Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, France

Early this summer, when we were already suffering through the crazy hot temperatures, Peter and I decided that we wanted to go North for our last trip of the summer.    Going south meant crowds and more heat, which were the two exact things we were looking to avoid.   After exploring destinations in Germany and Denmark, we finally settled on the Brittany region of France.   Because of our time in Strasbourg, when we go to France it almost feels like going home.   And Brittany is known for its vast beaches, cool temperatures and delicious cuisine so we found a place to rent and booked our flights.   And it did not disappoint!    We were especially excited about this vacation, because Shoo-Shoo joined us.   Having her with us was such a delight.   The girls were so happy to have a grand-parent along and Peter and I were excited to have the chance to go out to dinner for our anniversary.   Win, win!!

We flew on a 6 am flight to Paris.   The girls went with the flow like they usually do.   4 am wake ups don't seem to phase them too much.   

This one is always happy for some on board screen time.     Another short flight from Paris where we met Shoo Shoo and an hour drive brought us to our home for the week.  

We stayed in a triplex at the very end of the beach.   This was the view.   

All of us were mesmerized.    Especially because of the extreme tides that had waves lapping right up to the driveway of our house.   

Having an extra adult around meant that I got to take several morning walks throughout the week.   

The beaches in Brittany are wide and flat and perfect for walking. 

Saint Cast le Guido is the little town where we stayed and it is located in a big bay on the English Channel.    The views were breathtaking no matter where you looked.  

The owner of the property we rented was so disappointed for us that the weather was grey and cool.   We kept reassuring her that grey and cool was exactly what we were hoping for.   

The little town was so cute and virtually empty as all the French tourists had already left at the end of August.   

Peter and Susannah spent the first full afternoon playing in the sand during low tide.   Shoo Shoo and I watched from the living room while SA napped.  

Susannah and Peter worked hard on this sand message.   It says two of the words Susannah knows how to spell....Mommy Daddy. 

Of course, Shoo Shoo brought presents.   

This picture is high tide.   The waves were lapping up over the sea wall and onto the street.   It made our living room feel like the cabin of a boat.   

The sea air and cool temps made us all feel like skipping in the streets.   ;)

For perspective on how extreme the tides are, the house in the background of the picture, to the right of Susannah, is our place.   I have never seen such a wide variation.   It was perfect for shell collecting.  

People would walk down with their nets and buckets everyday to explore.   Shoo Shoo the biologist was in heaven.   

The view from the water to our house.  

Susannah wasn't too excited about the low tide exploring.   She always wanted to "go back up to the dry sand."  

This one was excited to play in any sand we would let her.     

Shoo Shoo brought Susannah this mermaid costume and she wore it every moment that we were in the house.   She even slept in it every night.    

The colors at sunset and sunrise were different every single day and never once failed to take my breath.  

Our little mermaid.

Another high tide pic.   

The town of Saint Cast rises up the hill from the beach and looks over this little port.   I loved exploring up there on my morning walks.  

While we had the gray, cool weather that we had expected, the sun did come out several times during our stay.   

These instances were when we fully understood why Brittany is called France's ''Emerald Coast."

The main tourist attraction near Saint Cast is Le Mont Saint Michel.   

Peter and I visited this island abbey during our very first tour around France, but we were excited to back and experience it again with Shoo Shoo and Susannah.   (SA didn't really care.)

It was just as magnificent as I remembered.

And the crowds were just as crazy and intense.   So we took a little break from the craziness to eat what I call the best ice cream of my life.   I had it last time we were here and I've never found it since then.   Soft serve salted butter caramel ice cream.   Can't beat it.   It was just as amazing as I remembered.   

Shoo Shoo saved the day by remembering a secret way up to the Abbey that she had read about in the guidebook.   So we headed up without having to push through any crowds.  

This is the view of the causeway that connects the island to the mainland.   All those little dots are tourists.   When Peter and I were here last, there were parking lots all around that causeway, but now you have to park and take a tram over the bridge.   They experience the same extreme tides here, and once every 20 years or so, the island becomes a true island when the tides fully cover the flat-lands surrounding it.   It just happened in March of this year and won't happen again until March 2033.    

SA and I hung out in this little park while everybody else went to tour the abbey.

We enjoyed the sunshine and met a few friendly dogs.   

Aaahhh.

Everybody joined us at the park for a quick rest before heading back down to the car.

One last shot of the view.

And a couple of last photos.

My heart is so full when I look at this picture and think about how these two beautiful little girls didn't even exist the first time we were in this exact spot.   Thank you Lord.   You have been good to us.   

Peter had the great idea to rent a bike for Susannah since we had the perfect, flat place for her to ride.   (which is unfortunately not at all the case at home.)   They didn't have a bike with training wheels so we ended up witnessing a big mile stone on the trip for our big girl.....more on that later.  

One day we went down to the port for a seafood lunch.  

SA was as well behaved as you can expect a 1 year old to be.   AKA:   not really at all.   ;)

She tried her best though.   And she loved France because dogs were everywhere which delights her every time.  

Susannah ate every single thing on the appetizer platter that we ordered.   Even sea snails and anchovies.   

Peter and I ordered some oysters as well.   They were straight out of the bay next to us.   And they were salty perfection.  

Another afternoon in the sand.  

Daddy had his big shovel ready to go explore the tide pools again.  

The girls and I stayed up in the soft sand for some castle building.  

Fun in the sun.   

This windsurfing board washed up at high tide and nobody ever claimed it.   

It was a fun prop for the girls.  

Sunrise colors.   

Bike practice day 2.   

This day we headed into the little town for lunch.   

One of my favorite things about France is how you can go to any restaurant without reading reviews and 99% of the time you are going to have a delicious meal.    This place was a perfect example.   It looked like a typical cafe/bar, but the food was as out of this world good.  

Susannah was terrified of these little car rides until about 6 months ago.   SA loved it and cried when we took her out.   

Day 3 of bike riding was jack-pot day.    It is probably overly sentimental of me, but this seemed like such a big deal.   Riding a bike seems waaay too old for my little girl.   But she did it like a champ. 

Yay Susannah!

She was so proud and begged to ride the rest of the day.

Wheee!

We agreed to let her ride to town so Peter got an unexpected work-out.   

The town was perfect for young kids because the main square had a little playground and you could see your children from all the surrounding cafes.  

Sarah Avery especially liked this duck.  

So fun.

We spent our last afternoon checking out the shops. 

And shopping for our last French meal.   We stopped at this butcher shop where he had several house-made dishes prepared .   After adding a baguette and some pastries from the bakery across the street and a bottle of red wine from the valley region just south of Saint Cast, we were ready to go home for our feast.  

You can't beat a french feast with this view from your dining table.  

We were all really sad to leave.   

After packing the car on our last morning, we headed up the trail from our back deck out to the point to take a couple last minute photos and stretch our legs before a long travel day.

We didn't want to leave this view.   

Amazing. 

Peter and I watched the sunset up here on our anniversary and decided that it was the best anniversary gift we could imagine.   Watching the variation of colors in the sky and the water as the day transformed to night was one of the most magical things I've ever seen.     

We were hoping to show the girls the rabbit family that we had seen at sunset, but they were hiding.   

This statue sits on the hill and is called "Our lady of the guard."

Thank you Shoo Shoo for making our vacation even more special!

Our last family pic.   If only we were all looking.  ;)

And that is it for the Mallory Family summer 2015.   Susannah is back in school and Fall is in the air here in Germany.   Peter and I even managed to watch a little bit of the Georgia game Saturday night. Happy Labor Day to all of you!    We can't wait to see you soon!