Tag Archives: France

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The Walled City of Saint-Malo

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(Saint-Malo, Brittany, France)

The Breton city of Saint-Malo is located on the English Channel, a couple of hours (by very slow trains) southwest of Bayeux.  We decided to stay here for a few days because of its famous walled old town.  We also knew that there was a laundromat (as we were at the halfway point of our trip) and that there was a connection to Jacques Cartier.  That was enough to give it a look!

Main entrance to Saint-Malo’s old city (“intra muros”)

Jacques Cartier was a Breton explorer who claimed (what is now) Canada for France.  He was born in in Saint-Malo in 1491, and it is not difficult to see the architectural inspiration for the old parts of Quebec City.  Saint-Malo may rely heavily on tourism today, but it originally appears to have grown rich from seafaring and, well, piracy.

Statue of Jacques Cartier, atop the ramparts of Saint-Malo

Visitors are drawn to both the walled city and the city’s many sandy beaches. We’re not really into the beach scene, but we did appreciate the cool breezes coming in from the sea.  We missed that in both Rouen and Bayeux.

One of Saint-Malo’s side streets. We ate at the Asian restaurant on our first night, and had lunch at the creperie on the left on our last day

The walled city is larger than most and can also make you feel rather claustrophobic.  The streets are very narrow and the buildings are all very high.  While this creates shade during the day, it also seems to have stopped me from taking a lot of pictures within the walls (known locally as “intra muros”).

One of the many beaches below the city walls of Saint-Malo (at high tide)

Another reason I didn’t take many pictures in the city itself was simple:  it was very crowded.  It has been a very warm summer so far in northern France and I think a lot of people were escaping the inland heat.  In fact, we have yet to see a drop of rain on our trip.  You’ll notice that there is a fair bit of glare in my pictures:  the sun was relentless, and the sun also doesn’t set until about 11:00 p.m. at this time of year.  We can’t complain:  it’s better than relentless rain!

Looking toward Saint-Malo from the end of the lighthouse pier

There aren’t a lot of specific “must-see” sights in Saint-Malo: the main thing is to walk on top of the city walls.   A complete circuit takes about an hour, with stops, and gives some new perspectives on the narrow streets.  Alas, I can’t show them to you, as I left my camera’s memory card in our hotel room when we went for an extended walk on the walls!

A tall ship anchored at Saint-Malo

Coming up:  a boat journey from Saint-Malo!

Posts from the road

From Bayeux to Saint-Malo

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(Saint-Malo, Brittany, France)

Bayeux’s large medieval festival lasted several days, so we were able to revisit it a few times and check out some of the exhibits, kiosks, and activities that we missed the fist time around.

Medieval musicians in front of Bayeux’s Cathedral

One of the parks was devoted to medieval games…and we ended up spending quite a bit of time there. Quite a few were similar to “table shuffleboard”, and in fact one game was identical to a Dutch game called “sjoelen“. I remember playing sjoelen at my aunt’s house in ‘s-Gravenzande, but that didn’t give me much of an advantage!

Some of the medieval games in Bayeux

Some of the kiosks were a little different from what you would find in Canada. One was devoted to escargots! There were also many unusual clothing items for sale, ranging from full body armour to tricorne hats. As it was (and still is) quite hot, most of these items were not very practical and I didn’t end up buying any of them. I hope I don’t regret declining this rare opportunity!

Snails to go: escargots à emporter, à Bayeux.

We stumbled upon another unique site in Bayeux:  the Reporters’ Memorial.  This commemorates all of the reporters since World War II who have been killed in the course of their employment.  There is a forest path lined with large pillars containing the names of the reporters who died:  generally, there is one pillar per year, but many years (most of them recent) unfortunately spill over onto a second or even third pillar.  The memorial is a reminder of the important role journalism plays in a free society.

Some of the reporters who were killed in 2002

We’ve been eating a lot of galettes and crêpes lately, so I broke down and had a Turkish döner kebab on our last night in Bayeux.  It was a refreshing change but I think we’ll be having plenty of galettes and crêpes even after we move on from Bayeux.  While we are leaving Normandy, we will be spending five days in Brittany…where galettes and crêpes are just as ubiquitous.

An interesting intersection in Bayeux

The journey from Bayeux to Saint-Malo was very uneventful, compared to the strike-impaired journey out of Rouen.  We arrived in Saint-Malo on time and settled into our hotel without incident.  We miss having our own kitchen, but there is a boulangerie right around the corner.  This means we can continue our indulgent habit of having amazingly fresh chaussons aux pommes and pain au chocolat every morning!

