September 11-15, 2023: Our time in Saint-Malo France

Our next stay was in Saint-Malo, located on the northwest coast of France, a much quieter and relaxing place than Paris. This is where Mike's Euro-Pyro Conference was held for the week.

We got here so early and had to wait hours for our hotel room to be available, so we walked all over the area while we waited.

The Conference Center building is next door to the Hotel Oceana where we stayed. It was very convenient to walk around the corner to join Mike for the conference lunches and a few dinners.

For 5 euros each, we took a self-guided tour inside and outside the walls of the this old National Fort, an historical sight, before the tide came in. The fort protected the city in its early days, and prisoners were executed here. 

Hiking up to the fort while the tide is low

Views of the city and shoreline from the fort

There are two sets of walls around the fort. The lower ones were built first, and then a taller wall was added later to better fortify and reinforce the fort.

The larger openings in the walls were used for shooting canon balls

The armory/weapons were stored in a large room in the basement

These narrow slots were perfect for shooting arrows through

Another large fort nearby that's not as old as the National Fort and is currently being used as a hotel, called Chateau de Saint Malo

Entrance to a Micro Zoo that our grandson Joseph would have loved

Chateau de Saint-Malo

There are eateries and shops on nearly every main street

This was a fun chocolate and caramel store but the prices were outrageous. We filled tiny bags a quarter full and paid about $26 euros for them. They should let customers have as many samples as they want.

Look at all those yummy caramels! My teeth hurt just looking at them.

And all the nougats

And of course the awesome chocolates--such a huge variety!

There's my sugar boo buying some sweets for us

Macarons (macaroons in America) are very popular in France

I never get tired of seeing all the shops

Cool ice cream shop. We should have tried some!

The bread here is so good!

The pizzeria where we had lunch on our first day

The pizza looked good but was too saucy and had too much creamy cheese on top, making it nearly impossible to eat. I liked the outer edges the most, as the center was too gooey to enjoy.

A colorful and wonderful smelling gummy (candy) shop

      that our grandchildren would have loved and gone wild in

A pretty doughnut shop that our grandkids would also have loved

The Saint-Malo tourist center

Flowers add a beautiful touch to the old fort walls

This little park is so pretty!

Anchor's away!

The National Fort of Saint-Malo

The conference center where Mike's meetings/presentations were held. 

This speckled seagull was crying and couldn't fly

We finally got to go into our hotel room

The hotel bar and restaurant

Mahabuba Jahal, our new friend from Bangladesh who lives in Sweden with her husband and two children. She was so friendly and engaging.

Wednesday, September 13th: We walked around town (after another lunch at the conference center) while waiting for our little tour train to board

Another old fort near the ocean. This one is now Saint Malo hotel.

The little train that took us on a fun tour of the city and the photos I took from my seat on the train. The tour was provided by the Euro-Pyro Conference.

Photos taken from the train

Our ride ended too soon, but drinks and appetizers awaited us in the conference center followed by a sit down Gala dinner

Walking back to the conference center, we noticed how high the tide was. The National Fort was now fully surrounded by water!

During low tide, this whole area is a sandy wet beach

I walked along the shoreline and in the water for hours on our second day

Wednesday, September 13th: A new friend we met at our table during the Gala dinner. Her name is Wendy Wright, and she's from Melbourne Australia.

Looking out the Conference Center window

Sunset during our meal

1st course: scallops and prawns on buttered cabbage and leeks--blah!

2nd course: fillet of duck with carrot, onion, and pureed celery--double blah!

Dessert: a fruity and creamy cookie bar--the best part of the meal

Shellfish was the conference attendees' favorite food during our last lunch. And the buttery flaky honey donut rounds (below) were everyone's favorite at the end of the lunch.

I heard the sound of horses trotting outside our hotel window and quickly snapped a few photos of these horses and wagons

Thursday, September 14th: Our last evening in Saint-Malo was spent walking along the pier and up along the wall of the city to catch the views of the ocean. We took a lot of photos of the setting sun and our sights along the way.

We had a hard time deciding where to eat for dinner. Nearly every restaurant was packed with customers. We chose one of them and then had a difficult time deciding what to order. The food came surprisingly fast and was very delicious. It was the best meal I had in France!

Boats and buildings seen from our walk along the lower wall

The lower walls and walking paths

The upper walls and walking paths

We kept climbing higher and enjoyed the views from the top

The pier we walked

Beaches and eateries near the shore

There's my sugar boo enjoying the sunset

Where we enjoyed our last meal and overindulged!

Best tasting meal of the trip for me: roasted chicken with roasted potatoes, petite green beans, peas, and onions with a caramelized wine sauce--yum!

Mike's pretty cod sandwich with homemade fries. The server brought us two dishes of the fries and divided our one salad.

This was the fancy salad. It was served in a fried crepe bowl and topped with an over easy egg. Those round things are fried slices of onion, which I didn't care for. I gave Mike my share of the egg and picked out all the fried onions, and left the shell behind. We were so full from our main dishes that it was challenging to eat the salads. I ate most of those yummy homemade fries though! But that night I had a hard time sleeping because my stomach was way too full and uncomfortable. It was the most we'd eaten on the whole trip.

This old sailboat was covered with a tarp and turned into an outdoor restaurant with live entertainment. What a great way to reuse and recycle!