Saint Malo

The program I am studying under (CIDEF at UCO – the French love their acronyms – this is probably best left unexplained, just trust me here) offers five, daylong excursions to various French monuments/landmarks/tourist traps. The reality of the situation is that if a train can’t get me there in €40 or less, then I’m not going, so these subsidized excursions (they aren’t free!) offer me a chance to see places in France I would otherwise miss. Of the five excursions, I chose to go on three. Last Saturday happened to be the first:

Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel.

Okay, listen CIDEF excursion people, I don’t really care about this Saint Malo business. Take me to the Mont Saint Michel. Take me to the Mont I’ve seen in pictures for years. Take me to the Mont everyone who goes to France takes pictures of. Take me to the Mont. Right now.

They didn’t listen to me. The bus driver drove to Saint Malo instead. In protest, I slept (it was 7:30AM and a 2 and a half hour bus ride complete with fog/mist, give me a break).

Two notes on the bus ride: 1) I rode on the Angers professional soccer (football) team’s motor coach (the director of CIDEF is a crazy fan and takes pleasure in reserving their bus for excursions like these). Check that life-goal off the list. 2) France is seriously full of roundabouts/traffic circles. Full to the brim.

We arrived in Saint Malo mid-morning. The weather was beautiful, contrary to what the weatherman said. Sunny and just a little bit cool. Three hours in Saint Malo. Go!

What exactly do you do in Saint Malo? Well, you could start by walking the city walls. Saint Malo is a fortified city. It has a giant wall all the way around. Some proof:


These arches are the main entrance way to the city (compete with intricate stone carvings above). There are a couple of other archways scattered round, but I’d say most traffic goes through here.


The wall literally goes all the way around. It was a nice walk on a nice day.

The city sits on the northern coast of France (on the English channel) in the French region of Brittany. Its proximity to England made/make it the perfect port for shipping and… war. The city played a major role in the 100 Years War (it is pretty old, after all). That is where the city walls come in. Need to keep people out? Just put up a giant wall made from the local abundance of granite. More recently, the Germans occupied the city during World War Two. In a successful effort to take back the city, the Allies ended up burning three-quarters of it. Never fear, for the French rebuilt nearly everything and brought the city (walls and all) back to its Middle Ages glory!


Me, leaning on the wall, with the English Channel and an island (with what may have at one time been a prison – just a guess).


The actual castle part of the city was a little bit of a let down. But it looks pretty impressive from this angle.

Okay. Now that we walked all the way around, what else is there to do here? Let’s go inside, shall we? Stores, restaurants, shops galore. Two examples:


We are in Brittany after all. The sea food here is abundant, being on the coast and everything.


You are seeing this picture correctly. Three creperies right in a row. Saint Malo is littered with creperies. Brittany is known for its galletes and crepes. Fine by me.

How about a visit to the Cathedral?


This place is pretty impressive. Apparently it is sort of a mélange of different architecture styles. Gothic, romantic, art deco? Who cares? It is pretty.


You know what else this Cathedral has? Graves. Lots of them. Dead priests and bishops and the like, some from way back in the day (i.e. 13th Century). Also, this guy:


Jacques Cartier: He’s the guy we should thank for the 2010 Olympics (and probably hockey). He discovered Canada in the 16th Century (1534, actually).

Well, time is running out and I’m hungry. I forewent the crepe and galette to maximize my sightseeing time. What to eat? What to eat?


Kouign Amann. This is a dessert specialty of Brittany (the name is in Breton). It tasted like an elephant ear minus the cinnamon, plus about 80 pounds of butter. Mine was warm and oh so delicious. Brittany is also known for a flan-like dessert with dried fruit (possibly prunes) called Far. It wasn’t nearly as good or as photogenic.

I should note that many of France’s famous authors and poets came to Saint Malo at some point. My host dad assures me that Chateaubriand lived on an island you can see from Saint Malo (or something like that). When asked if I knew who Chateaubriand is, I lied and said yes. It is just so much easier that way.

Alas, it is time to leave for Mont Saint Michel. Saint Malo, you surprised me. Adieu.

Next time: Mont Saint Michel.