Paris - A Second Day

It's a gray last day in France.  The forecast is for rain and thundershowers all day. It doesn't turn out as bad as predicted but rains off and on enough to make a mess of touring and walking. We walk in light rain in search of lunch.  Our intended restaurant is not a restaurant but one of the many take-out places serving the students of the Sorbonne.

We return to a loud greeting of "Welcome Back" to the restaurant of yesterday's lunch. In the afternoon we prepare for the return trip.

On the return, CJ photographs the Roman amphitheater adjacent to our hotel. This is the view from inside the hotel; the same one we had in 2006.

 

 We suppose this is the entrance of the gladiators or the lions or the props.

Our room has one wall against the stone structure on the right.  The window on the 3rd floor is our room.

For dinner we have an evening with  friends we haven't seen since 2006. We have dinner with Clarisse and her daughter, Blanche and are joined for desert by husband, Georges. It's fun rekindling the relationship. We return to the hotel by 11 pm.

Tomorrow, we return to the US after 53 days on the Continent.

NEXT BLOG BEGINS 5 DECEMBER 2019

CHILE AND THE WHITE CONTINENT ANTARCTICA

Paris and Notre Dame

After spending the morning in Maxime's condo catching up on email and blogging, we make the short drive into Paris.

Waiting for our room, we enjoy a fantastic long lunch at a nearby restaurant. Portions have grown outrageously in the 30 years we've been visiting France.  It's not a good sign for the French waistline but the huge hunk of fall off the bone lamb was delicious.

 

 

In the afternoon, we paid homage to Notre Dame but not before a mandatory stop at Bertillon for its famous sorbet.  We were pleasantly surprised.  There is significant progress already made in the restoration of the cathedral.

 

 

 This is a close up view of the work going on behind the front façade through the grate.

 

During the walk of 10,000 steps (according to the Fitbit), CJ captured sights of La Seine and the Latin Quarter.

 River traffic on the Seine.  Note the car on the stern.

What would a trip to Notre Dame be without the short obligatory diversion across the little bridge to Ille St. Louis and the Bertillon restaurant for a few boules of their sorbet. Purists, as we were in our younger days, would walk the two additional blocks to the original sorbet-only shop.

 

The Panthéon, the 18th-century mausoleum with colonnaded facade, housing remains of notable French citizens. It's located near the hotel.

 There weren't any of these Star Wars looking river tour boats when we last sailed on the Seine.

 

 

We find it impossible to hail a taxi and make the return climb to our hotel. They've decorated our room with rose petals everywhere including the bathroom.

The Home Stretch

We begin our last Sunday in Europe with an incredible lunch of leftovers.  Leftover foie gras with a world class Sauternes. Leftover Moroccan lamb with a fine French Burgundy.  

We have changed the plan from departing Saint Meloir des Ondes on Monday to Sunday.  We'll overnight with Maxime outside Paris and have more time to spend with him on a non-work day.

CJ loves Parisian drivers.  They make the best zoomers.  He attaches us to one Mercedes SUV and at times they cruise along at speeds of up to 177km/hr (110mph).  

The Poirson family did an amazing job transforming what was a pedestrian condo into a spacious modern open unit. The tales of the reconstruction could make a great comedic movie. The results speak wonders for the design and planning of Didier and Maxime.

 

 

Next stop Paris and a visit with Clarisse.  Maxime's condo is less than 25km (much less as crow flies) and a 45 minutes drive to our hotel.  

Weekend in Saint Meloir

Jocelyne has taken the train from her business meeting in Rennes to Saint Malo.  Didier has driven from Brest to meet her.  They arrive in time for dinner.  On our menu this evening is foie gras, Sauteurnes, Moroccan spiced lamb and a Rasteau from the Rhone valley. It's the first time, they've ever arrived in Saint Meloir to a home cooked meal. As Didier says, it's nice to be welcomed so kindly into their home.

 

 

 

Following dinner, we have a surprise.  Jocelyne has told us about a special rum infused with fruit.  We've purchased a bottle and have at; quite likely a bit too much at it. This one is infused with mango and passion fruit. When we kill the bottle, they add another bottle of rum to the remaining fruit.  In a few months we'll find out how it worked.

 Saturday is a busy day.  We begin at the Automat.  Back in the 1950's and 1960's they were a joke in America dispensing food in big cities from windows rather than a cafeteria line.  This place is at a farm and dispenses vegetables 24/7.

 

The homestead of explorer and discoverer of Canada and the St. Lawrence River, Jacques Cartier.  The visit is normally a half hour.  Today the guide is particularly passionate and enthusiastic and the visit is more than an hour.

 

Next up is the first-ever Cancale oyster festival where we lunch on freshly shucked oysters, TWO bottles of Riesling with bad boy CJ throwing in a beer and cidre on top of that.  His rationale: more wine for the other three.

 

Only in France do they have food trucks dedicated to serving alcohol.

After a short nap, we drive into Saint Malo where Didier demonstrates his incredible pride in his home town, we return to the ramparts and share a drink, CJ's final Chat Malo (best French beer ever). A distinguishing feature of the waterfront beyond the ramparts is the town's tidal pool. It's nothing more than a three-sided retaining wall with a diving platform on the ocean side. This is the first time we've seen people swimming in the pool and diving and jumping from the platform.

 The tide is farther out today than Thursday when we visited.

The new bells for the cathedral are on display prior to their upcoming replacement of the existing bells. Each of the four bells represents a specific tone and represents a person or event of significance to the city.  Each is ornately engraved telling its story.

This evening we treat at their favorite restaurant in the village.  We all order the lamb and it does not disappoint.

 

 

CJ and Didier drive down to the shore of the bay and the town of Saint Benoit des Ondes to purchase oysters for Maxime. Unsecured outdoor tanks are apparently not a local problem.

 

The last lunch of this visit is an elegant presentation of left overs accompanied by the last of the Sauternes and a fine Burgundy.

Le Mont Saint Michel

How many times has CJ been to Le Mont Saint Michel?

Today his visit has a new purpose.  He has not visited since they reconstructed the access causeway, created a dam to control the flow of the local river to support flushing the area around the mount, and changed access for visitors.

There is new visitor parking and a shuttle bus system.

The bus ride to the abbey does not take long.  It takes longer to load the bus and wait for the driver to decide to depart.

The bus drops visitors a hundred meters from the abbey. CJ walks the mud flats before entering.

 

 

CJ spends a half hour within the walls of the city enjoying morning tea. These pictures are from the first few hundred feet inside the walls. There are far more beautiful views and streets as one climbs the city.

 

 

It's apparent that given the significantly reduced tidal coefficient of the day, there will be no dramatic entry of the tide; only a normal (at least for this bay) return of the water.

 

LMSM remains one of the most beautiful and dramatic sights on the planet.