Our local bakery in Bayeux

Stay tuned for more on Saint-Malo:  the Brittany town with a very strong connection to Canada!

Posts from the road

World War II Sites in Normandy

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(Bayeux, Normandy, France)

World War II can never be forgotten in Normandy. Until you visit here, it is difficult to comprehend the scale of what happened and how many people died.

Courseulles-sur-Mer

We first visited Juno Beach (see photo at the top of this post) in the nearby village of Courseulles-Sur-Mer. This was just one of several landing sites during the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944…better known as “D-Day” (le jour J in French).  However, the troops that landed here were predominantly Canadian, while the other landing sites had predominantly American or British troops.

One of the concrete bunkers at Juno Beach

The Juno Beach Centre is located right by the beach and is best described as an interactive museum.  Although the focus is on D-Day, there is also a lot about Canadian life in the 1930s and 1940s, to put everything into context.  We spent quite a bit of time here; it is actually staffed by young Canadians who are approximately the same age as the Canadian soldiers who participated in the invasion of Normandy.

Flags of the nations that participated in the D-Day invasion

Particularly moving was the movie shown near the end of the “circuit”.  The ferocity and carnage of D-Day is very strongly conveyed, using a combination of actual footage and extremely convincing recreations.  We also took a brief guided tour of the beach and two bunkers that were part of the Nazi defence of the coast.

Recreation at Juno Beach

We then spent some time exploring the beach on our own. It is still a huge sandy beach that is slowly moving inland.  Today it is predominantly a place for leisure, and it is often difficult to imagine that so many people died here.  It is estimated that there were at least 10,000 Allied casualties on D-Day alone, with 4,414 confirmed dead.

Vast expanse of sand at Juno Beach (low tide)

There are 18 Allied war cemeteries in Normandy alone.  As we are relying on public transportation here, it was not practical for us to visit the nearby Canadian cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer.  However, the cemeteries are usually not reserved for one particular nationality, so we visited the cemetery in Bayeux instead.

Entrance to the Bayeux War Cemetery

Most of the dead at the Bayeux Cemetery are British, but a significant number of Canadians are buried there too.  There are even a few hundred German soldiers.  It was striking how young most of the fallen soldiers were (mostly 18-20 years old) and how many died on the same day.

Bayeux War Cemetery

This was my first time at a war cemetery.  It is hard to process so many graves in one place, particularly with the knowledge that Normandy alone has 24 World War II cemeteries (including six predominantly German ones).  In Bayeux, there are nearly 5,000 soldiers buried.  A significant number are not identified, but contain the soldier’s nationality and the phrase “Known unto God”.

Bayeux War Cemetery

It was often challenging to reconcile the paddleboards and sandcastles at Courseulles-sur-Mer, or the shouts that came from the soccer field near the Bayeux Cemetery, with the Battle of Normandy.  However, our Juno Beach guide reminded us that the war was fought to preserve the freedoms (including leisure time) that we enjoy so much today.

Posts from the road

Arrival in Bayeux

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(Bayeux, Normandy, France)

The rail strike caused us a delay of nearly 3.5 hours.  Our original train still ran, but the entire self-serve rail ticket network was frozen and only a couple of ticket agents were working.  It took about an hour to buy our tickets, by which time our train had left.  Not a great start to our trip to Bayeux, especially as our (eventual) trains were very hot and we had to call our host in Bayeux repeatedly to adjust our arrival time.

Our apartment (on the left) in Bayeux, in a courtyard hidden behind an ancient wall.

We’re trying something a little different in Bayeux:  we have a furnished apartment with a fridge, etc.  In addition to being fabulously located in a historic building less than a block from the (huge) cathedral, it enables us to prepare some of our own meals.  This was a real blessing, as it is impossible to eat out every day without growing tired of it (and the cost).

This is the view from the street entrance to our apartment in Bayeux

As Bayeux was a very important medieval town, its cathedral is understandably huge.  I took many pictures of it, from various angles and at various times of day.  The days are long here, so I found the best light to be just before 11:00 p.m., when the summer sun is finally disappearing.

Bayeux’s Cathedral at 11:00 p.m.

