Overdue ocean view

I can’t believe it’s already April. March was honestly a blur. It went by so much faster than February and it was longer! I can’t believe Mommy and Julianne have already come and left. I had an amazing time with them but it was too short. It was really difficult to see them leave, and it made me realize even more that even though I love Paris, it would be so much better if I wasn’t experiencing everything alone. Yes I’ve made new friends here so I have people to do things with, but it’s not the same as it would be with my friends back home or my family because we don’t have as many similar interests or even just that deeper emotional connection.

It was really fortunate though that we had our weekend trip to Brittany (Bretagne) and Normandy right after Mommy and Julianne left, otherwise I think I would have spent the weekend depressed and homesick in Paris. The first day we visited the World War II memorial and peace museum in Caen and the American military cemetery at Omaha beach. It was very moving to learn that the French gave us the land to bury and remember our soldiers (proof that at least at one time the French actually liked America!). We were also all very excited to see the ocean for the first time in two months… even if it was the English Channel and not the Pacific.

Next we went to St. Malo in Bretagne where we spent both Friday and Saturday night. St. Malo made me even more nostalgic for home because not only was it on the water but it’s a small harbor town that kind of reminded me of Dana Point, expected probably a little more like East Coast port towns. St. Malo is an old Celtic and Medieval town, enclosed in ramparts. It’s amazing because the tide on the English Channel coast changes over 300m between low and high tide, so there are a lot of little islands that you can walk out to during low tide and then during high tide the beach completely disappears.

Saint Malo, Bretagne

Of course we ate well and abundantly the entire weekend. Bretagne is known for its seafood and the first night we went to a restaurant and splurged on three course menus. For the appetizer we had langoustines which I guess are a cross between a shrimp and a lobster, and similar to crawfish. They definitely came in their shells with the heads on. It was entertaining because we all could joke together about pulling the heads off, but I don’t think it’s an experience I will choose to repeat. If I have to shell my dinner, I’ll stick to crabs. Without eyes.

Saturday we went to Dinan, another coastal town, where we had a little walking tour and then of course ate. Lunch was galettes (savory crepes), another Bretagne specialty. The region is also known for its caramels and shortbread cookies, so I had to buy both to take back to Paris with me. I’m not usually crazy about caramels because there so chewy, but Bretagne caramel is so buttery and delicious it just melts in your mouth.

On the beach at Saint Malo, in my winter coat.

That afternoon when we returned to St. Malo it was low tide so we were able to walk out to the Grand-Bé, one of the islands that you can only get to during low tide. It was such a beautifully sunny day that Allison and I actually lay on the grass for a while… and she imagined she was lying on the quad at USC, but I didn’t since not surprisingly I never do that. That night we had our group dinner at another wonderful restaurant. I have to love USC because unlike the other schools, we always get these fabulous dinners, paid-in-full (or at least deducted from our tuition).

Sunday we visited Mont St. Michel, a grand abbey on another island just off the Normandy coast. The architecture was amazing, but the whole place itself was pretty touristy. But we had yet again another great meal, and I finally had moules (i.e. mussels, another specialty of Northern France). The only time I’ve had mussels before is a few tastes in Paella, and I’d wanted to try French moules forever but hadn’t gotten around to it. They were so absolutely delicious, just cooked in parsley and white wine.

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip. I think I might have even liked it more than our weekend in Provence. That could be because it was still winter when we went to Provence, but I also just really liked being in a coastal town. Even though I’m not into beach activities (i.e. laying out and swimming), I do like seeing the ocean and I love the quaintness of harbor towns, which have a distinctly different atmosphere than “beach towns.” I’ve always had nostalgic memories of our brief trip to Rhode Island, and Bretagne reminded me a lot of that, or even the beaches in Northern California.

Bretagne coast