Last night in Paris

After we departed from the region of Brittany, we spent an afternoon and night in Paris before taking the train out to the next leg of our European vacation: Italy. As we already saw all we wanted to see in Paris, we indulged in our son's repeated requests to go see the Eiffel Tower again, and joined the hundreds of locals and tourists to enjoy a little evening picnic on the Champ de Mars facing the Eiffel. It was really the perfect way to end our time in France - relaxing in the beautiful warm weather, eating takeaway French food and watching our son admire his object of obsession for the final time.

A couple of baguette sandwiches and a cheesy hot dog to take away from a sandwicherie:

This delicious blueberry tart also found its way in our takeaway bag:

I loved how fluffy the clouds were, and this photo does not do it justice:

Our boy didn't care for sweets after he finished his dinner. His after-dinner treat request was to be excused so that he could admire his beloved Eiffel Tower. That's him holding up his replica Eiffel to the real one in the distance:

Having fun at the playground:

The Eiffel Tower lit up as dusk fell:

We already miss Paris, and our boy keeps asking when we will go back there.

Scrumptious galettes @ Crêperie Ahna, Dinan (France)

We ate Breton galettes for our final meal in Dinan, a specialty of the Brittany region. Crêperie Ahna was always full whenever we walked past, and that particular day was no different. I was told that there would be a 45 minute wait for a table, so we came back later at the specified time. This crêperie had a lively atmosphere, and there were large family groups as well as couples enjoying many types of buckwheat pancakes. Service was prompt and helpful, and the food was delicious.

Full house at this popular crêperie:

Our last meal in Brittany would not be complete without another of its specialties, apple cider. This was one of the Val de Rance ciders:

The menu was in French, offering a comprehensive list of galette fillings, and they all looked good. We knew we would take awhile considering the menu, so we placed an order for the boy from the Menu Enfant (kids menu) first. The kids menu was affordably priced at 6.50 euros, included a soft drink or juice, and the boy could choose from four types of simple galettes and either a chocolate crêpe or two scoops of ice cream flavour of his choice. We were all happy with our choices of galettes and desserts.

The boy was given a tin of colour pencils, to colour in the other side of the Menu Enfant, which entertained the boy for awhile until his food arrived. Also on the table was his apple juice (included in the kids menu) and a mini replica of the Eiffel Tower, the boy's most favourite toy on this whole trip and for awhile after we returned home (to say he was obsessed with Eiffel Tower would be an understatement):

Galette Jambon Oeuf (ham and egg galette), from the kids menu:

Hubby's choice of galette was La Picarde St-Jacques (fondue de poireaux, coquilles St-Jacques, crème fraîche, 10.65 euros). Creamy scallops with leeks was a winner with hubby who loves scallops and everything creamy:

Mine was La Galette Ahna (filets de magret de canard au beurre d'escargot, salade, 9.65 euros). I figured this must be a special dish as it was named after the crêperie. The duck breast was succulent, and finished off nicely with the 'snail butter' (there's no actual snail in the butter):

The kid enjoyed his two scoops of chocolate ice cream and Smarties:

La Délice D'Ahna (crêpe chocolat chaud, glace vanille, griottes, chantilly, 7.15 euros). The hot chocolate sauce contrasted nicely with the vanilla ice cream, though I wasn't a big fan of the morello cherries and cream. No complaints from hubby, except that he'd eaten more than he ought to:

This was an excellent meal to fare us well on our way from the region of Brittany. Reservations are highly recommended.

[Prices quoted above do not include tax and service charges.]

Creperie Ahna
7 rue de la Poissonerie
22100 Dinan
France
Tel. +33 2 96 39 09 13

Dinan (Part 3): Walking tour of the ramparts

This is the third and final post on our walking exploration of the ancient port town of Dinan (click to read parts one and two). There aren't many photos in this post, as the rain had cut short our plan to complete a walking tour of the entire ramparts that fully encloses Dinan, and we also had a bus and train to catch back to Paris in the afternoon so we didn't have the luxury of continuing if the rain stopped (which it didn't). Dinan's ramparts may not be as big as Saint-Malo's wall, but it possesses a certain rustic charm that conveyed better of an era long gone by.

The starting point of our walking tour of the ramparts was Dinan Castle, which also houses the museum:

St Louis Gate by the castle keep:

The exterior of the castle keep:

The exterior of the rampart was mostly monotonous (see next photo) except for occasional features such as this:

Looks pretty ominous and effective at keeping out any unwanted visitors in ancient times:

Residential area outside the wall:

Taking shelter from the drizzle under a large tree that hadn't yet been soaked through its foliage:

Modernity juxtaposed with the medieval. We were heading towards the main part of town. If you look closely, the steps are wet from the drizzle except for where it is sheltered by the foliage of the tree we were resting under:

A medieval building:

We really enjoyed our trip out to this part of France - it was a refreshing change from the busy fast-paced ultra-modern life in Hong Kong.

Excellent French dinner @ La Fleur de Sel, Dinan (France)

After our day trip to Saint-Malo, we were ready to sit down to a delicious French meal. We'd made reservations at La Fleur de Sel the previous evening after dinner across the street, and we arrived a little before the restaurant opened for dinner service. We were seated anyway, at a table towards the back of the second dining room - which was perfect for us with a noisy 5-year-old child.

