce with exceptional strip of bacon…all day long, baby–jaaa!!Fish, shrooms, veggies, delectable sauce…YES!Quail, veggies, delectable drippings…excellent!Dessert: fruit, ice cream, caramel and crispy goodness…solid ending to a solid lunch.The gringo in action…this joint is tres satisfying–mmhhmmm!
Today we are doing some lunch at a joint called La Fourchette a Droite…”The Fork on the Right” in English. One of the owners is left-handed, and the name of the restaurant reminds all of us ‘lefties’ out here that the fork goes on the right in a formal table setting…she laughs when she sees me moving cutlery to my left and signing the bill with my left hand–we both know the struggles of being left-handed in a right-handed world. . .ah well.
But there is no struggle to enjoy a fabulous lunch in this restaurant with the left-handed woman running the dining room and her amazing chef husband, lefty or righty–doesn’t matter, cooking wonderful food in the kitchen. . .they make a great team, and we are extremely satisfied here.
For this lunch we are served a savory amuse bouche, foie gras, poached egg in savory sauce, delightful fish, delectable stuffed quail and a tasty crunchy ice-cream/caramel/fruit dessert…et voila, parfait!
Everything is washed down with champagne and a crisp dry Pouilly Fume that makes us go, “mmmm, aaaaahh!”
La Fourchette a Droite gets a bib gourmand in the Michelin guide, and as far as we can tell this is totally deserved. Top-notch food, smooth and relaxed service with a totally chill atmosphere…exceptional and welcoming vibes right in the heart of old town Saint-Malo. . .super!
Eat here if you ever find yourself visiting Saint-Malo on the north coast of Bretagne…you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!
The gringo is ready for lunch in this fabulous feed joint…jaaa!Nice plates.Cozy relaxing space…wake up, old-fella!Amuse bouche…shrimp and mussel…niiice!Squid entree…very tasty.Crispy tempura fish with squid ink sauce…magnifique!Scallops done magnificently…GOBBLE!Mushrooms in soothing sauce…delectable!Paper-thin crispy goodness to transition us to plats…wonderful!Delicate fish in delightful sauce…YES!Sweetbreads…top-notch…superb!A raviolo…this chef is a pasta master as well…show off:-).Fruit/sorbet dessert…shimmery sugar-glass on top…mmmmm!!Chocolate mousse…HECK YEAH!
WOW! This joint gets our vote for the number one restaurant in Saint-Malo…Le Saint Placide…mmm, aaaahh!
This is a 1-star restaurant in the Michelin guide, and it is easy to see why. The room is soothing and totally chill…the staff are all switched on and welcoming–a husband/wife team run the place, she manages front-of-house and he is the chef, both are top-notch…the food is spectacular…the drink is wonderful…and the overall experience is uplifting and totally satisfying.
We do the full-on tasting menu for lunch, and the chef is fully on it…EVERYTHING is loaded with flavor: shrimps, mussels, squid, mushrooms, fish, sweetbreads, pasta, fruits, sorbets, chocolate mousse. . .we wash our entire meal down with champagne and crisp dry white burgundy, and we could not be happier.
Google Le Saint Placide to learn more about this superb restaurant…
…but all you need to know from me is this: you should eat here if you visit Saint-Malo…you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!
This is the place to stay in Saint-Malo…book it!Great views of the sea with the dramatic tides rolling in and out…c’est bon!Great sunset views…bonsoir!Easy access to the beach all day long…mmm, aaaahh, brrrr!
BOOM! While visiting Saint-Malo here on the north coast of Bretagne we want to be sure that we are sleeping well, and the place to do this is here: Les Thermes Marins…this joint is great and gets our vote for the number one hotel in town.
Les Thermes Marins is a large spa/thermalbath/gastronomy/cozy hotel, and we could not be happier.
We have a large room overlooking the beachwalk, beach and sea with views of the old walled city and National Fort if we lean out of our large window and look to the left/west.
The staff here are top-notch and extremely helpful…
…the room service and food are extremely delicious…
…and the vibe of the whole structure is well-grounded efficiency and soothingness.
Lots of people are here ‘taking the waters’ with a wide variety of spa treatments to maintain and uplift one’s body and spirit.
I would live in a hotel like this given the chance…we have it all here.
If you ever visit Saint-Malo, then consider a stay in Les Thermes Marins…you will love it–I gar-ron-taaayy!
C’est magnifique! A must-visit town on the north coast of Bretagne–jaaaa!All about boats and the sea here in wonderful Saint-Malo.The Saint-Malo beaches beckon us all…no matter how chilly it is–mmm, aaaahh, brrrrr!The gringo can conquer any challenge with a good Saint-Malo robe…mmhhmmm!You gotta represent! Breton stripes ROCK!!Saint-Malo city walls allow for spontaneous moments of contemplation…or just an old guy who needs rest…you decide.So many city walls, so little time. . .enjoy them all NOW!The tide comes in nearly to the top of these breakwaters…gulp!Saint-Malo, we love you, we’ll be back…a bientot!
Very happy to finally visit Saint-Malo on the north coast of Bretagne…this town is wonderful!
We read a novel called “All The Light You Cannot See” recently…it is fabulous…you should read this if you have any interest in solid literature that makes you go ‘WOW’…
…and the setting for this novel is mostly this town, Saint-Malo, during the German occupation in World War II. . .really great read, really great town…you will want to come here, too, if you ever read this book. Check it out…you will enjoy, I gar-ron-taaay!
So, as we wander around here we learn that Saint-Malo is the most-visited town in all of Bretagne…who knew?…seems most everyone in France except for us…wow!
