Day 10 The best of Brittany

St Malo, Brittany has much to commend and for us a highlight is the great regional food. Nothing fancy just hearty and tasty. High on the list is vegetable soup made with leeks, carrots, celery (including the leaves), potato and a couple of vegetable stock cubes. Next comes buckwheat pancakes (galette) filled with an egg, ham and cheese. Unusual, but delicious! It was served with cooked mushrooms and onion. Dessert is orange and vanilla cake served warm from the oven with a cluster of gooseberries on the side.

Another delight is the local markets.  We explore a covered market full of food stalls and an outdoor textile market, which displayed a variety of different types of clothing. We were quickly spotted as tourists and our host overhears two old men complaining about us taking photos and speaking in a strange language. The markets are even better than the Paris markets and we delight in watching our young local host interacting with the store holders.

In the afternoon we drive to Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery begun in 708 and set high up on a rock, which is surrounded by the sea at high tide. It is very impressive, but rather chaotic on the day of our visit, as a strike by the staff has meant that all tourist control has evaporated.  Approaching Mont Saint-Michel along country lanes through the fields we were able to see the fresh food of Brittany being grown. Lettuce, wheat, corn, potatoes, carrots, leeks. We are alerted to the famous local sheep grazing close to the sea. These sheep produce highly sought after and very expensive meat because they are eating the salty grass.

In the evening we attend a cultural festival at the local Hotel de Ville (town hall), starting at 9pm on a Wednesday night. We are promised one of France’s leading Celtic guitarists, but due to a program change, we enjoy some very creative music from a trio of musicians playing piano, flute and percussion. Following the concert the locals settle in for a long night of folk dancing, which to be honest, looks like a lot of fun.