Friday, June 17, 2022 - From Nantes to Port Blanc by the coast

 After 4 days of non-stop activity and over-tired adults, Katie, Randy, Evie, and Penny have left today and at last report were in their rented apartment in Dinant Belgium to start their next adventures. It's suddenly way too quiet around here. We miss them terribly and have been really impressed with how interested they are in all the things. Evie is especially fond of old buildings, churches, old stones (really old stones), and of course, like Penny, castles. 

The day started really early with breakfast at 5 am for the adults. Katie and Randy carried the sleeping girls to the car at 5:30 and we were off to Nantes to catch the 8:09 train to Paris. We watched the sun rise orange as we headed east and south in light traffic. We were able to see them off at the train station before heading back to the car. 

Now we needed to decide what to do for the rest of the day. After consulting our guide books, we decided to head home via the Atlantic coast, stopping in a couple of towns along the way. I was still looking for a fishing port, realizing that it would not look like it did in 1900, but hoping it still existed.

We set the GPS for Le Croisic, 90 km away. Once past St Nazaire, we headed south to the coast at Pornichet, much to Claire's dismay (our GPS). But we were able to drive along beach through La Baule which is supposed to be the most beautiful beach in France. It is beautiful, wide, and sandy, but the number of high rise seaside condo buildings on this stretch would be a discouragement. I can't imagine all those people on the beach, on the roads, riding their bikes. Yikes. 

At Batz-sur-Mer, we crossed a narrow isthmus connecting us to the islet where Le Croisic fills up the tip facing into the Atlantic. 

We arrived shortly before 10 and were charmed by the quayside. 

Le Croisic 

The tide was still going out, so the boats in harbor were floating happily. Although these are still not the fishing boats I'm looking for. 

The quay in St Croisic

We found a creperie with tables next to the water and ordered café allongée (long coffee - essentially 1 shot espresso and 2 shots water) and I ordered a salted caramel crepe. Delicious. 

our café on the quay

The town was not very busy this morning, but the creperie owner said it was crazy in the summer. Nevertheless, the buildings here are smaller, older, and maintain the character of the town from eons ago. 

Panorama: Le Croisic is peaceful and sleepy now, but come July....

We found the tourist office, got a map of the town and the area, and headed off to explore the quiet streets behind the waterfront. 

The Breton flag

an historic house

flowers are found where ever there is space, even with no front yards

one of Le Crosic's back streets

Of course, there is a church in the center of town, Notre Dame de Pitié (Our Lady of Pity). 

Notre Dame de Pitié

The stained glass in this church, while perhaps not old, was impressive

It's difficult to get a photo of many of the churches in the center of town as they don't have large squares around them. Such is the case for this church.

The chancel is lit by the colors in the stained glass

We wanted to follow the coastal beach road around the island, back to Batz-sur-Mer, but were detoured by road construction on every road we tried. Apparently the whole stretch of beach road is under construction at the moment. Hope they'll be finished before the European tourists start to arrive at the beginning of July. 

As close as we could get to the coast (sorry for the spots on the lens). We couldn't get to the beachy part of town at all. Dommage. (Too bad)

We had read that this area was famous for saltworks - basically shallow pools that are filled with sea water and then via settling out of sediments and evaporation, sea salt crystallizes and is gathered up, dried, processed, and sold. Less used now, it is still being harvested and sold. As we traveled to our next town Guérande, we passed active salt ponds. I'm not sure how well my photos out the window captured the process, but you may get an idea. 

In the background there are piles of salt that have been harvested. 

Salt  works in the salt marshes. Small shallow pans are flooded and as the sediments drop out, the water is moved to where it evaporates and salt crystalizes. It is then raked off and piled up to "cure"

In Guérande, we pulled into a parking space right across from the main portal to the city, Porte St Michel and next to the tourist office. 

map of Guérande's medieval center

The tourist office was, of course, closed until 2 pm. But they had a map in the window which was helpful. There are parking lots outside each gate and public restrooms at each lot. We scootered the block to the parking for Porte St Michel and then grabbed our lunch to eat along the "moat" (now grassy open space) outside the walls. 

