Mont St Michel and Cancale, France

My first visit to Cancale and Mont St Michel was over 20 years ago with my aunt, uncle, and cousin.  I remember the surprising color of the ocean – more Caribbean turquoise than gray Atlantic – and traipsing up and down stone stairs on the Mont, and I’d wanted to return ever since.

So D and I made a short stop en route from Paris to Bordeaux, taking the TGV to Rennes and renting a car for the rest of the trip.  We stayed at the fabulous Chateau Richeux, which has views of both Cancale and the Mont across the water.

We set off for Mont St Michel in the morning, early enough that we could beat the crowds.  Unfortunately, this meant there was thick morning fog and the Mont was completely enshrouded.  On the plus side, the cool and cloudy weather meant that we could comfortably walk from the parking lot all the way to the Mont.

As we got closer, the fog lifted to reveal the lower parts of the walled city, but the spire of the church was barely discernible.

I handled this foggy turn of events with complete sangfroid disappointment cured only by D’s suggestion of an espresso stop at one of the cafes along the city ramparts.

By the time we’d finished, the clouds were dissipating and blue skies appeared, along with the gilded statue of Saint Michel atop the church spire.  Hooray!

We lingered to take some photos, then headed back down the causeway (on the bus this time).

Next came lunch in Cancale, where seafood is the order of the day at the restaurants lining the harbor.  We went to L’Atelier de l’huître for their namesake bivalves, where I had a plate of a dozen medium local oysters and D selected one of the seafood platters with oysters, fish rillettes, bulots, big pink shrimp, and a bowl of tiny brown ones.

The oysters are shucked to order by the ladies who work there, who make short work of them thanks to an imposing metal tool bolted to the display table.  Unsurprisingly, they were delicious.

A short, but wonderful day on the coast!