We arrived here on Tuesday evening. We (Mom, Dad, and I) had dinner at a moule/ creperie restaurant. Moule are muscles. Mom had a big bowl of moule with a cheese sauce and pomme frites (French fries.) Dad and I both had galletes. Gallettes are similar to crepes but are made of buckwheat flour and are used for dinner rather than dessert. I had one with egg and cheese, and dad had one with egg and ham.
After dinner we decided to walk to a Gelateria that I had seen earlier that day. We didn’t realize that it was about three miles away. We ended up walking much longer than we had originally intended (over two hrs to go there and back). After we ate I decided to walk on the beach bare footed instead of on the boardwalk with Mom and Dad. My walk turned into a run for a while, turn around and runback to Mom and Dad then do that again. This is when I first discovered that running barefooted on the beach didn’t hurt my legs. We recently discovered that I’ve grown about 1 ½ inches in a couple months. My muscles and bones (especially my knees and calves) were hurting me and we couldn’t figure out why. Then Dad noticed that I was much taller than mom and before I had been about even. Anyways, I discovered that I really enjoy running barefooted on the beach in the water.
On Wednesday we went to the Pornichet market. It was big and fun to walk around in. There were lots of stands with fruit, meats, vegetables, clothes, shoes, and much more. It wasn’t quite as big as the Redon Market though. When I first arrived at the Redon Market It felt like Crab fest without the rides. There were all sort of good things to eat and look at. I really enjoy walking around markets. After the market we went to a big sporting goods store. It was 6000 sq meters. I found some clothes and while we were in line to check out an alarm went off. We all had to evacuate the building. We didn’t know why and they said that they wouldn’t reopen that day. We went grocery shopping at a nearby L’Eclercs and when we walked out the sport store was open. Yay!! I went back to buy some running clothes that I wanted. Then, we went to the salt flats where they harvest seasalt. People flood low lying fields with sea water and when the water evaporates off they rake up the fresh salt. It was really interesting to see. We went to a salt/ cookie shop and got the best cookies I have ever eaten. I think they were pure butter with a coating of flour and sugar on them.
Wednesday evening we decided to go to the Gelato shop again. This time I was prepared to run. I ran all the way there, and mom and Dad walked about half way. We had our Gelato (cherry vanilla and passion fruit) and then I ran back again. (about 8K)
Yesterday we went to a big shopping center in St. Nazaire. We also walked along the main street of La Boule. There were some very nice stores, but not exactly my usual shopping district. For example, there was a floral colored blouse for 175 Euros. The sale rack had things for over 50 Euros. Obviously it was a fun place to look, but not to buy. (one Euro is about $1.25)
I decided to run the entire beach of La Boule. I ran barefooted all the way from Poulagin to the Pornichet. It took me about 38 minutes to run the about 8 kilometers of the beach. I had so much fun….except for the ferocious dog that wanted to play with me. Once I finished we went out to dinner at a Creperie. Mom had a gallete with clams and asparagus in it. Dad got a Gallette with chicken and mushroom sauce. I got a gallete with curried clams and apples. It was really really good.
We stayed up until 1 am last night watching the movie Private Ryan. Dad thought it would be good for Mom and I to see it since we are going to go to Normandy. I’m glad I saw it but it was kind of hard to swallow. It was similar to the feeling I got going to the Dachau Concentration camp.
This morning we drove out past the salt flats on a peninsula called the La Cote Sauvage; ‘The Savage Coast. We got pastries and a loaf of French breads from a local patisserie. (I guess all the bread here is “French” bread) Later at a grocery store we got the pudding type thing that is called Eggs and Milk. No joke. The ingredients listed are eggs, milk, and sugar. That’s it. It was great. Kinda like Beure Blache at the KI.
One thing that we have noticed is that the way we speak is starting to change. Every now and then we talk “French Speak.” The French language forms sentences differently than we do. For example we’ve said things like “ we have the light” instead of “ The light is green”. Mom has been known to say things like “Where would you like to take yourself today?” The reflexive part of the sentence is very common in French. I often go out and “make a run” rather than go on a run. We have fun laughing at ourselves.
Bien, A toute a l’heur
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