Becky and Kate go West

After Sarah left me, I joined up with my trusty travel partner, Becky, to explore La Bretagne, a windy, rainy, Celtic-influenced and crêpe-filled region in the west of France. First, we went to Mont Saint-Michel, which claims to be the second-most recognizeable monument in France, after the Eiffel Tower. (Actually, it also claims to have more visitors each year than the Eiffel Tower, but I remain skeptical about that.) Mont Saint-Michel is some type of abbey (I took a tour--shouldn't I know this?) that was built on a craggy island in the Atlantic, which makes for a great--if a little foreboding--atmosphere.


After winding through all the narrow streets (seriously, there was one alleyway where I actually wasn't sure I was going to squeeze out the other end. My winter coat, you know ... it's so poofy ...) of Mont Saint-Michel, we headed to Saint-Malo, which takes the cake as far as beautiful coastal towns. We spent all of our time in Saint-Malo wandering around the ramparts that surround the old city and bumming around the beach. The weather was a bit shifty, but the storms passed quickly and we bundled up and went shell seeking anyway.


The best part about Saint-Malo was a certain island that was just off the rocky coast; when the tide was low, there was a stone path leading up to it. (When the tide is high, you'd better get the heck out of there or else you'll be swimming back.) We lay around on the grass and let the salty sea breeze mess up our hair. A famous French writer is buried there--on his tombstone, he said he wanted to hear only the wind and waves for eternity. It's a pretty magical spot, even if you are still alive.

Our last stop was Rennes, a very student-y and Bohemian city with a great Saturday farmer's market, lots of book and antique sales, and musicians doing their thing on the street. My kind of town!