Saturday, July 08, 2017

Profile of St. Malo

Thanks to Jeremy's drawing class in the rain on Pont des Arts I thnk I'm getting this 'profile' thing. This time in the seafront town of St. Malo, Brittany.
We went for 3 days. I wouldn't have minded staying longer.
Another profile view of the fortified walls of the town, the ramparts.
A lot of the town has been reconstructed post-WWII, but it still feels like a lovely step back in time.
Profile #3
An overview map of St. Malo. Over 2 kilometers of ramparts to walk. The cité started in the 12th century.
There are tempting beaches beside the city walls.
Towers and turrets.
And of course dozens of creperies.
The strawberry lady sent us to Creperie des Bé since the creme de la creme, Cafe Brezih was closed on Tuesdays.
The formule - 12.60 for main, salad, dessert and cider. Absolute yum.
We stayed at Hotel l'Universe, simple and well-located in the main square, Place Chateaubriand. Writer, politician, diplomat Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand was born in St. Malo in 1768 so his name is splashed about liberally.
Mainly a pedestrian town with plenty of cobblestones. Leave your Louboutins at home.
Not just crepes either. Seafood! I suggest eating at the poissonier might be a good idea.
Blue is the town's favorite color.
You read over and over do not bring your fav Breton-striped shirts to wear in Brittany, yet every other shop is selling stripes for the whole famille.
Bear preferred the stripes on the Brittany railroad cars.
If you're longing to visit a walled city with crenelations, ramparts, castles etc. I say choose St. Malo over Carcassonne. Its much closer to Paris..2-3 hours by train, wonderful food (more coming on that tomorrow), lots of nearby towns to visit by bus or boat like Dinard, Dinan, Cancale, even St. Michel isn't very far away. And the Brittany strawberries are super.
Thank you for reading Parisbreakfast.  If you'd like to receive Parisbreakfast letters and mapin your mailbox, stop by my shop. Bon Weekend!

26 comments:

  1. Allie in NY9:36 AM

    Congratulations on your artwork. !!!I think it is the best ever. So fresh and direct!!! I really LOVE IT.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Allie!
      I may be getting this architecture thing...at least not so scary anymore.
      Especially after a crepe lunch!!

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  2. Carolyn I9:41 AM

    Wow!!! That painting is FABULOUS!!! You instructor would be very proud! Great lines as well as watercolors!!

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  3. Carol, this brings back so many fabulous memories. I loved St. Malo -- the ramparts, the forts, the wonderful back streets. Very old world. Your paintings are terrific and really capture the feel of it. Yes, you do have the hang of this architecture thing!

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  4. Enjoyed that! If you haven't read All The Light We Cannot à See it's a must read!!! Much set in St Malo! c

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    1. I will put on the must-read list! Thanks Cyndy

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  5. Mary Ann M10:48 AM

    Your profiles are wonderful! Why are you not supposed to bring your favorite Breton-striped shirt to Brittany?

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    Replies
    1. Maybe like why 'yiu shouldn't take coals to New Castle' or go on a busman's holiday...if yr a busman..?

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  6. Love those watercolors - they make me want to rush to St Malo and stroll along the ramparts. The strawberries are beautiful and the seafood & crepes make me hungry. PS-I never travel with my Louboutins.

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  7. WOOOOWWWW!!!

    Love that first photo, and in particular,

    REEEELY agree you experienced a breakthrough with these.

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  8. Bill T5:23 PM

    Beautiful!

    I just bought some fresh PA Dutch strawberries this morning.

    Yummmy!

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  9. THANKS FOR TAKING US WITH YOU ON YOUR TRIPS IN FRANCE……YOU ARE REALLY BECOMING AN EXCELLENT SKETCHER…I LOVE TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE THE LAST YEAR OR SO! I AM BECOMING MOTIVATED BY YOUR WORK, SO ENJOY SEEING YOUR WORK OF YOUR TRAVELS. THANK YOU & KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

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  10. St Malo looks lovely! Great paintings Carol and lovely food too. Thanks for the tip, would love to visit there one day.

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  11. WineWalker12:59 AM

    Well done! Made me want to be there.

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  12. Null Null1:48 AM

    Beautiful sketches!!!!

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  13. Clarity Artists1:49 AM

    Awesome post! From strawberries to castles, wow!

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  14. It looks beautiful there, Carol - with beautiful photos and watercolors to show it :)
    Good to see the back of Bear's head again :)

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    Replies
    1. Yes Bear was thrilled to go to St. Malo.
      That makes two of us 😀😀

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  15. Jacqueline10:32 AM

    Did you know that St. Malo was actually destroyed in good part by the Americans who mistakenly believed there were Germans left there? The city was rebuilt to look exactly as it had been when originally built. There’s a whole website on it. I’m sure you’ve read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr—a huge success in the US and translated into several languages, including French. So glad you enjoyed one of my favorite places

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  16. I hope you read All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Set in Paris and St. Mali. Just a fabulous read!
    Love your work and posts

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  17. St. Malo! I am so jealous. Everyone is right - you must read All the Light You Cannot See. Love these paintings too.

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  18. I hope you can see and hear my standing ovation.
    Amazing.
    I read the book..and want to read again to refresh my memory..I just don't read as much in summer.

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  19. Yes, you are definitely getting whatever the "profile thing" is. Have you seen Marc Taro Holmes' work?
    This post has a great youtube demo in it:
    https://citizensketcher.com

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