To Guérande!! The Fortress of Caramel and Salt!

This week has been so hard to keep up on my blogging because we have been having fun and just relaxing at the beach. Will try and get caught up over the next day or two.

Monday we went to the town of Guérande which is this cool fortress you enter and filled with lovely shops and churches.

Of course we had to stop at their specialty for this area which is Caramel!! So many bins and so many flavors.

 These huge cake looking rounds are nougat with lots of fun items mixed in. They slice it like cheese, it is so rich that a little sliver goes a long way.

I think the oddest shop was one entirely of Sardines type products. They were actually quite tasty I thought.

The narrow streets and shopt lead to this church in the middle of the main square. We got a little sprinkled on which didnt give us the best lighting for pictures but helped keep some of the crowds away.

A trip to France wouldn't be complete without a mime street performance!

Loved all these adorable streets!

We bought our lunch at the bakery then headed for a favorite overlook spot to picnic.

Ally & Charles had fun exploring the tidepools and climbing rocks.

Guérande is also famous for it's salt mine and particularly for Fleur de sel, a salt used for salted carmels, chocolates, and finishing off any meal.

We headed home to relax a bit in time for the sun to come out for a nice walk on the beach after dinner.

The beach front used to be filled with all these charming houses but many were bulldozed in favor of condos. While we are enjoying staying in said condos, it is really a shame all the houses couldn't have been preserved.

What a beautiful sunset and an end to a great day!