Saint-Nazaire

Last night I left Vannes to spend the weekend with a French girl (Rosalie) I met last year in Toowoomba.  She used to come to St Ursula's to give David and I conversation lessons once a week for a little while.

She lives in Saint-Nazaire which is one of the most important port cities in France along with Marseille and Le Havre.  While it is in the Pays de la Loire region, it is very much Breton in the cultural sense.

During World War II it was occupied by the Germans; they built a massive submarine base shortly after the occupation.  With its 9 metre thick concrete ceiling, it was capable of withstanding almost any bomb in use at the time.

Much of Saint-Nazaire was destroyed in World War II as the result of allied bombardments.  Only 10% of the original town remains.  Unfortunately the post-war buildings don't have the same character as the beautiful old houses below.

We took a drive over the Saint-Nazaire bridge to Saint Brévin.

Rosalie's house has spectacular ocean views and when we got home we went for a walk along the path that runs behind her house.  If you want to you can do a two and a half hour walk past 20 beaches (one-way).

Tonight we are going out to a concert.