Visit to Saint-Malo

I slept in this morning. Nothing happens on Sundays here, anyway. Even the boulangerie nearby is closed. Yesterday I accompanied the other teaching assistants here on a trip to Saint-Malo, the nearest large city to Dinan. Saint-Malo is a short train or bus ride from Dinan. It sits on the edge of the ocean, cornered on the left by the mouth of the river Rance as it meets the sea. It's the ultimate port town; soft, smooth beaches outside of stone ramparts encircling the tightly knit houses and streets that make up the old town. Though it's not obvious at first glance, much of the towers and ramparts around Saint-Malo are new. The city was all but obliterated during WWII, and they spent many years rebuilding it all.
It was a cold but sunny morning when we made the walk from the train station to the port. The gates to the old town are impressive, with the towers of the Hotel de Ville on one side and walls on the other. There, we met the gang of American assistants from Saint-Brieuc, who suggested we visit one of the rocky islands around the city, made accessible by foot at low tide. It was indeed low tide, so we scampered across the sand and over the rocks to the doors of the Fort National, which was closed, of course (the tourist season officially ends  on September 30th in Brittany), but from there we had a very impressive view of the city. The American assistants then left us to explore the city while we attempted to reach the second island, le Grand Bé, where Chateaubriand's tomb lies. Unfortunately, the tide was already lapping up over the path to the island by the time we'd negotiated our way over the sharp rocks to the other beach, so we entered the city walls instead. It's very clear by the number of souvenirs shops and ice cream and sweets stands that Saint-Malo is accustomed to a healthy population of tourists, at least in the old town, but this didn't make the visit any less interesting. We stepped inside the Cathédrale Saint-Vincent, which is curiously asymmetric but has stunning stained-glass windows.
At noon, we returned to the train station to pick up the Italian assistant, Michéle and a Spanish assistant, Nuria, and then went to have a picnic on the beach. It would have been quite pleasant if it weren't for the chilling wind. We stayed, huddled in our coats, long enough to finish our sandwiches and then opted for a brisk walk in town followed by hot chocolate at a café in the sun. It was a good day. Nuria and Michèle accompanied us back to Dinan to spend the night. We played "I spy" on the train home, and made dinner together at the assistant's apartment in the Lycée. Michèle is a good cook. We ate, laughed, and drank wine. It's amazing how being strangers in a strange land can bring a diverse group of individuals so close together. Visiting a new city was fun, but the real point of the outing was just to be together, to enjoy each other's presence.