Misadventures in France 2010 – Part 6

On our last day in Brittany, we visited Le Mont Saint Michel, a village famous for its cathedral which becomes impossible to access once the tide is high.

We could not come this far west without taking the time to visit. Luckily we came in October and visited on a Tuesday, as it is very touristy.

After seeing photos and watching television shows about the city I expected it to be a lot farther from the mainland than it actually was. I also was led to believe by Mr. Georges Pernoud of the show Thalassa that it was quite a hike to the top which was just not the case, I just think the host of this wonderful show is out of shape!

It is a religious city that people pilgrimage to, but I found it to be more a temple for tourists than for anything else. Despite not practicing any religion, in particular, I love visiting cathedrals and have been to many in Spain, Portugal, France, and other countries in Europe. I enjoy the architecture and it might be silly but since reading Dan Brown’s books I love hunting out symbols.

Interestingly enough, in the stone in front of the main cathedral, there were tons of 6’s, 8’s, and A’s, which I am dying to know why.

I did have my own religious experience in that I took the two best photos of my life. They were a gift from the cathedral. I saw them with my eyes, I framed them in my mind and “prayed” that my camera could capture them. When I looked at the photo I took in the viewer it was exactly what I wanted, and beautiful.

After several hours in Le Mont Saint Michel, we headed south along the coast at a leisurely pace thrilled at the beautiful weather we were having and marveling at how empty these small little coastal towns were.

We stopped at some shops that advertised regional products and picked up sardines, sea salt, and salted caramels. We planned to pick up a loaf of bread from the Chateau Richeux in the morning before we left and added some picnic supplies as well including tuna with seaweed, langoustine, cepes mousse, and sardine rillettes.

Picnic supplies in hand we returned to the chateau for a little rest before dinner. After two nights of meals in the chateau restaurant (in which we tried everything anyway!) we decided to go back to Cancale for dinner. We tried a brasserie that served a lot of seafood that we had seen the day before, but it wasn’t open so we decided on one last crepe.

But we didn’t end up at any old creperie, but a famous one at that! The very first creperie that opened in Tokyo. Breizh (Brittany in the Bretagne language) Café has five locations including Paris, Cancale, and Tokyo. Their business in Japan is thriving and I can see why the food is excellent.

Their cider selection is top-notch, we had a bottle by a producer we had never tried before and it was the best we ever had. We even talked the owner into letting us buy an unopened bottle for our planned picnic.

After a starter gallette sliced like sushi, a gallette entrée, and a crepe dessert with a beer and half a bottle of cider I was rolling out of the restaurant! The evening was gorgeous and the walk back to the car was pleasant, the light of the evening sky exceptionally beautiful.

The perfect way to end our last day in Brittany.