.d.i.n.a.r.d.

still within the vicinity of saint-malo, you drive to dinard a city just opposite the bay of saint-malo, you go there because you know from dinard you can see the wall and old rampart of the old wall city of saint-malo.

first september

you arrive at the main beach, known as plage de lécluse or la grande plage.

a strip of sand between the peninsulas that have many big villas and mansions facing the sea. you look at those big villas and let your imagination running wild... you will one of those could be yours and that you wake up everyday facing the sea, sunrise, sunset, how perfect would that be. then a cool breeze sweep your face and wake you up from your dream, day dream. you walk on...

you look back. the beach is so wide, the sand is so fine, so white, and the sea is so calm. it is almost a perfect condition for a day at the beach, what is not perfect is you don’t have your swimsuit with you.

you walk along the beach, past the white sandy beach and reach promenade du moulinet, you take a stroll along the route, the walk is not that dangerous but you do have to pay extra attention to reach the other side.

 and then the beauty of saint-malo wall city reveals right in front of you.

you hang around at the different viewing platforms at promenade du moulinet for awhile and then you walk back following the same route where you came from. back to the la grande plage

you cannot resist the beach any longer and you run straight to the sea to have a taste of atlantic ocean from this emerald coast. the water is perfect, refreshing and relief your feet after the walk. you can't afford to get wet, so you turn back and walk toward him.  you say to each other "we will be back here again, some day", and surely then you will be more prepare, with your swimming suit. so you leave la grande plage with some regrets but you know it will be perfect the next time round.

third september

you return to dinard on another day, while he insists on going back to la grande plage, you want to try out another beach. that's you. you are adventurous, you want to extend your territory... so instead of going back to plage de lécluse, you head to plage du enogat. a little further, an even smaller and secluded beach.

you arrive at 3pm where you almost have the whole beach by yourselves. you lay you beach mat, take out your towel, and your book "the angel's game", your current reading.

you do another jump. he jump, you jump!

you take your time to swim in the sea, you enjoy the water in a perfect temperature. you ride on the waves, jump on them and let yourself lost in the sea... you read. you sunbath, you swim. you chat. you repeat these again until it is time to go...

on your way back to saint-malo, you stop by at a yatch haven and take a last peep of dinard and bid goodbye.  tonight is also the last night before you return to your adopted land.

french.sweeties

when you know that you are going to france again, you swear that you will definitely taste one pastry a day from the french patisseries that you can find anyway in any town.

as soon as you arrive deauville, you are attracted by a patisseries.  you can’t wait but step in and admire the master pieces and wanted to try something even though you know you still have substantial journey to go.

you opt for éclair because you know you are eating on the street and éclair is much easier to handle with hand...

 while he insists on his all time summer flavor berries soft cake.

from cancale farmer's market, you bought two melons that are so sweet and two of you can only finish half melon each morning during breakfast, so it took you four days to finish just two melons

you also got a not so elegant religieuse from a patisseries in cancale - not bad really just that you have tried the best one from laduree and pierre herme before and so this has not live up to the expectation but who cares when you only pay a fraction of the price compare to the branded one...

at saint-malo old town, you walk in to this chocolatier, all the displays in this photo is made from chocolate, such a master handcraft that is probably hard to put into the mouth....

and arrays of macaron are there to seduce you. now you know that you cannot eat them all because there are still pastry waiting for you at 'home' which you bought a day before... so no macaron, no chocolate...

an puff pastry with apple stuffing, quite typical as well in france. you pick this up on your way to le mont saint-michel. a humble pastry but definitely a quick replenishment of energy

at dinard plage de l'ecluse beach, after a walk along the cliff, you opt for a salted caramel soft ice, while he has his strawberry flavor soft ice. you salted caramel taste way too sweet and artificial, you just throw it away as there is no point to have extra unwanted calories in your body...

flan breton - an almond milk custard tart, this is really light and nice. it reminds you of the hong kong egg tart...

apricot tart from another patisseries store in saint-malo down town. you pick this one because you wanted to have something but there is not much choice left...

and you best sweetie is actually this one, with a name called l'orange something... you pick it up from a patisseries artisan in nantes. the choice are many here but you just have one stomach, so you allow yourself to pick just one...