The moat has been filled in with a grassy park.

Guérand is famous on two accounts. One is the salt production (including fleur de sel and coarse cooking salt) which we passed on the route from Le Croisic. The second is its intact medieval walls that protect a medieval city. The walls have been neither rebuilt or restored and surround the 14th century city. It claims to be the largest existing walled city in France (by area).  It has 10 towers and portals for entering the city.

Half of the moat still has water, the other half has been filled in.

Panorama of one side: Porte St. Michel on left to Port Vannetaise on the right

The city is covered in brightly colored strings of streamers, remains of the Medieval fest held the previous weekend. 

decorated for a fest

Inside the city, many of the houses are half-timbered 14th century while many others are 15th century stone. After lunch, we entered by the Porte Vannetaise on the north side and made our way to the center of the city. 

Porte Vannetaise

We stopped in a bookshop to ask if they had any Breton stories in English. No success, although the bookshop had a gazillion books floor to ceiling in two rooms. Quite impressive for a small shop. I had found an online translation called Legends and Romances of Brittany which was produced by a Gutenberg project and so is free to use. But I'd like some children's versions of the stories like the ones I have been seeing. 

medieval town center

The Collegiate Church of St. Aubin sits in the center of town on the crossroads of the main roads that lead from each of the 4 gates into the city. It's history is clouded but there was a collegiate church on this site since the 9th century. The current building has pillars from the early 12th century and additions/restorations from the 15th through 19th centuries. The church was victim of several wars requiring reconstruction. 

beautiful stained glass

looking from the altar 

I can't resist photos of stained glass for some reason.

Collegiale de St. Aubin

Outside the church is an interesting sculpture "garden" to memorialize the cemetery that used to be just outside the church. The bodies were moved to another cemetery when the square was built. The sculptures represent the ordinary folks of the town who were buried here. 

close up of a fisherman

close up of a musician

Each pole is topped by a character representing the dead who used to sleep here.

Some of the other sculptures

The oldest church in town is the 14th century chapel, Notre Dame la Blanche (Our Lady in White). 

colors in the stained glass reflected on the floor

colorful stained glass

chancel of Notre Dame de Pitié

Notre Dame de Pitié

We wandered down to La Porte Saillé and La Porte Bizienne before exiting La Porte St Michel. 

display outside Porte St Michel

Coat of Arms carved on Porte St Michel

Porte St. Michel

This street is the most touristy (and the most crowded) of the streets in the city today. 

We even saw a group of Americans - high school aged kids with a couple of adults (a school trip perhaps?

One interesting store was selling salt by weight. You can see that many types are offered. 

Inside a store selling salt from these various bins. Salts with things added - spices or  basil or....

It was getting late in the afternoon and we still had to go to La Turballe, just 12 km away because we had been told it is still a fishing port and I'm still looking for that traditional port. We just have time to drive around the shore to see what we can find. Their main street is decorated in strings of jellyfish and starfish. Not sure why, but it's fun. 

Pedestrian street in La Turballe

La Turballe

And voilà! A true fishing port. With a place to park to take photos. I got my wish. 

panorama of La Turballe harbor - fishing harbor on left, pleasure boats on right

La Turballe's pleasure boat harbor

This looks like the fishing harbor I had in mind - old houses on the quay, trawlers docked till the morning

La Turballe's fishing port

Fishing boats getting major repairs

La Turballe - a modern fishing trawler

There is also a swimming beach that looks large and very sandy. 

The swimming beach is just east of the fishing and pleasure harbor

But now we really had to head home. We've been up since 5 this morning and we were fading fast. Following Claire's directions, we drove a lot of little back roads (Is this really the fastest way, Claire? The highway is just a few kilometers away.), ending up in line to cross a lift bridge in Arzal. Really, Claire, how did that save time. She obviously assumed the bridge would be down. 

Finally, the bridge went down and we could cross.

We had leftovers for dinner, thank goodness, because neither of us could cook. Bed by 9 pm.