Bayeux is perhaps best known for the the “Bayeux Tapestry” (actually an embroidery).  This work of art was created around the year 1070 to chronicle the victory of William the Conqueror (King of Normandy) over Harold (who claimed to be the King of England) at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.   It is a fascinating record of a major turning point in European history:  it also marks the beginning of the profound influence of French on the English language.

From the Bayeux Tapestry gift shop – a facsimile showing part of the 70-metre-long (!) tapestry

Looking like a massively elongated comic strip, the tapestry is nearly 70 metres long (!) and about 50 cm high.  Considering its age, it is remarkably well-preserved.  It was created to be hung in the cathedral so that the people understood the story of William the Conqueror.  In order to preserve the tapestry, photographs are not allowed and you only have about 25 minutes to view it.  The photo here is actually a contemporary copy of one of the scenes.

One of the creatures on the streets at the Bayeux medieval festival

Speaking of medieval times…we unknowingly arrived in the middle of Bayeux’s medieval festival.  The town was packed, with many of the people wearing full medieval costumes.  Many food items were medieval as well:  for a snack, I had a pear torte made from a 14th century recipe.

The medieval bakery kiosk in Bayeux. The chef is in period costume on the left.

Stay tuned for more medieval and modern stories from Bayeux!

Posts from the road

Last day in Rouen…and a strike!

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(Rouen, Normandy, France)

There are more than 2,000 half-timbered houses here…and sometimes one wonders how they remain standing.  The one below is right in the middle of the old town but nobody seems to be worried about it.

Precariously leaning house in Rouen

After quick visits to the (free) ceramics and ironworks museums, it was time for a big event:  the World Cup quarter-final match between France and Uruguay.  We claimed a table in a bar and assumed it would be like a big game in Canada:  noisy, occasionally, but still restrained.  We were wrong!

At the Rouen Ceramics Museum

Although there were only about 20 people in the room (this was a multilevel bar), it seemed like many more were actually there.  The intensity of emotion was astonishing and the amount of noise when France scored was deafening.  We had never seen anything like it, except perhaps when we saw a Feyenoord game in Rotterdam in 2014.  It will only get crazier, as France won 2-0 and advanced to the semi-final against Belgium.  I’m sure we’ll be watching that game too…I can’t imagine what it will be like if France makes it to the final on July 15!

As much as we loved the galettes here, we agreed that we should have something different for dinner.  My research uncovered a Senegalese restaurant just a few blocks from our hotel, so we decided to give it a try.

Inside the Ironworks Museum in Rouen

I chose chicken yassa and my wife ordered a vegetarian “XL samossa”.  It certainly was extra-large for a samosa:  it was filled with cheese, mixed vegetables, and an egg.  I wasn’t entirely sure what I had ordered but it turned out to be grilled chicken in a relatively sweet sauce.  However, the most interesting components of dinner were the sauces.

The very large Senegalese samosa

We were given some miniature samosas as an appetizer, with a very rich and flavourful tomato-based sauce.  However, the friendly proprietor offered me a spicier sauce, along with a warning that it was “medium strong”.  I appreciated the warning: if this was only “medium strong”, the “strong” must be impossibly incendiary!  I was glad that I had ordered a ginger-scented pineapple juice to soothe the (still enjoyable) burn.

The Ryal Metisse restaurant in Rouen

It was also nice to have Senegalese music playing throughout dinner.  I had picked up an unusual Youssou N’Dour record the day before, so music from Senegal was kind of a secondary theme for our stay in Rouen.  Who knew that N’Dour had covered the 1970s soul classic “Rubberband Man”?  You just never know what you will find while on holiday.

Notice board at the train station…STRIKE!

We really enjoyed our stay in Rouen and look forward to returning some day.  After such a nice introduction to France, I suppose it was inevitable that we would run into a classic France problem upon trying to leave:  a train strike!  At the time of writing, it looks like it will only cause a three-hour delay for us.

Posts from the road

Digging deeper into Rouen

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(Rouen, Normandy, France)

We’re living the good life in Rouen.  As predicted, we returned for dinner to La Crêperie Rouennaise, the same crêperie that we enjoyed so much the day before.  It was just as good the second time.  But I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself…

Part of the Place du Vieux-Marché, in the centre of Rouen

We started the day with a little shopping.  Some necessities, of course, but also some things that are too expensive or impossible to find back home.  For lunch, we found another winner:  the Listo restaurant, featuring food from Ecuador.  In addition to the “usual” fillings for empanadas, they had one with goat cheese and honey.  It was sublime with some hot sauce.

