This morning we drove to Cancale, a small town about 45 minutes from Dinan. It was clear from the moment we saw the water, why the area has been named ‘ The Emerald Coast’.  Another ‘Manu’s France’ location, as we saw him visit the oyster markets there. Jeff, who loves any type of seafood, was obviously keen and, while I don’t really like seafood much at all, and oysters in particular, I do like going to any type of market, so we were both happy to go along and see what Cancale had to offer.

There are oyster beds directly out from the shore line and every day there are  may be 8 or 10 market vendors selling fresh oysters, farmed straight from the sea the same day. We met Sylvain, one of the vendors, and I explained to her that we were visiting Cancale because we had seen a television program in Australia, with Manu a french chef, buying oysters at their market. She remembered Manu and said she thought he was beautiful, very ‘hot’. I asked did he buy his oysters from her? She said she wished he had, but that he was very nice and bought some from all the vendors. She went out of her way then to make sure Jeff got the biggest and best oysters she had. The price was excellent, with a dozen oysters with lemon, costing €7.50 (approx $11 AUD) . And it’s a great system. Everyone sits on the seawall in the sunshine, eats the oysters, throws the shells into the ocean and then returns the plate and fork to their vendor. Such a simple meal, but Jeff loved it.

Saint Malo was our next stop, and only 15 minutes from Cancale. A walled, port city which sits both at the mouth of the Rance river and also facing the English channel, was in the past notorious for piracy.

I didn’t see anyone with a parrot on their shoulder, a bandana,  a hook instead of hand or a bottle of rum, but what I did see was a beautiful ancient city with amazing old buildings and fantastically preserved ramparts, which we walked. The views were brilliant and the water was stunning –  and it was definitely emerald!
As the weather was just perfect, we had the benefit of seeing St Malo at it’s best. I wondered though, whether the ramparts were built for protection, or rather with sunbathing in mind, as we saw many people stretched out ‘catching some rays’.

Can’t say I blame them really….