Obviously have tons to say since I didn't blog for a while and coz it was quite an amazing week and probably the best 4 days of my European sojourn so far - i exclude Friday purposely coz I was in Paris when railway strikes are on and getting anywhere is nigh on impossible!!
Why the best so far? Well I found two of the most wonderful places on earth in two of the most beautiful parts of France.. In fact these two places are so wonderful that it is easy to forget that I started off in a fantastic city, i.e. Rouen, which bar Edinburgh, London and Paris is easily my favourite city. Rouen is famous for being the place where Joan of Arc was executed and is one of France's oldest cities with a beautiful cathedral that was badly damaged during WW2 but now restored to its original glory.. It's not just the history, culture of the medieval style buildings - Rouen has plenty of these in the city centre so u do feel like you're walking through medieval times - but the food is definitely cheaper than Paris..
If it weren't for Mont-St-Michel and St-Malo, Rouen would be my highlight of this short sojourn outside Paris.. There is just nothing like it as u can see in this photo of the famous abbey on a rock.. Imagine the causeway not being there, leaving it as the island just off the shore it was originally and that just adds to the lustre and uniqueness of the place.. Check my facebook and flickr photos for more of this place but really you have to be there to be in awe and feel privilleged that you've seen the place, whether it's the abbey or just seeing the place itself.. And do get the book if u ever visit, reading it days after visiting just increases ur awe of the place and makes that visit more significant..
St-Malo could easily be a Mont-St-Michel with its walls around the original city centre and being originally an island now linked by an isthmus.. Gorgeous seaside city that puts its capital Rennes to shame - actually might be a bit harsh and not really Rennes' fault for having a more illustrious brother.. You read about old cities with walls around them but you don't really see what its like until u actually see one, let alone one that fits ur fantasies of cities on islands with walls around them like Tyre or Sidon in Biblical times..
It's also great that St-Malo is in the middle of Bretagne or Brittany as we all know it.. Best seafood ever.. You should only ever eat Breton cuisine when you're in the region especially when u come all this way from New Zealand.. It is so different from the rest of France and worth the effort to pay more.. Brittany also has a countryside which I would consider retiring in, i.e. Mackenzie Country, Central Otago.. When u cycle along the quiet back roads and farm tracks, you get the chance to say perhaps this is what heaven could possibly look like.. With its beautiful villages and a panorama that often includes Mont-St-Michel or the English Channel, it doesn't need a brain surgeon to explain why the Hodgkinsons, this English couple I stayed with in their lovely if a bit too isolated Au Bon Acceuil B&B, decided to flee the rush of England for the quiet of St. Marcan..
So as you can see obviously had a brilliant time in the French countryside but it's good to be back in the city esp for Rugby World Cup Final time.. shame the nationwide railway strikes have kinda ruined it for everyone - and glad wasn't in Paris on Thursday, wonder how those 3 American girls from Wenatchee, Washington state, I met coped/are coping with Paris in near chaos.. I actually had to catch a bus - provided by the railway for ticket holders - from Pontorson, the base town for forays to Mont-St-Michel to Rennes to catch the TGV - and when it goes really fast it is really fast! The strike was only on Thursday but some of the Metro and RER in Paris are down.. So staying in the Latin Quarter tonight..
A shame really...
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