My empanadas at Listo

Next was a visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts.   We didn’t stay for too long, but we made a point of seeing the paintings by Claude Monet.  He painted the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Rouen at least 30 times, in addition to many other local sights.  Seeing vast amounts of art at once is not really my thing, but it’s different when the painting was made locally and is of something you’ve actually seen.  I took a picture but art photography rarely turns out well!

Unsettling plague victim at l’aître Saint-Maclou

We also visited l’aître Saint-Maclou, which didn’t really mean that much to us as a name.  But it turned out to be a cemetery from the plague that was being restored, along with the surrounding buildings. It was kind of creepy to see bones just lying there, including one skull with an opened mouth.  There are certainly some macabre sights in Rouen, as you can see from the following picture…

Also located in the Place du Vieux-Marché

We started the evening with a hike to the top of Mont  Ste.-Catherine, for a view of Rouen and the surrounding area.  This was more difficult than it ought to have been, which we blame on not waiting until at least an hour had passed after dinner.   It was only when we reached the top that I realized I would have to take pictures directly into the setting sun.

View of Rouen from the Côte Sainte-Catherine, with the Seine River at the left

But the day still wasn’t over.  At nightfall, the Cathédrale de lumière sound and light show is projected onto the facade of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame.  The simulated burning of the cathedral was very impressive.  Once again, photos don’t do it justice….so here’s another quaint streetscape from earlier in the day…

Streets like this are everywhere in Rouen

We have one more day in Rouen before moving on to Bayeux.  As we will likely not have wi-fi access in Bayeux, there may be a bit of a break before the next post.

Posts from the road

We’re back in France!

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(Rouen, France)

A series of random events (primarily a seat sale to Paris) have led us to Rouen, formerly the second biggest city in France but now a mere “regional centre”. Luckily for us, there is history everywhere and we are already enjoying Rouen despite just arriving from Canada today.

Rouen’s famous Gros-Horloge, dating back to 1389

Our hotel is, er, rustic. The breakfast room looks vaguely like a darkened hunting club. We found a boulangerie (bakery) nearby, so it was an easy decision to opt out of breakfast.  The dim rooms don’t really matter either: we won’t be spending much time here anyway!

Rouen’s Notre-Dame Cathedral

Rouen is probably best known for being the site of the execution of Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc). But the medieval feel of the city is probably the best reason to visit. If you have a liking for half-timbered houses, this is definitely the place to be!

Even the tobacco shops are historic in Rouen

We’ll be here for a few nights, so we will dig a little deeper in the days to come.  The main events on our first day were orienting ourselves, superficially exploring the medieval streets, and having an excellent al fresco dinner at La Crêperie Rouennaise.   Not only was it reasonably priced, the food was excellent and we are already talking about going back for another meal!

This is where we had dinner tonight

Like many restaurants in Normandy, they specialize in galettes (buckwheat “crêpes” with savoury toppings/fillings) and proper  crêpes themselves (with sweet toppings/fillings).  I chose a Galette Parisienne, filled with emmental, ham, fresh mushrooms, and cream, and then topped with a egg.  For dessert, I had a simple crêpe with freshly squeezed lemon and icing sugar.  The  dessert crêpe was probably unnecessary, but I felt I had a duty to try one!  The locally produced cider was an added bonus.

Alas, northern Europe is having a heat wave that is almost as bad as what we were experiencing in Canada.  Our hotel also doesn’t have air conditioning, so we will have to pace ourselves during the long, hot days.  It is still light until well after 10:00 p.m.  Luckily, there seems to be plenty of ice cream available!

Another quaint business in Rouen

This extended trip to northern France is off to a good start.  Stay tuned for more on Normandy and Brittany, as well as a Bastille Day celebration in yet another historic small city, before our finale in Paris!

Posts from Base Camp

My Enduring Connection to St. Pierre & Miquelon

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I recently reviewed my site traffic and discovered something very interesting about my posts.  For the past three years, the most popular ones have been a series of posts I wrote in 2015 on the remote French islands of St. Pierre & Miquelon.  The traffic on those posts is remarkable – it far surpasses anything else I’ve written.

