Mont Saint Michel and Brittany Coast

June 22, 2007  •  Brittany, Dinnard, Europe, France, Mont St Michel, Pointe Grouin, St. Malo, Travel

We had a lazy morning before heading over to the island by crossing the causeway on foot. The causeway was put in place about 100 years ago, and the resulting disruption of the tides along with years of sediment shifting has caused a buildup of sediment and the tides rarely come around the island now. Instead, it sits amidst large expanses of mud and you see tourists walking out on it for a mile. An engineering project will replace the causeway with a pedestrian only bridge and work to restore the marine environment over the coming years.The sheep graze on the marsh land which is salty because of the tides coming in and out, so their meat has a distinctive flavor.Once on the island we were bombarded with tourists and made a beeline for the abbey itself, intent on doing the full audio tour and gaining some understanding of why the monk who built this was so inclined.After the tour we ducked into the famous Mere Poulard restaurant for the more famous fluffy omelets made over an open flame to this day. Talk about a tourist trap, two omelets with home fried potatoes and a couple of pieces of bacon set us back about $130!After just 2 hours visiting Mont Saint Michel we wanted nothing more than to escape this tourist trap, so jumped in our car and decided to take advantage of the gorgeous day and drive along the coast of Brittany.The gorgeous resort town of Concale looks across the bay at Mont Saint Michel, and Pointe Grouin was stunningly beautiful. St. Malo, a huge city on the coast, was a disappointment so we kept driving on through the town to Dinnard which is a lazy beach town. We hung out at a beach side cafe (even though the temperature was 15 degrees cooler than in Normandy just 30 minutes away!) and indulged in a crepe buerre sucre (I had even managed to learn the French to order it by this point in the trip!Back at the hotel, we again decide to stay close to home and dined with this spectacular sunset over Mont Saint Michel. Smoked salmon with avocado, roast chicken with potato gratin, and yet another green apple sorbet with Calvados so my husband could try it!

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  1. Nibbler says:

    We hear reports of doom and gloom from the resturant businesses of London and Dublin caught up in the crash of the world’s financial markets. With vacant tables galore they would cast an envious eye at Les Maisons de Bricourt, Olivier Roellinger’s 3 Michelin star restaurant in Cancale, Brittany which is fully booked up for lunch and dinner every day until the 15th of December when,very sadly for us, it will close. The restaurant would be fully booked up till St Patrick’s Day 2009 and well beyond, so it is certainly not a lack of customers which are to blame for the closure. Running any restaurant is hard work and a 3 star Michelin restaurant even more so. While Mr Roellinger has decided to take a well earned rest we propose you give it a go cooking great food in your own home.
    To help you we are running the following short courses at Kerrouet House which will enhance your cooking skills and give you a taste for some of the best food Brittany has to offer.

    Sample Dinner Course

    Brittany Escallops with Fleur de Sel de Guerande marinated with an orange and lime fructose

    Grilled Red Mullet with toasted cauliflower puree and chive mousseline sauce

    Quail with figs and apple

    Gruyere cheese with selection of winter fruits

    Almond and apple pie with poppy seed ice cream

    Sample Lunch Course

    Brittany Oysters with red onion and apple.

    Salmon fish cakes with chives and tartar sauce

    Selection of Cheese

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