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Whilst silently holding centuries of rich war-ridden history, the impressive walls of St. Malo's Old Town built on solid granite rock, yesterday bore witness to yet another historic happening: my initiation as a backpacker!
Happy to report that 'these boots are made for walking' and that the backpack kindly lent to me, does its magic: holds all I need, yet light enough to carry comfortably. I walked with it all around and through 'Intra Muros' (the old town inside the walls) and managed to get lost on my way to the hotel, so plenty of walking exercise to ready me for what lies ahead in Spain!
Whilst its a widely known fact that the French don't really bother to speak anglaise, I find Britannians so far a happy and helpful bunch and my basic french vocabulary and understanding is rapidly growing. Pedestrians (or perhaps just backpack carrying lost-looking ones) enjoy right of way and cars, buses and trucks, the whole lot, stops all the time to let me cross.
St Malo's walled town reminds me somewhat of the hilltop towns in Italy, although the streets are wider and it feels less touristy, perhaps as there's room to move! It never fails to fill me with awe seeing these grandiose buildings: it brings to the present years and years of 'life lived' and I imagine hearing stories whispered from the stones if you were to press your ear to it.
The rest of the peninsula town lies prettily around the bay and hundreds of smallish sailboats moor everywhere. I was told by a somewhat amorous (aren't they all?!) frenchman I met, 'mingling with the locals' at the Cunningham bar overlooking the bay, that St. Malo, or the Brittany coast, has an almost permanent spring tide. Not sure if this is the case or whether the slope into the sea is just very gradual, but the water pulls back way into the sea leaving the boats stranded on the sand. Buildings are mostly stone with windows framed by french blue or white shutters. The kind of rustic I like. I walked through a beautiful green wood-like park called Parc des Corbieres with views of the sea opening up through the trees every now and again.
Every second restaurant is a creperie (I'm not complaining!) and St. Malo is known for it's excellent seafood fresh from the sea.
In the same Cunningham bar (conveniently located right below my hotel), I was invited to try the locally brewed rum containing preserved bits of questionable origin... But the taste was so good that I had to have another despite my reservations!
A beautiful port of entry into France...
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