Now we know, too, and it is easy to see why this is the case–this place ROCKS on the rocks!
Saint-Malo was a pirate town many hundreds of years ago…this makes sense because the whole walled fortress of a town is built on rocks surrounding a magnificent harbor. There are forts on rocks out in the sea that were used to defend the town…there are rocks that become submerged during high tide, and if you don’t know where they are it is very easy to smash into one with your sailing vessel and sink into the choppy sea…
…so many ways to get into trouble here if you are attempting to invade the coast or attack the city. . .the pirates set themselves up real nice here back in the day.
Then we fast-forward to World War II…the Germans set up shop here…the war raged on…the locals were disgusted and constantly resisting as best they could…the war was winding down in 1945…the locals begged the German colonel in charge here to surrender so their beautiful town would not be bombed…the colonel refused to surrender…the town was bombed…the allies arrived and escorted the remaining Germans out…the locals cleaned up and rebuilt…Saint-Malo made it through this ridiculousness, and thrives today.
The tides roll in and out dramatically every six hours or so…the people scurry about here and there…classes in windsurfing, sailing, sandsailing and life-saving are conducted every day…delicious seafood is gobbled here every day…spa treatments happen every day…and there seems to be a story about every building and stone outcropping and beach and recovered cannon on display that could fill many books…Google about all of this to learn more…
…but right now all you need to know from me is that Saint-Malo is alive and well and stupendous…and ready to welcome you.
If you ever get the chance please come visit this town. . .Saint-Malo is totally worthy of your attention…
…we hope to return again and again and again…sante!
WOW! It is easy to feed well when in Bretagne…and the Hotel du Bac here in Sainte-Marine, Combrit is a prime gobble spot…check it out!
Hotel du Bac is a cozy, crisp building located in a pedestrian-only section on a dock overlooking the harbor of Sainte-Marine. We park our car in a nearby public parking lot, wheel our bags to the hotel–a ten-minute walk, check in, and then get busy gobbling in the wonderful hotel restaurant.
You can see a lot of what we are ingesting above. . .Google “Hotel du Bac, Sainte-Marine” to learn more.
Better yet, come on over here, visit Sainte-Marine, stay in this hotel, eat in this restaurant, wander along the harbor edge after your meal, and you will be happy as can be with the grub, the people, the service, the atmosphere and the warm and welcoming vibes of the Breton people.
I send you invigorating vibes from deep inside Bretagne…feel them…they will make you go, “JAAAAA!!!”
Eat here when in Sainte-Marine, Combrit…oui!The gringo settles in very nicely…sante!First-ever Bretagne salad…potatoes, fish, eggs, grilled apple slivers, tomatoes, greens, scallions and vinaigrette–lovely!Hearty hunk of fish with hearty veggies and sauce…wonderful!Dessert of apples in caramel sauce with ice-cream, whipped cream and sweet crumble–FUN!
We arrive in Sainte-Marine, Combrit…we drop our bags at our hotel…we wander around–this place is sleepy…it’s autumn by the sea, not many folks visiting, only locals looking at us wondering who we are, what we are doing here, what we are looking for, etc. And the answers are always the same: we are gringos enjoying the passage of time and looking for a delicious grub to jam into our gullets.
Well, look no further than the Cafe de la Cale located right on the harbor’s edge overlooking the docks and boats and seabirds and the sea…mmm, aaaaahh!
And joy-upon-joys this place is open ALL DAY LONG! A total anomaly here in France. . .we arrive at three-o’clock in the afternoon, and the server waves us to an outdoor table…YES, she says, we can eat and drink now. . .WOW!
So, we get busy with glasses of champagne and a dozen oysters…wonderful!
Then we do plats: hearty fish in a delectable sauce. . .and a Bretagne salad, my first one ever, and both of these dishes make us happy, real happy.
We end with a dessert of cooked apples covered with caramel sauce, ice cream, whipped cream and sweet crumble.
We wash everything down with a crisp Burgundy white, and we are good-to-go…et voila!!
If you ever find yourself hangin’ in Sainte-Marine in Bretagne, then seek out the Cafe de la Cale for a tasty meal and warm, welcoming Bretagne vibes…you will love this joint–I gar-ron-taaaayy!
It looks complicated, but we have arrived in the village of Sainte-Marine in an area called ‘Combrit’…niiice!Extremely cozy here…j’adore Sainte-Marine!Morning walks are lovely here: Sainte-Marine, Combrit, Bretagne.The gringo needs lots of breaks while walking around Sainte-Marine, Combrit…mmhhmmm!The gringo was a tree in a previous life…not a bad existence at all–jaaaa!!All about the sea here…vive la Centre Nautique Sainte-Marine!
KABOOMY! Our exploration of Bretagne continues in a village called Sainte-Marine located in an area called ‘Combrit’ on the far southwest Breton coast not far from the major town of Concarneau.
Sainte-Marine is situated on a nice little protected bay or harbor that is only a few hundred meters from the wild seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. . .cozy and calm here in the harbor…and windy and lively as we approach the sea…lovely and invigorating.
…we are happy here, we can stay here for a long time if ever needed and we will return whenever we can because we love all of this too-too much!
We give this place huge thumbs-up. . .Google “Sainte-Marine, Combrit” to learn more…and then come here, book a room in the Hotel du Bac, settle in, eat in the hotel restaurant, eat in the cafe across the harbor, eat in a creperie, find the local market, sip wine, sip champagne…and simply enjoy the passage of time.
GlobeHug 