and this is the best pastry you have tried this trip! rich in dark chocolate and it has some oregano, basil and orange flavors that somehow blend together in perfect harmony

cancale.oyster

[it’s hard to believe that i just returned to work for four days and i am completely swamp by my work. i am used to see johannes 24 hours a day during our vacation and now i hardly see him due to my long hours at work. i need to eat some oysters and drink some champagne to distress!!! let me bring travel back with my memory on the oysters experience in cancale.]

twenty nine august

a charming port city just about 12 km away from saint malo. you come here for the morning market and for seafood. as you approach the city, the sea view entices you, the market looks small at first but then you found the farmer market tug at the other corner. plenty of sausages, plenty of colorful fruits, plenty of roast chicken, pork and beef stalls. you bought two sweet melons, two sausages and some fruits. but, but you can’t find the things that you are looking for and the reason cancale is famous for…

you leave the farmer’s market, you walk down the slop to the seaside and port area, lot of beautiful walls welcoming you. you finally saw a sign that interest you, ‘marche de huitre’, you follow the sign and the smell and tada!!

you found it!! the market for oysters, fresh and cheap oysters… there aren’t too many stalls but definitely enough to choose from, all selling at the same price. you randomly chose one stall and order a dozen of size 2 oysters, open on the spot, with citroen and take it with you to the other side, and you tuck in, just like that – simple and primitive but flavorsome. they are not too big or fleshy but definitely fresh enough to swallow without even citroen juice, take it plain is the best!

while you slowly enjoy the oyster, he tackles with the even faster pace than you, and before you realize, he is attacking your share too… but that’s okay because you are buying more to take ‘home’ for dinner tonight.

thirty first august

you cannot forget the taste of oysters and you both decide to come back for more two days later. you eat your heart out this time, you ordered 2 dozen (number 2 and number 3) plus two special type to try.

you are a little well prepared and byob of white wine to wash down the fresh oysters. number 2 is fleshy ...

 

number3 is a bit of the slim side, but both have a rather different salty taste. as for the special one, you know that it is completely different from the dozen you have just eaten and that the nutty after taste is rather appealing to your palette.

it is low tide, so the sand bed is exposed and you can see how the oysters are cultivated here... no matter how, it doesn't put you off from enjoying your oysters

look at the empty oyster shells at the beach, they are almost like the pebble stones...

and the low tide view at the other side of the oyster market is not bad either, especially nice to take in the view with a stroll after a satisfied stomach...

[i feel much better now that i composed this blog entry.  some time writing blog is enlightening for me, hope you enjoy the journey with me too!]

mount.st.michel.从前风闻有你,如今亲眼见你

[i am thinking with that many thoughts and photos i have in my memory and my folder, what should i write first.  then i remember this interesting encounter with mount st michel that has leave a very deep impression in me until today.  it was interestingly this chinese verse of job 42:5 came to both my mind and his at the same time, it is only later when we talked about it we realized God has given us the same scripture verse in chinese about the same place that we visited.  i decided ot youes the chinese verse in the title of this blog entry because it trully depicts how i feel (and my reflection later) when i first saw the cathedral spiking up from the sea.... i am also amazed how God speaks to me through this manner and then by embracing the mount st michel, i have a feeling that i am embracing God...]

Job 42:5 "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you".

le mont saint michel

twenty eight august

the most amazing thing is to see her suddenly appearing from a distance as you drive toward her. she becomes bigger and higher in your vision even though you are still a distance away from her. suddenly this bible scripture in chinese resounding in your ears “从前风闻有你，如今亲眼见你”, you can’t remember which book this verse is from, you will check it out later, but for now this is the best verse that describes your emotion and a perfect quick introduction with her. you heard so much about her, but now you see her in person.

but you leap and jump with joy, as it a very first time you see someone so dear to you. the thrill in your heart is quite lasting…

you don’t have time to visit her today because you need to first reach your final destination which is about another 60km to go. so you have to move on...

thirtieth august

you finally have an up close and personal encounter with her. the weather can’t be any better than today. she is really enchanting in front of you. she welcomes you with wide open arms as you approaching her step by step from a distance. she becomes bigger and bigger as your and hugs you.

you see her more clearly now, you see the wrinkles on her face, the wall and the concrete that form over the different centuries are clearly visible from here.

then rreality hit: you don’t like the atmosphere in the main street - grande-rue. restaurants! souvenir shops! tourists! no, this is not your idea of her. too crowded! tourists and merchants everywhere, tour groups! you let your mind travel to the past, you imagine how it would be like when the fortress is quiet and silence with dim street light. you think she will look surreal and romantic.

