Date: Friday, 29 September 2003, 2:48 pm
Subject: Caen, Mont St-Michel, St-Malo, Rennes, Nantes, Angers

Greetings to all,   First of all, I have to congratulate the French highway system for the clarity of its road signs. In effect, it is of primary importance to have good directions if one wants to avoid getting lost. I have thus been able to go easily to the centers of various cities without too many problems. I got lost in the beginning because I was not yet familiar with the signage, but now it's going well.   So, what have I been doing for the past two days? I left you with my problems in Caen, but everything turned out fine, because I found a hotel right away after finishing my message. I walked a little in the evening in the center of the city, and I saw the Place St-Pierre, but my main interest was the Memorial Museum in Caen, and the landing beaches of the Second World War.

I listened to Marie [his wife at home in Quebec] and I spoiled myself. I paid for a guided tour of the beaches. I found this expensive but it was truly worth it. We were a little group of five people in a mini-van with a private guide, and we left at 9:30 in the morning. We started with the Canadian cemetery because there were three of us from Quebec, and then we went to see the beaches called Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah. The guide explained to us the strategies used, and those who know me know how much I like the film "Saving Private Ryan." It takes place on Omaha beach and one can understand why the Americans had so much difficulty. You have to be on the beach to see all the traps!

I left Caen about 4 pm to head toward the Island of Mont St-Michel. I chose the route that followed the coastline along the Atlantic, and it was spectacular to see the monastery grow in size as I approached. When I arrived, I headed toward the abbey, but there was a considerable crowd and it was necessary to walk a long distance to get there. I therefore turned back and decided to go reserve a room for the night. I almost didn't make it and I had an unforeseen bit of luck even though circumstances were against me.

I arrived at the strong high tide, a natural phenomenon that only happens twice a year! There was a mass of people who had come just to see it, and all the rooms had been booked for months. I stuck my nose in the door at 3 hotels and asked various astonished people for a room! When I knocked on the door of the 4th establishment, they had just received a cancellation at the last minute. A little longer, and I would have missed Mont St-Michel!

Our visit covered about 150 km [about 93 miles] and we came back to the museum about 2 pm. All that to tell you that I had not yet visited the museum itself. The city of Caen created a memorial to honor the effort put forth for the Allied Invasion, and it is excellent. I really needed more time to see everything.

I left my bags at the hotel and went to see why all the crowds. At the beginning I wondered what was happening because there was no water around the island. It was as if someone had pulled the plug in the bathtub and let out all the water. There was even a sailboat stranded in the middle! Moreover, because of this deuced "strong tide" one had to park nearly 2 km away [1.2 miles] and go the rest of the way on foot. Such a mass of people!

As I was on this trip to experience new things, I set off to see what there was to see. Those who know me know that I don't like crowds and prefer to avoid them. It is very difficult in such a tight space, with narrow streets and large crowds, and I had to use my elbows to see anything. Thanks to my video camera, I could hold it above people's heads and see in the screen what was happening. Those who were behind me were able to see this spectable as well. The tide rose with lightning speed and rose higher than usual. I covered the parking spaces normally used nearest the water line. One woman didn't realize that her car was in danger, and nearly lost her car! I should have sent the cassette to Funny Video! After the tide, I went back to my hotel and a spectacular view of the sea at night.

I got up in the morning with the intention of taking a little drive around with more time to visit. I got to St-Malo to see the this Corsair city and its castle. The route along the water provided a breath-taking view and the fortress was impressive. Afterward I took the road to Rennes, thinking to spend the night there.

I visited the old city and chose the walking tour and was thus able to see its half-timbered houses and its numerous points of interest. As it was still early, I decided to continue on to Nantes. I had read that the castle of the Dukes of Brittany was certainly worth a visit, but when I saw how much traffic there on a Sunday afternoon, I thought it best to continue on my way and thus I was soon in Anger. The medieval castle was built from 1230 to 1240 and it is still in good condition. I rented a room in a hotel 5 minutes from the castle and visited it in the morning. I was now in the Valley of the Loire River with its numerous castles. I was a little in advance of my itinerary and I could breathe a little.

I had more time this evening and that's why this summary is more like a book than a message. Enjoy it, because I don't know if I will have time to do this very often.

With that, I leave you until the next time

Paul

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