Thursday 05 October
Heading west towards the city of Bordeaux - never made it that far. Stopped at the fortress city of Carcassonne. It looks like a really huge castle but it is an entire city.
Had lunch there, Joan had a crepe stuffed with mushrooms, I had blood sausage roasted with apples, followed by an apple tart and a glass of Calvados (like a cognac made from apples) - a very apple-y lunch
we walked around the city for an hour, stopped in the cathedral, lots of gargoyles of course
Inside was a shrine to St Joan of Arc, and Joan lit a candle for her
Many huge stained glass windows:
A bit more walking (way too much walking, I am very out of shape) and we bid goodbye to Carcassonne
Back on the road, we went around the city of Toulouse still heading west by northwest to a small village called Grenade. Seemed like a nice town and it was getting late. Had a couple of drinks in a cafe and asked if the town had a hotel. Yes one hotel; next block over on the left. Walked over, didn’t see anything, thought we misunderstood her french, and kept walking. After several blocks I asked a pedestrian and he directed us to the same place our waitress had. Went back and what appeared to be a nice house (no sign or anything) we found it, very low key till you got inside. Joan says it looks like something that would have been frequented by Zelda and F Scott Fitzgerald. A very large parlor, at one end a billiards table, at the other end a roulette table, in between couches and a piano.
After we settled in, went to see about dinner. No fancy restaurants in this village, found a little place, looked closed but I saw through the window that the rear dining room was lit up. The owner/cook didn’t speak english but we got by. No menu - he said they had mussels, or steak. That was it. Joan had the mussels, said they were very garlic and good. I had the steak, two pitchers of wine; with an Armagnac to wash it down.
Friday 06 October
Careful what you ask for, you just might get it …
For the past week I have been baking in the sun, and hating it. Yesterday I said I wish it would rain for a change - so today it is 10 degrees cooler and drizzley - I love it but now Joan is unhappy, we do not want an unhappy Joan! Oh well (fortunately it cleared up by noon).
She went to 9 oçlock mass, while I settled the bill and re-packed the car. The woman at the desk at the Villa Leopold (that was the F Scott Fitzgerald hotel) ask where we were heading and I told her the coast - she said Arcachon was a great town just past Bordeaux, so that was our destination. Running low on gas and thinking lunch we stopped at Valence d'Agen, wasn’t much choice, and the place where we ate didn’t serve wine or beer. Ate quick sandwiches and found a bar for a little wine to wash it down; the church didn’t even have gargoyles
although there was a Ste Joan inside
Finally got to Arcachon and it was a disappointment; sort of a smaller version of Nice, without the Mediterranean - but we did get a view of the Atlantic from the other side, not Montauk Point
We decided to keep going, looking for something more low key.
Found a small hotel on the road between towns, sitting out side drinking wine, Joan doesn’t want dinner so a crummy sandwich is it for the day - works out that way sometimes when traveling. But there is always wine. Tomorrow is another day.
UPDATE: we did have dinner, or I did - she picked at my salad and had one scoop of strawberry ice cream. I had a tart of chorizo, green peppers, and a bit of cheese; followed by a plate of squid fried in garlic and rice pilaf; not memorable but at least dinner.
Saturday 07 October
on the coast, heading north today ...
Took mostly back roads north to Verdon sur Mer and then caught a ferry over to Royan, this is where the river empties into the Atlantic.
