Just before Easter 2001 I took a few days off work and headed west to see the land of perfumes, wine and champagne... After a very scenic ride through the Saarland in western Germany, the rolling fields of northern France, and the Chinon Valley (where I got lost trying to find my way back to the French Autobahn), I arrived in Nantes, on the Atlantic coast of France, 4 hours drive west of Paris. After seeing the Mardi Gras Parade the first night (in France it's called something different, I don't remember what), me and Eva headed north for a 4 day tour of Brittany, which is in the northwest corner of France. The weather was pleasant (usu. about 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, and not much rain), the ocean breeze plentiful, my car well-behaved, and the local food and drink good (crepes and an interesting alchoholic apple cider).
| Here we had a clear view of the monostary / fortress of St. Michel (Normandy). This 'Burg' was built some 100s of years ago by the local rulers to keep out the English, the Vikings, or the French, depending on who happened to rule it at the time (for a long time, the English were here, thumbing their noses at the French on the mainland...) A very scenic view from afar .... unfortunately, the place is more or less a tourist trap on the inside ... I paid 45 French Franc for the 'historic museum and wax exhibit', which was basically a bunch of old coins and weapons, a dilapitated 'land periscope' and a wax figure - and - light exhibit. |  |
| The old fortified 'pirate city' St. Malo. This is a pretty cool place which offers visitors an authentic 'old-tyme' atmosphere complete with city walls. (the city wall appears to be the favorite stroll for the French tourists, for lack of any real kind of 'park' within the city). While we were standing on the city wall, which you see ahead of you, a bunch of people were also there observing the lost tourists being picked up by rescue boats. People had crossed the beach to the island 200 yards off, only to find themselves trapped there by the tide. |  |
| This is me, on the moon... on 'Ile de Brehat'
(don't know the meaning in French except it's an island*) which you can
access only by ferry at certain times of day, as tides allow. As
you can see the tidal difference is pretty big. I liked the way the
boats were 'docked', which is, they rope off the boat to a buoy, and then
let it rest on the ground during low tide.
* French pronuncation: 'Ill' (as in, 'Hey man, you illin') |
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