A large crowd remains after the fireworks (and the arrival of fog) at the Bastille Day celebrations

I think this is mostly attributable to visitor numbers: millions of people visit places like Switzerland and Italy, but the visitor numbers to St. Pierre & Miquelon are considerably lower.  The tourist season is also quite short, with relatively few visitors outside the May to September high season.   And, of course, with fewer visitors, there are fewer bloggers.    It also didn’t hurt that a St. Pierre & Miquelon discussion group posted a link to one of my articles!

Zazpiak Bat: the local Basque pelota court in the centre of St. Pierre

The most popular individual post, by a considerable margin, is my report on Bastille Day 2015 in St. Pierre & Miquelon.  Which leads me  to a discussion of Bastille Day 2018…because we will once again be in  France!  As I mentioned a couple of months ago, I found a great summer airfare to Paris for the two of us.  At the time, I was still a little unsure of what our itinerary would be for that trip.  However, in the meantime, the picture has become considerably clearer.

Red-shirted volunteers distribute the vin d’honneur (and local cold cuts) on Bastille Day in St. Pierre

Lithuania and Latvia remain on hold.  Instead, I have booked accommodations in a number of towns in Normandy and Brittany.  We will be travelling by train and staying in small and characterful local hotels.   And we will be spending this Bastille Day (a.k.a. le 14 juillet) in an ancient Brittany town called Vitré!  I didn’t know anything about it until  I started researching this trip, but a number of sources (including the Michelin Guide) rank it quite highly.   It looks like a great place to spend France’s national day.

Reims supporters show their colours

Having booked the accommodation, my main task now is continuing to work on my French language skills.  For the past month, I’ve been spending at least 30 minutes each day on on-line French courses.  Reading French is not a problem but I need to work on the other elements of speaking, listening, and writing.  However, with a goal in mind, developing language skills is much more enjoyable!

Post-tour tasting at Vranken-Pommery champagne house (Reims, France)

To celebrate our upcoming trip to France, I’ve included some of my favourite pictures from St. Pierre & Miquelon and my 2014 trip to Reims, France.  In the meantime, stay tuned for some general posts about travel and a focus on some local destinations!

 

 

Posts from Base Camp

La Victoire!

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

My last post discussed the strategy involved in finding good airfares during the very expensive summer season.   I hadn’t bought our tickets yet but was on “high alert” for short-lived deals.   Much to my surprise, our tickets to an unexpected destination have now been bought!  Here’s the story…

The harbour in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Although we have an almost endless list of potential destinations,  our preferred destination was Lithuania.  Lithuania is a slightly-off-the-radar destination in Eastern Europe that nonetheless appeared to be very rewarding.  However, one drawback of an off-the-beaten-path destination is the lack of competition between airlines.  By the time of my last post, I had already decided that the only reasonable airfares would be to nearby Warsaw (Poland), or Riga (Latvia).

The steep backstreets of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The airfares to Vilnius (Lithuania) were generally well in excess of C$1,500.00 unless we wanted to take a very indirect route.  However, even the airfares to Warsaw were not dipping much below C$1,300.00.     We then expanded our search to places like Berlin (Germany) and Stockholm (Sweden), which would then be combined with a overnight ferry to either Latvia or Lithuania.  These prices were a bit lower but there still was nothing under C$1,000.00.

Entrance to the Citadel: Halifax, Nova Scotia

And then, just when things were appearing bleak, my strategy of subscribing to various travel mailing lists paid huge dividends.  I was notified that WestJet was introducing a new summer service from Canada to Paris.  They were offering special promotional fares for a very limited time.  We had to make a quick decision…and when the prices are that low for a summer flight to Europe, the decision is easy.  We managed to get return tickets from Montreal to Paris for less than $600 each (inclusive of fees and taxes)!  This is ridiculously low for the first half of July.

A small summer cottage in Chester, Nova Scotia

I know what you’re thinking:  Paris is not anywhere near Lithuania.  But there were a few ways to justify this.  Firstly, if we still wanted to see Lithuania, an internal European flight from Paris to Vilnius or Riga would be relatively affordable.  Secondly, we both previously have expressed interest in seeing parts of France that are close to Paris:  my wife has always wanted to see Normandy, while I have always wanted to see Brittany.  Finally, although I had visited Paris as a 10-year-old, neither one of us had been to Paris as adults (other than changing flights in Paris).

Unplanned photo in Pugwash, Nova Scotia

The more we researched northern France, the more attractive it became.  So while our summer itinerary is not yet completely settled, I suspect that this will indeed turn out to be a tour of France’s northern coast.  And, as Paris can get crowded in the summer, we have already booked our hotel there for the last few days of our trip.