The Germans must have thought it strategic during WWII and set up here - so the Allies bombed the city to destruction. Which means the city was rebuilt from the ground up, all brand new. At a restaurant at the port we both had the traditional fish soup served with croutons, shredded gruyere cheese and aloi, a spicy garlic paste. Then I went overboard and had Couscous Royale: a huge bowl of couscous, a huge bowl of vegetable stew, and a platter of meat (lamb meatballs, merguez sausages, roasted chicken, and a little roast lamb). Took me 3 helpings to finish it all
finished lunch with sorbet, ice-cream, brandy and coffee; then back on the road north to La Rochelle and a bridge to the Ile de Ré where they are reputed to have the best oysters in the world. Drove around the island just looking it over, stopped at the port for a glass of wine. It was like Montauk in mid-summer: harbor full of boats, hundreds of people on foot and bicycles, and a few unruly children. And not a room to be had, everything was booked up complete. We had seen a restaurant/hotel out along the coast between towns and gave it a try. Yes they had a room left, the Marakeesh room.(only guessing, but it sounded like the rooms were all themed)
across the street from the hotel was the sea wall, we watched the ducks and geese and the sun go down.
Joan pointing to the lighthouse:
out on the hotel patio had a drink and the waitress brought us a piece of cake, still warm, made from seaweed, very interesting. Inside for dinner we started with a platter of oysters of course - huge and meaty
Joan had sea scallops and a slice of seared foie gras on a puree of butternut squash
I had ris de veau (the thymus gland of a calf, called sweetbreads in english) in a vanilla cream sauce with lobster meat and mushrooms (heck of a surf and turf) - truly amazing
Before the main courses came the chef asked me how the meal was and I said I was waiting for the ris de veau, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up, afterwards he asked if it was good and I told him it was excellent.
we split the dessert du jour - highly recommended by our waitress
When the woman at the bar was pouring my after dinner Calvados the chef went up to her and told her to top it up, and he smiled at me again (he recognized a real foodie, I was probably the only one eating ris de veau all night)
Joan stared at me and said “you sure make friends quick” but for me that is the whole point of coming here, she loves the history and devours the guide books, I love eating and connecting with people. We make a good pair.
Sunday 08 October
Left the Island of Ré and headed north aiming for St Malo
We were running low on gas and we knew Nantes was a place worth stopping, and it was about mid-way to St Malo so we exited the highway and drove into town. Like all large cities - difficult to get anywhere if you don’t know your way around. One advantage in France, look for the cathedral, usually the tallest thing around, and head for that. Dropped Joan off in front of the cathedral and set off looking for somewhere to park. Inside a really cool tomb for Francois the second but I left the phone in the car so no picture. Most old cathedrals are kind of grey and dingy (although that gives them character - centuries of candles and incense) - this one was a testament to light, the stone almost white and the stained glass windows glistening
Across the street was an Irish Pub (must be fate) - the bar keep a real irishman - red hair, freckles and all. There was live music, fiddle, guitar, squeeze box, and bodhrain (drum) and after the 2nd or third drink the bartender says - I think by your accent you must be from NY - I sez - oh yeah and lots of irish pubs in NY. So he sez well there is one that everyone in Dublin knows called the Dead Rabbits. Joan and I both start laughing - tell him we go to the Dead Rabbits down by Battery Park. He starts writing down the names of some pubs in Nantes that we MUST check out. Nice intermission but we need to be on our way. We knew that St Malo would be a zoo - too many people, no where to park, no rooms for the night so we went to the town of Cancale, around the peninsula - it was worse as far as tourists.
Drove back in the direction of St Malo hoping for something between towns, like last night on the Ile de Ré
And we found it -got a nice room on the “second” floor - actually the 3rd because they do not count the ground floor. A beautiful restaurant although the food was a disappointment - can’t always be that lucky
Looks like we may stay here 2 or 3 days, Joan wants to do some exploring.
The lighthouse and killer rocks, from our room window -
Monday 09 October
woke up to grey clouds and a light drizzle - on this part of the coast we had two destinations: St Malo, an infamous port; and Mont St Michel.
St Malo is closer and we figured even if we cannot see the town we can have lunch.
