Travelogue: Arrival in Saint-Malo, France
The peace of being by the sea
Two months ago, I didn’t know Saint-Malo existed. It was only through researching coastal towns in France during my recent stay in Leipzig that I discovered it and made a plan to visit. Yesterday, I arrived and my first impression has already exceeded the expectations I built up while staying in beautiful, culturally-vibrant, albeit landlocked and crowded Paris over the past month. Being close to the sea brings me an incredible amount of peace and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be here.
After my two hour TGV journey, I arrived at my cosy studio perched atop a historic building and couldn’t be bothered to unpack before setting out to explore the town on foot. I walked toward the walled ‘intra-muros’ old city, slightly confused by the siren and flashing orange lights as I approached from the south. Getting closer, I discovered that the drawbridge was open so boats could enter and depart the inner harbor. Drawbridge may not be the correct word, I’ve never seen a bridge like this one before; rather than go up or to a side, the entire bridge cleverly reversed back on one side. After about ten minutes, the bridge was pushed back out and the dozens of pedestrians, cyclists and cars on each side were on their way.
Finally making it to the intra-muros, I was impressed to see the wall not only intact, but with limited entry points. While cars could enter, there is the little to no parking so most visitors park outside the wall and enter by foot, making the lanes quite pedestrian-friendly. The stone buildings within were beautiful, but I was more interested in the beaches and wove my way through the shop and restaurant-lined roads toward the seashore. I found that getting out required going up and over the wall, the top of which is comprised of a walkway that allows you to circle the entire old city.
Getting to the beach, my breath was taken away by the beauty (not the preceding stair climb) of the coast. Sun breaking out through the clouds and reflecting off the modest waves, fresh gusts of sea air making me glad I ported my windbreaker. Several sandy beaches line both the western and northern shores, with people running in the sand, swimming in the sea, playing games or just soaking in the serenity. I was in awe, having found the peace that only the sea can give me.
Weary from my journey, lack of sleep the night before and having not yet eaten, I went back within the walls and found an affordable salmon tagliatelle with my name on it. Shellfish are the pride and joy of this region and I’m sure I will give them a try, but they are not my favorite seafood in general; the salmon was excellent.
Heading back to my flat, I took the long way, walking atop the wall with the historic buildings to my right and the inner harbor to my left. I can imagine walking this everyday, but we’ll see.
I’m sure I’ll have more to say once I have a chance to get to know this place and the people better, but my first day put things off to a wonderful start. So far, day two has been a bit more practical, walking to my local grocery shop to get my kitchen stocked. I was surprised to see pre-made galettes (buckwheat crepes) in abundance while doing my shopping and so picked up a few instead of bread, why not? It was also cool to see locally-made soda, why not? It costs less and tastes better than Coke.
Tonight, there’s a free concert at the beach I’m looking forward to and hopefully I’ll make it to the tourist office tomorrow to get my bearings on things to do. I’m here as a tourist, but also as a potential resident. I’ll spend some of my days exploring, but mostly just working and living my life, connecting with the community and seeing if this might be a place I want to call home.
