'First stop...France!'
Paul's Diary...
On my 15th day of travel I am woken by the birds as the sun breaks across my tent here in Brittany and although the birds are singing and the sun is shining it was the church bells tolling away that woke me.
I'm in Brittany as a friend of a friend has invited me over and since my big plan is to have no plan along with never having visited the area it seemed worth the 1000km detour. I have to admit to being astonished by Mont-St-Michel perched high on its little island. Quite spectular from a far. At close quarters it is very touristy but still interesting.
Mont-Saint-Michel is a rocky islet topped by a famous gothic abbey, 1 mile off the coast of Normandy in northwest France. According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. It soon became one of the major pilgrimage destinations in medieval Christendom.
To go to and from Mont-St-Michel, pilgrims often waited for the region's tides to recede sufficiently to "safely" walk across the freshly exposed sands. Mont-St-Michel used to become an island on a twice-daily basis when the high tide encircled it but is now surrounded by water only two times a month. Many miscalculated the tidal cycles and drowned or were swallowed by the area's perilous quicksand.
On the other side of the English Channel, off the coast of Cornwall, in England, is Saint Michael's Mount, the site of a priory (later a castle) that belonged to the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey in the Middle Ages.
During the 15 days since leaving my parents in Lincolnshire I have covered over 2500 miles. Going to Norwich, Huddersfield, Solihull, Oxfordshire, Bristol, Newbury, Oxfordshire (again!), Dover, Calais, Valenciennes (near Lille), Paris and then here to Brittany. So far I have mainly been visiting friends and old colleagues of Renault F1. Which has been most enjoyable.
Ah! France! (cue parisian cafe music) the land of the onion seller, where you can sample such gastronomic delights as snails and frogs legs...or perhaps you have a sweeter tooth? In which case you're in good company.
Charles de Gaulle, born in Lille on 22nd November, 1890, was a French military leader and statesman who had a penchant for the homemade waffles filled with Madagascan vanilla that now bear his name at the famous pastry shop 'La Pâtisserie Meert.'
Since 1761 Meert have supplied royalty and other important people all over the world. It has a tea room at the back, decorated lavishly in gold with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. So if you find yourself at 27 Rue Esquermoise, Lille (near Place du General de Gaulle) then maybe you can tell us if it really is as good as they say.
Old Lille was very nice but the shop that sells Charles de Gaulles favourite waffle was shut so I had to make do with a raspberry crumble from the pattiserie next door.
I like to have a piece of fruit each morning and by my reckoning the pattiseries out number greengrocers 6 to 1. As I worked my way south to Paris, in one village I took my fruit and sat on a bench in the town centre to eat, when all of a sudden the traffic flow became jam-packed. Looking at my watch it was 11:57 (although sadly no Debbie Harry was to be seen) and I concluded I was witnessing the daily baguette rush hour!
While in Valenciennes I watched Elena record a TV intermission advert for the broadcast company she works for, Melody TV, it was very interesting and I got to both stand in for the star during early light setting up and also to make my own short film.
In Paris, which was very cold and wintery, I saw both the new Twingo and the not yet released Laguna.
At Versailles palace there was a 30 metre skeleton just being constructed with a strange very long and pointed nose - could not find any explanations why.
Thankyou to Guillame Meunier who informs us that the skeleton is for a modern art exhibition taking place over the weekend. Where it will be possible for anyone to visit the gardens at night until 2am.
Mont-Saint-Michel is a rocky islet topped by a famous gothic abbey, 1 mile off the coast of Normandy in northwest France. According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. It soon became one of the major pilgrimage destinations in medieval Christendom.
To go to and from Mont-St-Michel, pilgrims often waited for the region's tides to recede sufficiently to "safely" walk across the freshly exposed sands. Mont-St-Michel used to become an island on a twice-daily basis when the high tide encircled it but is now surrounded by water only two times a month. Many miscalculated the tidal cycles and drowned or were swallowed by the area's perilous quicksand.
On the other side of the English Channel, off the coast of Cornwall, in England, is Saint Michael's Mount, the site of a priory (later a castle) that belonged to the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey in the Middle Ages.
Ah! France! (cue parisian cafe music) the land of the onion seller, where you can sample such gastronomic delights as snails and frogs legs...or perhaps you have a sweeter tooth? In which case you're in good company.
Charles de Gaulle, born in Lille on 22nd November, 1890, was a French military leader and statesman who had a penchant for the homemade waffles filled with Madagascan vanilla that now bear his name at the famous pastry shop 'La Pâtisserie Meert.'
Since 1761 Meert have supplied royalty and other important people all over the world. It has a tea room at the back, decorated lavishly in gold with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. So if you find yourself at 27 Rue Esquermoise, Lille (near Place du General de Gaulle) then maybe you can tell us if it really is as good as they say.
Thankyou to Guillame Meunier who informs us that the skeleton is for a modern art exhibition taking place over the weekend. Where it will be possible for anyone to visit the gardens at night until 2am.
Some facts to date: - Paul
Parcels sent home of things I dont need: 1Parcels received from home of things I forgot: 3
Number of bike drops while carrying a lady with a broken leg: 1
Post shower weight: 62.0kg
Number of days before I stopped shaving: 3