The empty second dining room, before the restaurant began dinner service:

Despite the isolated location, we weren't at all neglected, and we were attended to by the owner himself, who was a personable and charming chap. The service was attentive and helpful, and the food was excellent. There were three levels of prix fixe courses available, as well as a kids menu (only for the under 15s) and an a-la-carte menu. The 26€ prix-fixe menu gave two choices for each of the three courses, and the 34€ menu gave more options with completely different dishes to the 26€ menu. I went for the former and hubby had the latter. The boy got a 2-course meal from Menu Junior (13.90€), which also offered a 3-course option for 4€ more. The kids menu was the most sophisticated kids menu I have encountered, with three choices for each course. We all enjoyed the delicious food, including the 5-year-old, who can be picky when dining out.

An apéritif for hubby:

Amuse-bouche was a delicious cold pumpkin soup:

Hubby's entrée: 6 huître de Bretagne, vinaigre d'échalotes et blinis de sarrasin (half-dozen Brittany oysters with shallot vinegar and buckwheat blinis). I love oysters au naturale, and these were yummy, however I am still partial to the plump Pacific oysters we used to get in Australia and Japan:

My entrée was Tartare de saumon aux herbs fraîches, caprons et croustillant de galette (salmon tartare with fresh herbes, capers and crispy galette). Beautifully presented, and the tartare was seasoned well with a good balance of salty and sour. I'd never had such large capers before:

The boy chose fish for his main course, Filet de poisson du marché, petits légumes au beurre (fish of the day with buttered vegetables). The cod was cooked perfectly, and the buttered vegetables were fantastic (though it was near impossible to get him eating the veges):

Hubby's Dos de cabillaud au four & Tranche d'aubergine confite à la pulpe d'olive noire, salade de roquette & ail caramelisé, vinaigre de citron artisanal & mousse d'avocat (baked cod and sliced eggplant confit in black olive pulp, with rocket and caramelised garlic salad, artisanal lemon vinegar and avocado mousse). This was a creative dish that was well put together. Hubby is not a big fan of aubergine, so that baby came to this mama. The 'salad' was interestingly presented and very tasty with the sweet caramelised garlic. And lastly, the components of the avocado mousse combined well, with the slightly crunchy vegetable cubes offsetting the soft texture of the mousse:

My main was Aile de raie en vol au vent, pesto de roquette & basilic aux noix et légumes d'été confits (skate vol au vent with rocket & basil walnut pesto, and summer vegetables confit). Gorgeously presented with amazing flavours:

For dessert, the boy chose chocolate ice cream, and it was yummy! This, he had no problem finishing on his own (without touching the fruits, of course):

Hubby could choose any dessert from the a-la-carte menu, and he opted for the one that gave a variety of sweets on one plate. Good choice, as we got to taste many desserts offered on the menu, including an apricot madeleine, chocolate creme, salted butter caramel profiterole and a fruit parfait. They were all scrumptious:

My dessert was Profiteroles au chocolat, amandes grillées, crème fouettée et glace vanille (chocolate profiteroles, grilled almonds and vanilla ice cream). This was every bit as good as it looks! Profiteroles with vanilla ice cream sandwiched within and topped with melted chocolate. This had to be the best version of profiteroles I've ever had!

And that, my friends, was another excellent meal in France!

La Fleur de Sel
7 Rue Sainte-Claire
22100 Dinan
France
Tel. +33 2 96 85 15 14

The ancient walled city of Saint-Malo, Brittany (France)

The holiday season is over, the 5-year-old is back at school, and the baby's on a more predictable schedule - which means I have a bit more time for blogging again! I am determined to get through my backlog of photos from our trip to France and Italy before we head of on our next trip down-under for my sister's wedding next month. So here we go!

During our 2-day stay in the ancient Breton town of Dinan, we hopped on a bus to take a day trip out to Saint-Malo, another walled port city like Dinan, but more touristy and commercial. Saint-Malo has a notorious history of piracy, and the first thing we encountered upon getting off the bus was a replica of an 18th century frégate corsaire that the boy really wanted to get on to have a look-see. I wasn't particularly interested, so hubby and boy went on the Etoile du Roy while I figured out the itinerary for the day using the information gleaned from the Tourism Office. Here's what they got up to:

The 47-metre Etoile du Roy (or rather, its replica):

Excited to be steering a pirate ship:

Deep inside the heart of the ship, in a room that looks like the common dining area:

The boy proudly showing off the stamp he got on his arm:

Fort National, as viewed at sea level at relatively high tide. Only a couple of hours later, we saw from the top of the wall that the tide had gone down, giving a different look (photo at the end of this post):

After the boys came off the ship, we decided that we only had enough time to explore the intra-muros (walled city) and walk the full length of the wall, before catching the last bus of the day back to Dinan. The streets of the intra-muros were crowded with tourists and buskers, and it had a more busy and commercial feel than Dinan.

Part of the walled city of Saint-Malo as viewed from the outside:

A pair of buskers performing on the street:

The different varieties of Gateau Breton (Brittany butter cake), a regional specialty:

This galette saucisse (buckwheat pancake with sausage, and eaten like a hot dog) was part of our lunch-on-the-go:

We also had a baguette sandwich from a sandwicherie (no photos), and from that same place we got an egg flan for dessert:

Walking along the wall gave us a good view of what's going on down there on the streets:

I love the clean straight lines of the architecture:

Looking down the street to the other end of the walled city:

Juxtaposition of the ancient wall and the intra-muros buildings, and the modern world outside:

A wavy breakwater structure - brings me back to my coastal engineering days:

Can you spot hubby and the boy somewhere along the wall?

Checking out a canon:

A cordoned-off swimming area - to keep out the nasties?

By the time we'd made the complete circuit of the wall, the tide had gone out and I actually didn't realise this was Fort National, the same structure I took a photo of at sea level earlier:

A panoramic shot of Fort National at relatively low tide (click image for larger view):

It was a fun day in Saint-Malo!