my soft spot

just a mom who plays hockey and knits

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Eating in St-Malo

In St-Malo, we ate at the Lion d'Or twice. Charlie had grilled cheese & ham each time, with a fried egg added the first night (Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame). I had a fancy fish plate the first night--salmon so fresh, it overshadowed the other two fish on my plate. The second night, I ordered an omelette and fries (most of which Charlie ate). The waiter seemed disappointed in our order but warmed up after I told him we were return customers and would be ordering dessert. He brought us a warm apple tart with salted caramel sauce and ice cream that was nothing short of amazing.

During our dinner the first night, we saw a stream of people holding paper lanterns go by, and this flamingo and a papier-mâché mermaid. Turns out it was Carnaval that night, and the parade had started way back near the hostel where we were staying.

The hostel where we stayed was initially a very tough sell. (I was grateful that I'd decided against the hostel in Dinan for the next span of nights.) Although the towels and a nice buffet breakfast were included, and the room was quiet if sparse, the lack of WiFi, having had it in the two previous places, was a very tough adjustment for Charlie. The Internet connection the first day in particular was pathetic--cutting out often, slow when connected.

Things looked up after that--I never did cook in their kitchen (it stank the entire time), so we went out for lunch & dinner and honestly, all of the meals were either good or great. We walked the ramparts of the old city one night, ending up at the Corps de la Garde Crêperie, recommended by Rick Steves. Without a reservation, we were advised to come back in 10. Through a miscommunication, we ended up at a table with a French couple. These were long tables with long benches with no backs--kind of uncomfortable. The next day, we returned for lunch but went into the lower dining room that had chairs and benches with backs, but no view. Everything was lovely. That previous night, at Charlie's urging, I ordered a crêpe flambée with blueberry jam and Grand Marnier (which was too strong in the end for me to finish the crêpe). I got a good photo, which I'll insert here when I find it.



Saturday, April 26, 2014

A solemn day, commemorating WWII nearly 70 years ago.

Charlie by the grave of someone named Charles.


April 26, 2014

The day we visited Arromanches and the American Cemetery, the weather was very changeable. At Arromanches, the artificial harbor is still, 70 years later, mostly intact. Some of the metal blocks have come undone and washed up on the shore, so you can look at them up close. Charlie found a small crab with green legs and carried it around in a ladyslipper for a while (whose name he forgot and then called it a Female Bedtime Shoe).

We got back on the road and drove to the American Cemetery, not very far but on a slow country road with glimpses of the sea. The cemetery is free to tour, and we went through the visitor center first. There was a movie about D-Day ("Jour J" in French, because 'jour' starts with j, which is apparently what the D in D-Day is for), lots of the old equipment that the soldiers carried (3 days' worth of meals!).

Then we went out to the cemetery--but not before waiting out a short downpour. The cemetery is vast, a sea of green with crosses as far as the eye can see. The crosses are punctuated with some marble stars of David, some with small rocks on them, and every once in a while, a heartbreaking cross for a soldier "known only to God." Charlie patiently held my hand while I wept. I'm glad we went.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Lazy day in Bayeux

It took us until 8:30PM to get to Bayeux, due to traffic outside of Paris and the absolute maze of streets, many one-way, in Bayeux. I finally parked outside a hotel and ran in to get directions. The place was literally 3 blocks from the hotel but we had to drive on 7 streets to get facing the right way.

We arrived, unpacked, and set out for a late, light dinner. We ate at the butcher's--at least, that was the restaurant's name. I had a warm chèvre salad, and Charlie had a ground-beef patty with bacon & cheese, and fries and a small salad. It was a really nice way to end the day.

We stayed up too late that night, and both slept way in the next day. I got up about 11 and went out briefly for bread for breakfast. Roused Charlie at 12 and got him to eat. Then we went out for grocery shopping at the local Carrefour City.

After putting the groceries away, we set out for the Tapestries museum. My sister had strongly recommended the audio tour. There was a giant tour group ahead of us, so I worried that it would take forever to get the audio tour and get through (we only arrived 1.5 hrs before it closed), but it was just fine. The 20-minute tour was lively but interesting, and the tapestries really were beautiful. We skipped the Permanent Exhibit, but went immediately to the gift shop. Charlie picked up a pencil sharpener, another commemorative coin, and a bookmark. I got a bookmark for myself and a rain poncho for him.

On the way home, we found a lovely river (the Aure, perhaps):


And a funny door.

Quiet dinner at home and early to bed.


Our day at Parc Astérix

Parc Astérix is modeled after the French comic-book character Astérix and his friends. The comic books use a lot of puns and are delightful--and popular. Charlie had leafed through several of my French-language ones, and found some translated into English (they've been translated into at least 30 languages) at the library, and loved them. So when I told him there was an amusement park in France for Astérix, he definitely wanted to visit.

What does your ride take, unleaded, or super? -Hay, that is.

Charlie could not believe the word for "hand stamp."


And he asks me, "Am I an Astérix..."

"...or an Obélix?" (moot question, as the Obélix ones were the only ones available in adult sizes)

It just cracked me up that a fast-food place had a cheese plate, with camembert, no less.

Bad Charlie. Bad, bad Charlie.

About to go on a raft ride--that left us dry, thank God. Lots of spinning and shrieking! Fun.

And then there was LOTS of souvenir shopping. I even got into it, buying two shopping bags and an Obélix apron that says, "À table! À table! À table!" ("Time to eat!")

They were kind enough to replace the Obélix bank that I was holding and dropped, and should have been wrapped up. Charlie got a t-shirt, 5 books, 5 commemorative coins, and a plastic water bottle in the shape of the tribe's "ampoule" that they use for the magic strength potion.

On to Bayeux!

And... we're off!

Charlie and I set off for France on April 22 at 11:10AM, just a tad bit behind schedule, on United flight 990 to Charles de Gaul airport in France.

Charlie really loved it--the novelty of just going somewhere, a place where he'd never been. Also, plane travel can be quite charming, especially if you have only been as far as Vegas or Portland before. I realized on the flight that this was his first time out of the country, even. (We have to travel more.)

He even liked the food... but he really enjoyed the in-flight entertainment, which had about 100 movies on demand. I liked the movies but also the constantly updating map of where we were on our route. The clouds over Hudson Bay were spectacular.

We each slept about 3 hours, but very well, and going through Passport Control and getting our luggage was easy enough. We had a little trouble finding the rental car (the floors were color-coded, but I didn't know which color we were supposed to be looking for), but once we found it, we were fine.

We went to Chantilly, which was beautiful, but it was mostly to have something to do to fill up the time until bed, for blessed sleep.


Charlie in front of the main gate.


Me & Charlie with my friend Venus de Milo.

Side view of Chantilly, from the expansive gardens. I had hoped this one would capture the cross at the top, which Charlie pointed out would be good to climb on.

Then we were off to La Chappelle en Serval and an AirBnB-rented apartment for some blissful sleep! (which really was blissful)