After having lunch by Mont Saint-Michel, we made our way to the gite-otherwise known as a bed and breakfast or a holiday cottage–near Cancale, a seaside fishing village located right along Brittany side of the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel. I quickly made friends with the B&B owner’s cat, he came right up to me and rubbed against my legs! We had a view of the bay behind the cottage and if you squinted hard enough, you could just make out Mont Saint-Michel on the horizon.
This area of the Brittany coast is sometimes called the “Emerald Coast,” since some locals insist the sea appears to be green on certain days. Our first major stop along the Brittany coast was Pointe du Grouin, a rocky finger that juts out into the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel north of Cancale. For more information about the Emerald Coast in Brittany, you can click here.
The biggest reminders of World War II in northern France are without a doubt the D-Day beaches in Normandy. However, throughout the countryside there are other signs that once upon a time, France was occupied by Nazi Germany. As you can see below, the concrete structure known as a blockhaus (bunker) built by Nazi soldiers still stands today. They were used by the Germans to keep a close watch on the coast, in case the Allies tried to land there. These structures still dot the Brittany/Normandy coast.
The sea wasn’t looking exactly emerald that day, but I think we can agree it remained a nice shade of blue. This area is also a sanctuary for certain species of birds, so my grandfather brought along his binoculars for some birdwatching. He is proudly standing tall in the last picture wearing a purple sweater.
Later that night we had dinner at a restaurant in downtown Cancale. The village is famous for its oyster farming and has been locally dubbed the “oyster capital of Brittany.” It is said Louis XIV had the oysters brought all the way back to Versailles from Cancale, that’s how succulent they were! Nearly all of the restaurants face the bay in the downtown area of Cancale and all of them serve oysters. I’m not a huge fan of seafood so I skipped the oysters, along with the crabs and lobsters pictured below. My grandmother and I opted for a red, fruity cocktail. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was good!
Lost in Traducción 
stunning pictures and its hard not to be awed when you visit the beaches in Normandy, reminding us of the sacrifice that those young lads made
I know, I’ve visited the beaches twice and when you see the American cemetery (along with all the other cemeteries there are in the region which include English, Canadian, Australian, and all kinds of nationalities) it really hits you how many people died that day.
I hadn’t heard of Pointe du Grouin or Cancale before but they look quite interesting as they have a lot of history and beautiful views 🙂
I had never heard of them before this summer. 🙂 Mont Saint-Michel is more famous and overshadows other towns in this region. But because my father, my grandparents, and I had already been there, it was nice to get away from the big crowds and discover less visited places. 😀