August 3, 2026
St. Malo is as impressive as I thought it would be. A little smaller perhaps, but still impressive. Mont Saint Michel is also impressive but even smaller.
I have signed up to stay here in Saint Malo through August, to ride the bike and settle myself into more of a routine. The last year has been turbulent and I need to stop and reassess my next steps.
To start there has been a lot of cycling, some example rides are shown below. I feel like I’m getting my fitness back (albeit for a much older man than the last time I was ‘fit’) and I feel better.
After leaving Jersey, the plan was to go to Binic, but it turns out the tide was not high enough to get into the harbour. A much larger harbour, open at all tides, is just a few miles to the north and so I put in there for a couple of days to cycle in that area. Portrieux is an excellent port but the area lacked some of the character I am becoming accustomed to from places like Deauville or Saint Vaast-La-Hogue. Much hope is being placed on St-Malo.
St-Malo is an interesting harbour and it contains two marinas and multiple mooring options. The main marina, Sablonnes, had few options for a boat the size of Home Free and it was very exposed to weather so I opted to go ‘inside’ to the Vauban basin and this puts me right under the walls of St-Malo and more protected from weather. Very nice!
Along with the cycling, I have had day trips to Mont Saint Michel and Rennes to see more of the Bretagne region.
Again, just a place holder, not so much detail, but I’ll settle in here and perhaps write even more over the coming few weeks.
Sculptured Rocks (Les Roches Sculptes/Rothneuf)
Adolphe Fouere had a traumatic brain injury and spent the last 15 years of his life creating these figures from the rocks. Interesting and perhaps worth the 5 Euros entry, but the story is better than the carvings themselves. It is a good story of perseverence by a man.
Mont Saint Michel is a wonder when looked at from afar, but it is truly packed with people (late July) and while offering some amazing views and interesting history, the journey was really the whole point. Arriving by rental car, parking was easy and there is a 40 minute walk from parking into the site itself (or a 20 minute bus ride).
While the tide was out, the sand/flats were spectacular. The architecture and history are notable and the Abbey (extra charge) is interesting, but not much different than other old fortresses/churches. It’s location and endurance may be the best parts of the whole story.
Some photos from Rennes. Rennes was dead. Almost no tourists. These old buildings were like Shambles buildings in York, UK, thought to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley ( JK Rowling says it’s based on Victoria street in Edinburgh). In any case these buildings in Rennes are marvellous old structures.
