Road Trip (2) - Saint-Malo/Mont Saint-Michel

Road-trip day 2 (sun)

Morning walk along the same beach under the morning sun. Quite a different feel from the night walk. Still low tide, so we crossed the beach to the 'Château de Saint-Malo' which I suppose served as a fortress. Wandered around on the rocks while taking in the nice deep blue sea sight. Then we strolled around the city center again..along the ramparts...pass the 'Saint-Vincent Cathédrale'...WWI WWII memorial... A very rustic fortified island built in the middle ages but partially destroyed during the wars.

Amazing thing was, while heading back to the hotel after our city tour, we suddenly realized that it was high tide and alas, the Château we visited this morning became totally inaccessible! What great timing!

Satisfied with our Saint-Malo visit, we checked out and headed to Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy (an hour's drive away, en route back to Paris). Another rocky tidal island with an amazing abbey which made it impossible for the English to seize the island back during the Hundred Years' War. I cannot fathom how the monks at that time were able to construct such a monastic establishment!

Small touristy streets inside but I think it's worth climbing up to the top of the abbey. We didn't have the chance as the ticket office closes at 6pm :( I recommend that you buy tickets prior to your visit. Small island so need just maximum 3 hours to explore. Thank goodness we didn't stay in a hotel on the island as it can get quite boring. Our accom was a causeway away (5min drive but 30mins walk) and near a supermarket. Perfect.

Road Trip (1) - Honfleur/Saint-Malo

Road-trip day 1 (sat)

Went on a road-trip to Normandy/Brittany area. Destination is at Saint-Malo (4-hour drive from Paris) but we detoured for a stopover lunch at Honfleur. Nice boaty place to bum around for a few hours.. Had lunch at a restaurant called 'Le Bistro Du Port' but service was slow and food kinda cmi.. not well worth the money. If you're there, walk in a little more and you'll get to a boat-anchoring area surrounded by numerous lil cafes.

Reached Saint-Malo in the evening and was pleasantly greeted by a vast blue beach sight. Stayed at 'Hotel Ibis' which boasts an exceptional sea view from some of the rooms! Unfortunately our triple-bed rooms were located at the opposite side. Clean, no frills, cheap and great view. Definitely a keeper.

Took a breezy walk along the coast (wide beach cos of the super low tide) from the hotel to the city centre (about 10-15 mins). Felt so relaxed and free. Had dinner at 'Le Bistro De Jean' which served really good starters! Main courses like beef, duck and lamb were not bad but the fish was disappointing.

Name: Le Bistro De Jean (reservations recommended)

Location:  6 rue de la Corne de Cerf, Intra Muros, 35400 Saint-Malo

Expenditure: 140€

The walk back to the hotel was uber freezing at 11deg! (summer now mind you) So cold that mei mei cried. Poor thing...

Disneyland; Croisiere Paris

Désolé (terribly sorry in french), I didn't realize I haven't updated my blog for 2 weeks already! S' fam is in town (2 days after my mum & sis left) and hence we have been extremely busy ever since. Let me just try to summarize our extensive activities during the MIA days:

Went to Disneyland last Sunday with Joanna, Charmaine, S and the kids. Took about 5 rides.. Rather crowded since it's the holiday period but we had fun nonetheless!

 Met Lynn and Chris during the last leg of their Europe trip. Brought them on a boat ride with S' fam which turned out way better than expected! Highly recommended for anyone visiting Paris. It might seem like a really touristy idea, but the 3-course french meal was surprisingly satisfying. All in all, the whole experience was exclusive and romantic :)

Name: Croisiere Paris
Website: http://www.croisiere-paris.com/

Location: River Seine

Expenditure: (50€ pp, 69€ with wine)

Continue the rest of the story tomorrow.......

London w mum & sis (Jun10)

Brought mum & sis to London for a 3 day 2 night trip... Shopped (a hell lot) at the usual Chinatown, Oxford Street and Harrods till our legs almost gave up on us! And of course, we ate (a hell lot too) at all my favourite places. The only touristy thing we did was to go up on the London Eye..which was alright..

Roland Garros 2010

Caught a couple of days of Roland Garros.. but the first one got rained out 3/4 of the day! Quite a dampener. Oh wells, there's always next year ;) On the up side, we did managed to watch a few 2nd & 3rd round players...

Li Na & her french opponent Stephanie Cohen-Aloro

Andy Murray & Chela

Shvedova (quite an eyecandy) from Kazakstan & opponent Kleybanova

Everyone hiding under their brollys. Poor Jiewei couldn't catch much action.. At least our dinner slightly made up for it.