Blogs from Saint-Malo, Brittany , France, Europe

We stayed in a shabby but friendly accommodation close the station, imaginatively called the Hotel de la Gare. Quirky and friendly. A couple of housekeeping points before we get into serious touring: putting your bike on the train (according to SCNF website) is bookable in Brittany on the TER regional lines - in practice, it isn’t. It is still first come first served so get to the station early to get your bikes on board. Changing trains - at Rennes we had eight minutes to change to the Nantes train, we couldn’t find the walkway to get the bikes from platform to platform so had to use the escalator, much to the amusement of the locals. Pickpockets, we had a strategy meeting outside Nantes station and witnessed a pickpocket in action; his modus operandi was to ... read more

TUE, 28 JUN 2022 – “Day 4: CAEN–MONT ST. MICHEL–SAINT-MALO - MONT ST. MICHEL Guided visit of the abbey; SAINT-MALO Orientation ride on the Little Train. Free time late afternoon and evening. (B); 124 mi / 200 km”... read more

Met de fiets, bezoek aan Saint-Malo. Een kuststad met een roerige geschiedenis, die een bezoek eigenlijk meer dan waard is. De stad staat op een granieten rotspunt en de huizen zijn gebouwd van graniet. De oude 'ville close' lijkt daardoor wat grauw en onaantastbaar. Dat het dat niet was bleek in 1944 toen de stad door een geallieerd bombardement voor 80% werd verwoest. Met gebruikmaking van het puin heeft men de ville close weer opgebouwd in de stijl van de 18de eeuw die nu ingenomen is door winkels, restaurants en (te) veel toeristen. Het is er bijna aanschuiven door de straatjes. Eigenlijk niet zo veilig in deze coronatijden. Na bijna een uur wachten op onze bestelde crèpes flambées aan een afgeschermd buitentafeltje, waren we het gewoel zowat beu, en maakten we dat we er terug weg ... read more

We really enjoyed our lovely although short stay in Portugal and would certainly recommend it. We then crossed into northern Spain, stopping at Leon, a very old city with a monastery and huge cathedral before heading to the coast to explore a couple of villages and cities there. San Sebastián would have to be our favourite city so far with its stunning sandy bay, old castle and venicular railway to a spot on a hill with amazing views. It is the way of life in Southern Europe to commence work late, close shop for a couple of hours, re-open for a few more and then drink and eat late. Europe is also experiencing exceptionally hot weather at the moment so it is ... read more

Wednesday 27 May 2015 Each day as we turn on the GPS we have these thoughts about Polly, our live in guide. We are sure she says, "Good morning, what wonderful place am I taking you to today?" It might even be, "Oh no not you two again, thought I left you at Saint-Michel". Those who know us know we are not GPS savvy so all sorts of wonderful experiences happen. We ended up in the psychiatric hospital in Bayeux on one of our trips. Where to next? We just have to remember Polly is a machine and has no feelings. So today we start our day in St Malo. Shorts or jeans? The sun was shining and it felt good so shorts it was going to be. We seem to be having a great spell ... read more