Day Eight - Enough of All This World War II Stuff....Let's Go Medieval

This Looks Like Our Kind of Place

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Cassie spotted this little hole-in-the-wall cafe. She was very determined to get crepes and must've smelled fresh ones inside.

Gail's Photo

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I'm the landscape photographer and Gail is the portrait maker. I rarely think to take a photo with us in it to let people know we were actually at these cool places. Cassie enjoys a Champagne Americaine and Grandma sips her mulled wine. Gail and I had local beers served in Heineken mugs. They do that a lot in France. Even in the posh restaurants we dined in the label on our drink glasses rarely matched what we ordered.

Cassie's Buckwheat Galettes

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Cassie and I both ordered the same thing - this nasty looking crepe-like item covered by lots of wild mushrooms and cheese. It also came witha little cup full of heavy creme. It was excellent. Just what we had been hoping to find all throughout the trip. Unfortunately this little budget restaurant didn't provide the mixing bowl drum solo.

Actually There Was Indeed a Show Here

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Once again the locals found the freaky Lunds fascinating. The owner's little girl kept peeking from the kitchen at the ugly Americans sitting in her family's restaurant.

Back to Doing What We Do Best

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That means the girls go shopping while I wander around on my own scouting for the next interesting store. Or finding a place to sit down and watch some of the interesting characters. At this moment I am sitting on the stone wall in front of our hotel with Cassie and we are making ignorant comments about some of the wierdos passing by. They were probably doing the same about the old guy and young chick sitting on the cold, damp stone wall.

Our Perch

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It may look like Cassie is modeling her brand new Carrefours boots which soon fell apart, but I leapt off the wall to photograph the Sprinting Chef who apparently left something in his car three miles away and was in a hurry to retrieve it.

Sunset in Mont St Michel

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It was kind of hard to determine exactly when it got dark this day. Hidden inside the town walls and under dark skies we never really saw the sun. When the lights started popping on to illuminate the old walls and buildings we figured that meant it was officially nightime.

St Peter Church on the Grand Rue

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The midpoint of the one and only thoroughfare in MSM seemed to be this church with the statue of Joan of Arc in front. To get there you had to walk up about ten steps which then put you on a stone patio overlooking the hordes of tourists on the Grand Rue. More than once I walked up here to rest and wait for the ladies as they so slowly made their way through the stores and up this way.

I've Got Time. ' Think I'll Go Inside

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It was a rather small church. With time to kill I made a quick foray inside. The local deacon was making a killing on his candle sales today. I guess the shoppers cam in to pray for bargains and for protection from the riptide on their way out of town.

Another Quick Look Around Inside

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The girls still weren't around so I returned inside the church to take a look at the altar. With a population of 44 people I guess the town church doesn't need too many seats.

Mother and Daughter Catch Up

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Gail and her mother didn't eat when Cassie and I stopped for our galette break. I hope no one was thinking that little snack was gonna be my dinner? Even seeing Gail and her mother scarfing down these hot dogs stuffed into French bread had me drooling. I was very much interested in patronizing one of the scores of touristy restaurants in town. Later.

Now for the Night Views

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The illumination of the historic buildings quickly brought out Gail's and my cameras. It wasn't long before Cassie started getting bored with the old farts snapping shots of every single building multiple times.

The Rick Steves Creperie?

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After returning to the hotel to drop off our purchases and Cassie (she went to bed at six), Gail, her Mon and I went back out to walk around in the much less congested street. With the setting of the sun the day trippers had returned to the real world and left just a few of us remaining in Fantasyland. Peering into the kitchen window of this fancy-looking joint I thought this might be the home of the drum solo crepemaker. Since it wasn't 8 pm yet, the place was not open. The prices on the window menu told me we would not be dining here anyway.

Another Night Shot (Different Angle)

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It looked like I was the only one hungry for dinner. But Gail and her mother agreed to join me and have nightcaps while I ate. The problem was we were caught in that odd French time period between nightfall and the opening of restaurants sometime after 7:00pm. To kill time we walked the Grand Rue for probably the sixth or seventh time that day.

The Lights Were on but Nobody Was Home

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After reaching the town gate and snapping more night photos that I won't bore you with, we reversed direction and walked by the fancy crepe restaurant. A garcon laying out silverware was the only one inside. It appears this is the Sardi's on MSM judging by all the celebrities' autographs on the wall. Most we didn't recognize but the names of Trotsky, Clinton, Alfred Hitchcock and Eisenhower caught my eye.

I Got Lucky

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Without a tripod most of my night pictures didn't quite develop as I had hoped, but this one looks satisfactory.

At Last an Open Brasserie

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Not too far from our hotel we saw people sitting in a bar restaurant near a nice big fire. When we walked into La Confiance we grabbed tables near the fire. A waitress said the tables near the fireplace were only for those eating dinner. We said we wanted dinner. Then she said they weren't open for dinner yet. We said we'd just have a couple of drinks then. She made us move closer to the bar. I assumed they would move us back by the fireplace at the stroke of seven on the clock. In the meantime numerous groups of Frenchies walked in and sat around the fireplace tables. Nothing was said to them. We ended-up staying in our seats the rest of the night. Interestingly, the reviews of La Confiance at TripAdvisor.com give it the lowest ratings I've ever seen: 1.5 stars out of 5. No "excellent" reviews and the vast majority rating it "poor" or "terrible". The major complaint was "rude staff" and "expensive".

It Really Wasn't That Bad

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The beers Gail and I got were great. The food was pretty good as well. We were highly entertained by the owner or manager who continually intimidated our high school age waitress and bowed like Basil Fawlty to the Frenchies seated around the fireplace. When he wasn't running around like a lunatic he was behind the bar counting Euros. I guess he had a big night planned.

Now He's Kissing Up to the Asians

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Maybe the dude just didn't like us in particular. When a big group of Japanese tourists came in he was all smiles and very attentive to their whims. He rushed them in and out in less than an hour. Even though we were the first to show up for dinner no one took our order until long after everyone else inside already had food at their table.