you didn’t go to the abbey but choose to watch her from a distance by admiring her outer beauty and surrounding.

you look out the window and the landscape enchant you further with your imagination, what happen when the tide is high?  will people trap here in the 'island' during high tide and wait for another 6 hours before the low tide hit?

what will happen to those cars? will they be covered by the sea water in high tide? can you visit her twenty four hours a day or approaching her is limited by the nature and govern by the sea tides? but in reality, you can visit here any time, any day. the cars at the car park will be in safeguard, the water will not flood over them...  all the old tales and phenomenon of the past and the mystic of le mont saint michiel is swapped clean by the technology...

you peep out to another area, where you see the land and the trees far afield... you like the different landscape you see from different site of st michel

you hit the less crowded area of st michel. you enjoy the warmth of the sun and the less explore side of her. you thought you are no longer there because what you see in front of you is a stretch of plain marsh land at low tide. you look out and there is endless patch of sand.

[even though this cathedral is dedicated to archangel saint michael, but i decided to describe it him as her. also i love to describing in third person these days, so you is used instead of me, i or we...]

:mi.casa:én.házam:ma.maison:

for the last three weeks, i was hardly at home but yet i found myself very at home in my home away from home.

mi casa at madrid, i stayed at hostal gala. it is neither a hotel nor a hostel or bed and breakfast, it is something in between and a rather new establishment in the city center.i am surprised by the shower unit that comes with a raindrop shower and a hydro massage feature. charlie the night shift reception is super friendly and helpful, the girls are very approachable too. mi casa is located at plaza santa domigo, i am just a few minutes away from everything... two minutes to my west is the royal palace and plaza oriente, two minute to my north i already at gran via (famous shopping street) and metro station

én.házam in budapest is a hostel that is no difference from a home. it is a female only hostel (hostel anadin) in an apartment unit, just a block away from danube river that overlooking margaret island. my host jennifer just leave the entire apartment unit to me and a few other girls. i met and make a few friends in this setting. i went out with some of them and in the evening we shared our traveling tips and day encounter with each other. i feel so much at home here that sometime i just didn't want to get out there...

lastly is ma maison in saint-malo, a city in brittany, france, we rented an apartment just by the seashore. we are surprised by the luxury decoration in a very light, clean and airily environment. it comes with a fully equip kitchen and even a sea view at the side window. we have a large living cum dining room and a comfortable bed.

ma maison also has an indoor swimming pool at our disposal, we swam in it almost every day and we relaxed ourselves in the turkish bath daily. here, at ma maison, we took time to sit at the sun bed at the terrace to enjoy the sun and do a bit of reading or just lying down and do nothing but just take in the view in front of us. we just love our home.

all my home away from home are clean. new. central. reasonably priced. most importantly i feel safe, cozy and very at home, even though i was there only temporally...

disconnect.connect

you made a conscious choice the last eight days (also your last week of vacation), you chose to disconnect from the world internet. not that you couldn’t get any connection, but you just want to disconnect completely from the world internet because in such an environment like this, it is just not worth to remind yourself about the world or be informed about the happening in this world (for a week at least). you know it is only temporary before you have to reconnect to the world internet again. you feel good and relaxed.

 time was not important at where you were. You count your time by the sunrise and sunset you see in front of your eyes each morning and evening (okay, you missed the sunrise most of the days) but you never missed a sunset!

you loved where you lived and called 'home' for a week where at high tide the sea is just right in front of you.

at low tide you have the whole patch of sandy beach for yourself.

you woke up to visit a farmer’s market, buy the freshest produce.

you took time for everything that appeals to you most and you ate well!

you went sightseeing on a slow and easy pace. you loved how close you are to the nature and how God spoke to you through the nature and things you saw.  you felt His presence strongly and you always calm.

you eat well, swim well, sleep well and relax well...

there were plenty of fresh air and sunshine. you sunbathe well. occasionally wind reminds you that you were not all in the perfect beautiful world but that’s okay.

it is now september. a new season. the air is crisp in your adopted land. you are going back to work tomorrow and new challenges awaiting you ahead. you know you will be fine because you have rested well and most importantly you have disconnected yourself and now you are ready to reconnect to your world again!