After the strict confinement in Paris finally was relaxed to some degree, I found myself craving to flee 
to the sea. Oceans for me offer the most healing and revitalizing energy available from mother earth!
I first thought of Biarritz in the southern part of coastal France near the Basque country and the border of Spain.
Then thoughts of the Abbey Saint Jacut de la Mer started to flow in with increasing intensity. Abbey Saint Jacut de la Mer has a very choice location, just in front of the sea about an hour from Saint-Malo.
I was traveling solo and decided to take the train from Paris to Saint-Malo first at least for one night before going to the Abbey. Part one of my story covers my stay in Saint-Malo, a sweet but short visit!
Saint Malo is a medieval port nestled inside fortress ramparts. I have 
wanted for some time to explore the ancient walled-in city dating back to the first century BC!
It is still a very busy port with ferries coming and going to England and the channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey.
I ended up traveling with a small hindrance of sorts. Three weeks ago I developed some pain around my left heel which I think is bursitis of the Achilles tendon.
It is definitely a nuisance, but I will just have to live with it till it heals. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let it deprive me of walking the lovely high ramparts that go all around this beautiful fortressed port.
I stayed in the charming small Hotel des Abers near the Ramparts inside the Intra Muros or old city, which I highly recommend. The delightful and warm owners, Patricia and Phillipe greeted me along with their beloved doggie named Bijou, who is 16 years old!
The first thing I wanted to do after arriving was to make the tour around the old city on the spacious Ramparts. After climbing up the steep stairs, the sweeping views of the sea in all directions are breathtakingly beautiful in all directions.
It was a great relief to finally take off my mask as there weren’t that many other people strolling around. I relished sucking in the refreshing sea air.
It was low tide and the sandy paths leading to the various small islands were walkable. The one with the fort was built for Anne de Bretagne and later became a monastery.
During high tide, these islands become engulfed by the sea, so I was warned not to venture out late or risk being stuck and isolated on them!
The other island is Grand Bé, where it holds the tomb of Chateaubriand.
I walked totally around ramparts circling the city, surrounded with sea views on both sides. Two Ponant Cruise ships, a luxury cruise line, were parked there waiting for better days to sail again, though both had their engines humming.
For dinner, there wasn’t any question of what I wanted to eat, just where. As usual, I study up on restaurants and then check out menus, If I can.
It was a Monday night so not all were open and I wanted one within walking distance.
I made a happy choice a Café de L’Ouest, which specializes in fruits de mer. By early evening I started to feel cool and realized that I had stupidly forgotten to bring a jacket or weather!
Nights along the Britanny coast bring in cooler temps with ocean winds and as the colder sea comes surging in covering up the warmth reflected from the golden sands.
I asked for the warmest spot in the restaurant and enjoyed just gazing around sipping a good Cremant de la Loire.
Before long I was joined by a little sparrow who alternated hopping on the table and chair enjoying some of the delicious bread I would throw his way.
Though I had initially planned on having some oysters from Cancale the thought of something warm seemed more comforting. After all, I rationalized, I can enjoy great oysters anytime from all coasts in Paris.
The pot holding the steaming orange-red Soup aux Poissons warmed my hands as I dotted the top with crunchy croutons, grated cheese, and the rouille, all traditional accompaniments.
It was full-flavored, thick, and perfectly delicious! The rouille, a sort of mayonnaise type sauce with red peppers could have been spicier to my taste.
The main course was an excellent Cazuela of cod and shellfish, a Columbian rendition of a coconut milk based fish stew. I often make the Eucudorean one much spicier than theirs, but chefs know the French don’t like piquant peppers.
Muscadet, being the nearest wine of the region was perfectly crisp and fragrant making a good contrast against the richness of the soup and creaminess of the perfectly done cod.
Hotel des Abers, besides the warm welcome of owners, Patrica and Phillipe, served a superb breakfast to fortify me for the rest of the day! I loved the freshly made crepes by Phillippe, dribbled with caramel beurre salé.
There was delicious Gateau Nantais, Fondant d’Orange, and a Gateau Breton too.. Excellent cheeses were 
offered too along with fresh croissants, ripe fruits and the likes.
The morning before I left Saint Malo, I visited the unusual cathedral split into two levels to accommodate the steep hill upon which it was built.
As soon as I step down into the church, the old stones exuded a deep musty smell of the sea, from all the years of being battered by humid sea mists.
The bell rings precisely at 10 pm as it did ages ago to announce it was curfew time. At that time, a pack of vicious guard dogs would be let loose to patrol the narrow streets.
Here is an old stone baptismal font I thought interesting.
I briefly thought about bringing some Kouign Amann to the Abbey, but decided to wait, preferring to bring some back to Paris.
It probably is the most famous of all Breton sweets. Basically it is layers of yeast dough sandwiched between with loads of Breton salted butter and sugar that caramelized in baking.
Saint-Malo is also famous for Jean Yves Bordier’s artisanal butter, made in small batches and hand-shaped! Besides sweet and salted, He makes several varieties of flavored ones. My favorites are with seaweed and his excellent smoked one.
Bretons generally prefer salted butter over the sweet. The better ones are flavored with sel du Guerand, the famous sea salt that is traditionally hand-harvested. I always have a small pot of some on my table for seasoning.
Crepes are probably the most Breton of all foods. Buckwheat flour is preferred for the savory ones. I am a big fan of grilled Sarrasin(buckwheat) that the Russians call kasha and often buy baguettes made with buckwheat.
I made a mental note to return to the Maison de Sarrasin to pick up some flour before I return to Paris. 
