Saint Malo

This is the beach at Saint Malo, a city in France on the coast. This is the ocean. It was cold and rainy but very beautiful.

This is me in a tower doorway. Look at that umbrella, look at the wet hair. Yeah its a different umbrella because the other one broke, when I ran into a pole.

These were colonies of mussels chilling out in a tide pool. The tide was coming in when I saw them, I knew that I had gone to far so I turned back.

I watched slowly as the land-bridge between the island and the mainlands disappeared beneath the cold unforgiving waters of the ocean. This constant cycle of tides has been happening since the world began and it was beautiful to witness. 

He however did not witness the tide coming in, and was stuck on the island until he waded across the icy water. Should have paid attention to the mussels.

This is my terrible cursive in the sand on the beach.

And randomly there was a carnival happening in Saint Malo the day we went. There were rides and stand to win things, and dogs all over the place. Thank God I didn't see any clowns. But there was, as with every carnival worth having, a ton of food.

This was relatively like a doughnut. It was fried, which I loved, with soft warm bread on the inside while the outside was coated with sugar. In the cold and rainy afternoon it was a welcomed companion. 

These were called something that I don't remember but the title had America in it. Apparently sugar rope things are American while I've never seen them before. They were pretty good but kinda expensive. There were all sorts of flavors ranging from chocolate to grape and normal to sour. I'm a tad afraid of sour thing here. One time I had a pink marshmallow  And It looked normal, but coated in sugar. And I thought 'oh sugar coated strawberry marshmallow.' So I popped the whole thing into my mouth. It was, in fact, coated in sour acid like crystals that made my eyes tear up. It was great.

And, since it was cold and rainy I got a hot chocolate.

Mont Saint Michel

This is a picture of the second most visited place (some say third or fourth) in France. Mont Saint Michel. Located just over half a mile form the coast, Mont Saint Michel is a tidal island. That means that when the tide comes in, it sticks out of the ocean. And when the tide goes out its a large rock surrounded by quick sand. 

Starting as a Gallo-Roman fortress in the 6th century. It later was turned into a monastery. William Duke of Normandy took the Mont from the Bretagnes, the people of Brittany.  The Mont Saint Michel was depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. This is possibly the greatest piece of art work that comes from this period. The Bayeux tapastery was the first time that chavaliers (knights) road horses and fought on top of them. It depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The tapestry shows the Earl of Wessex trying to save two Norman soilders from the quick sand at Mont Saint Michel.

This door, that leads into a high garden meant for prayers, looks a lot like one of the doors in the Harry Potter games. I felt, walking through this door that a snail with a poisoness trail of goo following it. Or those snapping plants that try to get you in the corners. I miss those games

Unfortunately no magical creatures. So sad.

This is Saint Michael the Archangel. For those of you who haven't read the Bible, he leads the army of God against the army of Satan. So he's a protecting sort. According to legend around 708 Michael appeared to the bishop of Avranches, St. Aubert. The angle told Aubert to build a church on the giant rock of Mont Saint Michel. Aubert refused until Micheal burned a hole in his head with his finger.  From this story is where the Mont gets it's name. The picture on the right is the replica. The real one stands atop the tallest spire on the chapel. Through that tree. 

Look chocolat chaud. This however wasn't very good. It was alright, I wanted something warm because it was cold out. I really should have gone Viennoise but it was freaking expensive.

Also they had waffles. It was glorious. For some reason waffles are big here as dessert items. I can't complain.

And for good measure happy picture in slight rain.

Fastish food in France

To start out we have a Kabob and an Orangina. Both are spectacular in their own ways. The red sauce on the side of the Kabob is a spicy mixture of true perfection. There are lots of hot sauces in the world, and lots at Kaboberies but this one was quite unlike the others. It had a a seering hot flavor, but was also not as heavey as the others. The sauce next to it was, however, a little disappointing  It is supposed to be taziki sauce. But it paled in comparison. It didn't have enough herbs and was probably from a bottle. The Fries however were delicious. 

The Oriangia is a drink unlike any pop I can find in the Us. Not only is it mostly natural, it also has a very crisp orange taste. And waiting patiently in every can is a mountain of glorious pulp. It is the same thing as mixing fresh orange juice and 7 Up. It's a truly satisfying drink.

One of the dinners in Poitiers was this beauty. Strips of marinated and grilled beef on a bed of salad with a side of expertly cooked rice and vegetables. This was at a Franco- African restaurant in Poitiers. Always try Franco-African meals. They are amazing.

And there was coke in a glass bottle. Drinking from glass bottles is by far the best way to drink anything. 

This is a Chocolat Chaud Viennoise. Which means it's a hot chocolate with a freaking truck ton of Chantilly. It's always splendid to see the food and to drink things. This particular Viennoise was in the train station in Poitiers. If our train stations had these I would use trains more.

And to go along with my hot chocolate I had one crêpe with raspberry jam, and the other with nutella. Beautiful, and simply delicious.

La Cathédrale Sainte Pierre de Poitiers

On our last day in Poitiers, we visited the Cathedral there. Like all the other cathedrals it was big and beautiful. Dedicated to the holder of the keys, St Peter. There was a grand statue of him chilling out with some keys in the entry way.

Built in the 1100's on the grounds of a Roman basilica, it shows many Gothic and Romanesque styles with tall pointed arches and the flamboyant establishments. It was created by Henry II of England and his French wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Inside are all sorts of beautiful artifacts. The most interesting thing about them is that they weren't made originally for this cathedral. After the Huguenots destroyed a lot of the figures and relics during the revolution, an Archbishop decided that the remaining works of art would be distributed throughout the land to make sure that each cathedral had some sort of artwork in it. 

The grounds were absolutely beautiful in the incredible sunlight that we had that day. Also, to my utter amazement, there was a science museum located on the church grounds. The French never cease to amaze me.