Tuesday, July 1, 2008

how to view this blog?

This Blog is simply the online record of a voyage to France by 2 men: Shawn and Didier.

It is a re-cap and a photographic record of our adventures from Paris, to Nantes, to Rennes and beyond...

The best way to view this blog is in chronological order... to do that you can click on the "it starts..." link on the right hand side (under 'Blog Entries') Or you can simply click HERE and go post, by post. When you reach the bottom of an individual post you can click on the "Newer Post" link in the bottom left corner.

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Aside from the main daily posts there will be special smaller posts on a few specific subject matters, that after reviewing the photos (we in fact took 6236 photos in total, most of those by Shawn - 5094) appeared to be rather constant subject matter, some intentional and some not. They are:

'du jour': A favourite photo of the day.

'leopard spotting': these are sightings of Leopard Print, be it clothing, furniture, in a painting or otherwise.

'knock-knock': Photos of some doorways that for whatever reason caught Shawn's attention.

'deux pour un': Mostly Duo self portraits, although also included are pictures of both of us together, taken by friends or family.

'l'amour est un oiseau rebelle': Birds. Birds. Birds.

'beauté est la bête': Gargoyles. (they are every where.)

'juste pour rire': Staged or otherwise amusing photographs.

'a la carte': What was on the menu when we dined out.

'sphinx-ters': Sphinxes. (Like Gargoyles, they are everywhere.)

'naughty bits': Call them kiki, or zizi (a la Française), they are even more prolific than gargoyles and sphinx!

'fess-tivale': Well you cant take a picture of a kiki and ignore the 'b-side'

'arcade of Joan': miscellaneous Jeanne d'Arc.

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We hope you enjoy this blog as much as we enjoyed our time in France.

Shawn & Didier.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

a la carte: le 22 juin

Shortly after arriving in St-Malo and walking for about 45 mins we decided it was best, to get a bite to eat for a long day of sight-seeing, so we stopped off at Crêperies Chez Chantal. Apparently the oldest crêperies in St-Malo (since it's completed restorations). It first opened for business in 1955. Of course we all had crêpes and Apple Side (most traditional, and delicious)

Didier: Andouille
Philippe: Jambon et Patates



Shawn: Chevre



And then of course it was time for dessert...

Didier: Chocolate et Grand Marnier
Philippe: Chocolat et Chantilly



Shawn: Chocolat, Poires et Chantilly



Later that afternoon, while strolling along the boardwalk in Dinard we stopped for Belgian Waffles...

Didier: Chocolat et Sucre



Philippe: Confiture
Shawn: Crème de Marrons



DE-LICI-OUS!

juste pour rire: le 22 juin

OK not so much something funny as something eye-catching...

...I did find it cute though, that they drew a protective circle around themselves, as if to say, Hey! this is OUR part of the beach, now beat it!

l'amour est un oiseau rebelle: le 22 juin

St-Malo being on the coast, it was a sure thing that gulls would abound. This happy little fellow had been walking on the crosswalk (Right up until I got my camera out of course!)



These little fellow were all about as we had lunch at La Crêperies Chez Chantal. The two in the rear of the photo were feeding each other the little scraps and morsels they found. They were too cute.



While walking along the ramparts of the city, wee came across these Gulls and their friend...





While walking along the Boardwalk at Dinard, I spotted this Egret fishing along the breaker line ...

deux pour un: le 22 juin


Taken from the point at Dinard, looking toward St-Malo.

du jour: le 22 juin

St-Malo
(from le Grand Bé)


Le Petit Bé
(from le Grand Bé)

day nine (2): st-malo / dinard / dinan

Dinard and Dinan


After a short drive, we arrived in Dinard, and headed down to the main beach, with spectacular views of the old homes hugging both sides of the beach...






Some closer shots of these magnificent old homes...





Then we took a walk on a boardwalk around a point where we could get a better view of St-Malo...



...a a beached sailboat...



On our walk back, we passed another salt water pool (check out the raised road. And yes that's a single dwelling home to the right of the road)



The local Casino Barriere De Dinard (which overlooks the Beach)...



Then before heading back to Rennes, we stopped off in Dinan to visit Jacques and Gael. They just purchased a centuries old house and were beginning to renovate. I cannot wait to go back and visit again when it's done... the place will be spectacular!




After a couple drinks and a bite to eat we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Rennes.

day nine (1): st-malo / dinard / dinan

St-Malo


Philippe put the top down on his Peugeot 307CC and we were on the road...




After a 45 minute drive, north of Rennes, we arrived at the sea side, fortified city of St-Malo.



Jacques Gouin de Beauchesne...



Port St-Louis...



Once inside the city walls we walked around a bit...





Cathedral de St. Vincent ...




The Breakwater...



After a short walk within the city, we climbed the Ramparts for more impressive views...






Public beaches below the ramparts...

Plage le Môle:




Plage de Bon Secours:



A view from the ramparts:
Foreground: Plage de Bon Secours with the famous seawater swimming pool...
Behind the pool: Le Grand Bé
Behind and to the left of le Grand Bé: Le Petit Bé.



Jacques Cartier. He was born at St-Malo...



In the distance, Fort National...



Place du Québec and Robert Surcouf...






After walking along the Ramparts, we went outside the city walls and since it was low tide we walked to le Grand Bé...




Two views from le Grand Bé, looking toward le Petit Bé...




A view of St-Malo from le Grand Bé. You can see the bell tower of the Cathédrale de St-Vincent...



descending le Grand Bé...



Walking along the path toward St-Malo (This path is submerged at high tide)...



Another view of le Fort National...



After the walk to and from le Grand é we headed back inside the City walls...



And eventually took a rest at le Café Univers...



...where we had a wonderful view of l'Hôtel de Ville...


After our rest, we walked along the street where there were many local artists. We particularly liked the work of this artist and bought a tryptic... actually the one in the lower left corner of this pic...



...and here's the proof of purchase...



After a couple hours walking the streets we headed back to the car and headed across the bay to Dinard...