Scottsdale to Brittany

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 

Despite some minor departure delays due to this month's fire at Chicago's air traffic control facility, we arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport
on time this morning.  Whether national news reports of traffic snarls caused travelers to change their plans or just our pure dumb luck, our transatlantic flight was about half full, and we each had an entire row to ourselves, which made stretching out to sleep about as good as it gets in coach.

Inside and around the airport terminal, the French army was very much in evidence.  With their camouflage uniforms and submachine guns they'd have been hard to miss, even without the pizza-sized black berets that seemed somehow incongruous. 

After crawling through the New York-like road traffic around Paris, we headed west toward Brittany, arriving in St. Malo mid-afternoon.  Our appropriately nautical-themed apartment overlooks a small harbor and the Solidor Tower of this old port town.  We drove around and got a first look at St. Malo while searching for a grocery store, where we picked up a few things for our kitchen, then came back to enjoy happy hour and dinner with a view.  The tide came in rapidly and transformed the scene below us.  Beached boats began to bob and it wasn't long before the beach itself disappeared.  Our view is to the west, so Tom set up a tripod and captured the sun's descent right from the French doors in our living room. (This area is known for the tidal variation)

After a walk along the quay, we headed back to the apartment and some much-needed sleep.  Tomorrow, we begin in earnest!