During the 1600’s and 1700’s the corsairs of St Malo were sanctioned by the kings - kind of legal pirates, as long as the kings got a cut. they terrorized English, Dutch, and Portuguese ships. The walled city has many islands in the harbor with fortresses to help defend the city - we walked along the ramparts completely around the city (seemed like miles) - a few pictures from along the way:
saw at least 4 or 5 of these little island forts off the coast
large sailing ships in the port take people out for cruises
a lady pirate for a figurehead
This island is so close you can walk to it at low tide. During WWII the germans took the town and locked up all the men and boys here. That left them the city full of women …
Joan in one of the many lookout turrets of the city wall
part of the wall facing the mainland
Near the main gates (after walking around the entire city) was Cafe de St Malo,
which is the name of Monique’s restaurant in Quebec - we were going to eat there but it was way too hot, so we found an outside cafe and dared the rain to come back. Started with a half dozen oyters (raw), Joan had a salad and a croque, a grilled cheese sandwich with ham in the middle. I had the plat du Jour- smoked cod (we eat cod all the time, never had it smoked) with ratatouille and a cream sauce with a touch of curry and cardamon seeds
two bottles of wine, crepe Suzette and coffees (I skipped the Calvados) - another very good lunch
A slow ride back to the hotel - went next door for wine and a calvados, they were closing early so drinks only, no dinner, just bread and cheese in our room.
Tuesday 10 October
No rain but still grey out - off to Mont St Michel today; nice ride crossing from Brittany into Normandy; Normandy is known for its 3 C’s: Cidre, Calvados, and Camenbert cheese. And Mont St Michel
An island a short way off the coast it is now connected by a causeway. Had to park about 2 miles away, a free shuttle takes you to within about 1/4 mile - then walking. And inside no vehicles at all, lots more walking. About half way up the restaurants and souvenir shops peter out - the top is the abbey
I stopped around the halfway point, told Joan I would wait if she wanted to do the top but she decided lunch was the priority. We took a different path down, through a cemetery and the chapel of St Michael (St Michel who the mountain is named for). There was a sculpt of Saint Michael slaying the dragon, and another Saint Joan
Lunch started with raw oysters of course, Joan had a brunch crepe stuffed with ham, eggs, and cheese. From the restaurants windows we could see flocks of sheep grazzing on the salt marshes along the coast. The famous sheep are very tender and have a natural salty-ness. That was my lunch, roast leg of lamb. Sorbet, Calvados, and coffees - then the long walk back down. We had noticed that the horse drawn carriages got much closer to the town walls than the free shuttle, so I paid the 20 euro and we had a very nice slow ride back to the parking lots.
After a slow drive back into Brittany we stopped in Cancale, all the weekend tourists were gone. This town is said to be the biggest consumer of oysters, and we saw the beds where they have vast oyster farms
we saw 2 men sitting on the sea wall eatting raw oysters, no sauce or anything, just a squeeze of lemon, and tossing the shells off the wall; that’s how the locals do it. We took the simpler method for our second oyster course of the day - at an outside table with a glass of wine.
Probably the last of our oysters until we reach Paris, tomorrow we start across Normandy proper.
Wednesday 11 October
Supposed to be more sunshine today, we’ll see as we move in-land
Joan walkked out to the point, the last few nights we have been staying at the Pointe du Grouin, she took a few pictures (I skipped the walk)
Today will be be a low key day, mostly driving east towards Chartres, and the Cathedral of the black madona. Leaving Cancale was a field of standing stones, most now laying down but a few still upright
We made a small detour southwest to the town of Dinan. In Joan’s living room is an etching of the half-timbered houses in Dinan done by some famous artist who’s name I do not know. There had been over a thousand such houses in the old city but only 17 remain
Stopped at a café Joan had her usual Cafe au lait - I switched from beer to hard cidre (brut) - then on to yet another church, inside another St Joan (very popular)
the statues of the saints outside the church were all headless - very common, during the French Revolution it was not just the aristocrats who lost there heads! Inside St Joan was fine
Lunch was a small luncheonette near the boarder of Brittany and Normandy, 3 courses of home cooking with lots of wine, cidre, and calvados. Then east towards the city of Alençon for the night.
