Today we woke up in Saint-Malo, France.  This gorgeous city is located on the coastline of northwestern France.  Even though I could’ve spent an entire day exploring this location, after taking a tender from the ship into town, we were immediately ushered onto a tour bus to drive to an even more picturesque location, Mont St-Michel.

Wonder Bread

Before getting into our adventures of the day, let me tell you a little about the ship’s passengers.

Kevin and I are the youngest passengers on board.  It’s not quite like visiting a nursing home or anything, but most people are 60+.  There are a fair amount of people, however, who look at us enviously, seeing that both of our knees and hips still work.  I’ve gotten more than one side-eye as I’ve sprinted up the stairwell.  Kevin said this morning that we’re two grapes in a sea of raisins.

Since this is more of a luxury line, there are some people here who are absolutely loaded, and some of whom want to show it: blinged out, nipped, tucked, pulled tight, and dressed to impress.  I’ve had a few people check me out from head to toe, and then turn away with their nose turned up, with a look on their face like they’ve smelled a fart.  Kevin says I’m imagining things, but I tell him that I’m just more observant than he is.  Regardless,  I don’t let it bother me, but to these people I would love to say, “Sweetie, I know you have a nicer suite than mine, but you’re able to spend more money on it since this is the last cruise you’ll probably be able to take.  You can’t take it with you, right?  Have a lovely day and try not to break your hip on your excursion!”  Thankfully, most people on the ship are perfectly lovely.

To my dear Mary Posey, since I know you’re going to ask, no, I haven’t seen any black passengers on board, but my eyes are peeled.  Don’t worry, if I see any, I won’t run up to them, with a little tear in my eye, saying, “Oh, fantastic, you’re black!  You don’t know how happy I am to see you!”  Being from Seattle, you take for granted how wonderfully diverse that city is; you don’t think about it until you’re on a ship full of white people.  Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against white people; some of my best friends are white.

Mont St-Michel

I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of this place before; it’s absolutely surreal.  Mont St-Michel is an abby that’s on top of a small, rocky island mountain.  It used to only be accessible during low tide, but even then, patches of quicksand and a fast-moving tides that changed the water depth by 13-14 meters (43-46 feet) would spell certain death for any would-be invaders.  Now there is a walkway that takes you to the front gates, thank goodness.  When we got there, the tide was completely out, and for as far as the eye could see, the island was surrounded by the silty ocean floor.

Since the abby is at the top of the mountain, there is only one way up:  steep cobblestone streets and stairways.  Larry seemed to think that the ascent would be a bit more gradual; he was surprised as he stood at the base of the first steep incline, peering up with a look of dread on his face, and then looking around for any sign of an elevator.  He was a trooper, though, and managed to make it all the way to the top and then all the way back down, and he only complained once or twice (or 73 times, but who’s counting?).

Quick run around the walled city.

Once we got back from Mont St-Michel, we only had a short time until the last tender was returning to the ship.  Larry, Gail and Kevin returned to the ship right away, but I wanted to explore the old town of Saint Malo for a few minutes.

Old town is a granite-walled part of the city with beautiful stone buildings filling its interior.  I only had time to run down a couple of charming cobblestone streets, and then make my way to the top of the exterior wall to snap a few pictures.  In one of the pictures, you’ll notice the drastic change in tidal height as you see dozens of boats resting on the sandy bottom of the bay.

My, you have some huge jugs!

Kevin and I finished off our night at Chartreuse, the French dining restaurant on board.  The food was great, and the service even better.  We met our new favorite crew member, Princess.  She was very charming and chatted us up the entire evening.  I’ve included a picture of her with the enormous cognac and armagnac containers, out of which she drew up our after dinner libation.