The beach at Pugwash, Nova Scotia

While Lithuania looks like it is on the back burner for now, we are still thrilled about this unexpected twist.  In fact, given how much we learned about Lithuania (and Namibia, our original destination), it’s like we are getting three trips for the price of one.   That’s one of the reasons why I’m describing this unexpected turn of events as “La victoire“!  And we’ll still make it to Lithuania and Namibia in the future.

To further commemorate the near-randomness of our summer trip, I’ve included some photos from our 2009 summer trip to Nova Scotia.

Posts from the road

More on St. Pierre & Miquelon

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(Ville de St. Pierre, St. Pierre & Miquelon, France)

A lot of my photographs of St. Pierre feature colourful buildings. The diversity is striking, even when compared to Newfoundland (which has no shortage of colourful houses). Don’t be surprised if a future blog entry exploits this photographic inventory!

More of the steep and colourful streets of St. Pierre
More of the steep and colourful streets of St. Pierre

As I mentioned in a previous post, we returned to L’Atelier Gourmand for a second dinner. Alas, as it was Bastille Day, the full menu was not available. I suppose this was a good thing, as I tried something that I never eat at home: lobster.   The French description was La fricassée de homard aux légumes, roughly translated as lobster fried with vegetables.   I don’t know if it was the intention, but the sauce tasted a little like a Thai red curry.   Anyway, I enjoyed it and it capped off a rare day of dining on French seafood.

My lobster dinner at L'Atelier Gourmand
My lobster dinner at L’Atelier Gourmand

Visiting a cemetery is always an interesting, if somewhat morbid, way to learn more about a place.  The tombstones tell some interesting stories:  I sure wasn’t expecting to see the Toronto Maple Leafs logo on one of the graves!  Less whimsically, the diverse origins of the St. Pierrais became quite clear.  We saw many Basque names, as well as Spanish, Portuguese and even a few English names.  There were also “adopted” surnames, such as “L’Espagnol”.  Finally, the enduring connection to France was made very clear by the moving war memorial.  Many St. Pierrais have served in the French army.

Memorial to the many St. Pierrais who fought in the two world wars
Memorial to the many St. Pierrais who fought in the two world wars

Notwithstanding the Maple Leafs logo on the tombstone, they are not the most popular team here:  we counted at least 3 Montreal Canadiens bumper stickers while wandering through town.  Canada does indeed have a bit of an influence here!  More prominent, however, were Basque stickers and flags.  I even picked up a Pelota t-shirt that featured a stylized Basque flag, as it was such a common sight here.   To “cap” it off, I also bought a beret.  I didn’t see anybody wearing one but they are made of wool and it was relatively hot during our visit.   Maybe I can wear it on the ice once the curling season starts!

A little bit of Switzerland near the top of St. Pierre
A little bit of Switzerland near the top of St. Pierre

Our last morning was dedicated to some of the more commercial aspects of the islands.  I enjoyed a freshly-baked pain au chocolat at one of the many patisseries, picked up a bottle of cider from Cournouaille (located in northwest France, opposite from the similarly-named Cornwall in England) in the local supermarket, ate a tremendous quiche at Les Délices de Joséphine, and picked up a couple of souvenirs.

View of Ile aux Marins from St. Pierre
View of Ile aux Marins from St. Pierre

We had been dreading the return boat trip, due to the bumpy ride we experienced on the way to St. Pierre & Miquelon.  Fortunately, the seas were very calm; we arrived in less than an hour and the most difficult part of the trip was lining up with the hundreds of other passengers at the Canadian border control in Fortune.

My final thoughts on St. Pierre & Miquelon:  if you find yourself within a couple of hours of Fortune and have a couple of days to spare, it is definitely a worthwhile and eye-opening trip (especially on Bastille Day, even though the stores are all closed).  It really is the closest thing to Europe that I have encountered thus far in North America.

Rocky landscape high above the town of St. Pierre
Rocky landscape high above the town of St. Pierre

I think you would need to spend at least two nights here to fully appreciate it.  We stayed for two nights and didn’t have a chance to visit Miquelon or any of the other islands, nor did we do much in the way of hiking or museum visits.   Just make sure you book your accommodations in advance, make dinner reservations if you want a sit-down meal, and accept that things (including business hours and the electrical voltage) won’t be exactly the same as in the rest of North America.  That’s why we travel, right?