I quickly visited their marché couvert where I spotted some nice looking older grape vines for sale.
Before I headed back to the station to catch the bus to the Abbey, I meandered around the old cobblestone streets and climbed up to the ramparts again for some more sea views.
This house is said to be the oldest in Saint-Malo, once belonging to Anne de Bretagne. What a lovely ornate wooden door I found on another house!
The tide was heading out as it does twice a day and folks could be seen combing the sands for shellfish. It was time for me to head out towards Abbey Saint Jacut for the second part of my journey!
I found myself waiting along with this seagull, at the bus stop. He was patiently hoping for some food to catch and well me just the bus!
PS. Read part two next week where I’ll describe my wonderful mini retreat At Abbey Saint Jacut!
Thanks for the beautiful description of your stay. It makes me miss our time living and traveling in Europe. I guess it’s time for an extended trip overseas. Thanks again.
Hi Janet and welcome back to my blog! Thank you for your nice comment too! I imagine you and Dwight do miss all the travels when you were based in Europe. The borders just opened for EU folks to travel within Europe but of course not for the US with the virus still raging and expanding. I pray a vaccine will be available soon for all. Meanwhile, let us all keep those masks on and respect safe distancing!
Gosh Cherry, your trip sounds very nice, a little envious of that . . . Ha!
June would like to go on a trip somewhere; but where does one going during the Covid-19 outbreak almost everywhere? And what can one do once they go anywhere?
Currently in south Florida, the Covid -19 infection rates have been DOUBLING on some days. Too many people who just didn’t want to wear mask or do social distancing. The dramatic escalation in the virus infections may bring that down later; but it is going to be a difficult fight with so many being infected already. Meanwhile we are mostly staying home and only go out briefly when necessary.
Hope you are enjoying your trip.
David, I feel really sad and concerned about all the people who are trying to keep safe and are taking this virus seriously, amongst those who aren’t. Unfortunately, this was predictable. I am glad to hear you and June are staying put except for essentials. Better to be restricted for a while than risk getting sick. Still hoping to see you and June here, perhaps when a vaccine is available! Hugs
Yeah, the state of Florida has had daily cases of Covid-19 during the last 3 days of 9,585,4942, and 6,093 today. Broward County where we live has been 579 new cases yesterday. Nearby Miami_Dade County 1,598 new cases yesterday with 1,006 deaths.
Statewide there have been 36,820 cases. So, we are in the thick of the Coronavirus hot spots. They have closed the bars, the beaches, and cut back to 50% occupancy for the restaurants (that are open and serving people, not many). They will not decide about the reopening of the schools until the end of July. We have two grandsons going to college, the youngest is eager to start at UF in Gainesville, FL. Not sure if they will open the campuses though.
Economically, I really don’t see how they can realistically keep everything shut down much longer. The critical issue is the hospital’s capacity and ability, personnel-wise to care for the critically sick and not have to turn anyone away; they are close to their limits at this time already. Time will tell how it evolves. Life in the future is going to be dramatically different in many ways, esp. the economics of it all. Lots of people are maxing out their credit cards, exhausting savings, bank accounts, etc.
There are still political “idiots” who aren’t complying with facial masks, and social distancing; but they are now fining them. The damage has been initiated; all that can be done is to try to mitigate it as much as possible.
In South Florida(Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) 9.8% of those tested have been positive for Covid-19; and this accounts for 43.7% of the the 36,820 diagnosed statewide. And the RNC is having their national convention in Jacksonville, FL where they have mandated the wearing of facial masks. However, it appears that 98% of the Trump supporters haven’t been wearing masks at their political rallies so far.
This may be a major issue, a “superspreader incident”, for North Florida and the rest of the country. Too many people seem to want to put a political connotation on health issues . . . . irrational and crazy.
Today there were pleadings for the reopening of schools. One father stated the case of having 3 children, ages 3, 5, and 7 y/o. His wife is a nurse working in the hospitals. If they don’t open the schools, then he or his wife will have to quit their job to stay home and school the children. who are too young to do school via computer on their own. Giving up one job may cost them their medical insurance and will reduce their income significantly. There are a lot of difficult and hard choices to be made in the future for hundreds of millions of people; and that will have dire economic impact on our economy and society, and lifestyles, levels of income, etc. Most people probably cannot imagine the changes that are unavoidable in the future.
On the teachers side of the Covid-19 issues and the reopening of schools, some of the teachers point out that they do not have the time or supplies to sanitize classrooms in between classes; sand say that “isn’t part of their teaching jobs”. Will all teachers and students and school personnel have to wear masks all of the time? They also point out that they are not healthcare providers;don’t have time to check students temperatures before class; and are qualified to detect asymptomatic symptoms. Plus they are concerned about being infected and taking the virus home to their families. Single parents who HAVE to work cannot home school their children, esp. those who are too young to handle the computer classes. The school board has to has cameras installed in every classroom and they have to have the bandwidth on their networks to handle it all. And all home schooled kids have to have computers which is another financial costs for the schools.
Yeah, the future is going to be “challenging”. There are not enough “visiting teachers” to check on the home schooled kids either. People and the schools are going to have to make some hard choices and adjustments. Everyone cannot be accommodated. Then there is the syndrome where some children have complications and die from the effects of the virus. Life isn’t, never has been,nor will it EVER be “fair and equal for everyone”. That is just a stark reality of life.
The latest question for the schools (Miami-Dade County): If a student who has been attending class comes down with Covid-19, will the teacher and the other students have to self quarantine for 14 days? (And the student may attend multiple classes during the day and be in the hallways, etc.)
This is going to be a “lost year” for education.