Having lunch at the Fifties Diner : Randal’s beer wasn’t quite as huge or misshapen as it appears in this photo. 

Fish soup

It’s served with grated cheese, melba toast or croutons, and some pinkish color spread that we’re not sure what it is.  This was quite good and I ate every drop, but the fish soup in Brest was better.

We happen to catch the Thursday market located just near the Cherbourg Theatre.  We didn’t take the time to visit, but if we ever return to Cherbourg, by ferry from Portsmouth, we’ll tour the building.

The Cherbourg Theatre was built in 1882 in an Italian design and was decorated by the same artists who did the Paris Opera House.

http://cruises.about.com/

Tangent I just discovered while researching the theater.

“Let us return to Cherbourg, that rainy town in Normandy associated with transatlantic crossings and Demy’s plangent operetta sung so blithely. Even with their singing voices dubbed, Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo brought an innocence, a genuineness to a sad little story of true love. To avoid spoilers and wordiness, I’ll sum it up as boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Girl loses innocence. Each eventually gains maturity and an acceptance of how fate has separated them.

     Thirty-three years after The Umbrellas of Cherbourg came out, a man named Jean-Pierre Yvon founded Le Véritable Parapluie de Cherbourg (literally, the genuine umbrella of Cherbourg), taking inspiration from the title of the film (umbrellas do not, to my recollection, play a pivotal role in its plot). True to its name, each Véritable Cherbourg umbrella is made in Cherbourg, France and intended to stand that area’s very active “wind and tide” according to its brochure. Canopies are tested for wind resistance in windtunnels in St-Cyr and feature overlocked stitching for water resistance, with carbon steel ribs in certain of the top-line umbrellas…..

Le Véritable Cherbourg has also done special umbrellas, including a commemorative of the Normandy landings.

http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/2012/04/umbrellas-of-cherbourg.html

http://www.parapluiedecherbourg.com/ is the website for  Le Veritable Parapluie de Cherbourg.

Just near the street markets this woman was braiding hair and selling scarves.

He was too shy to have his photo taken.

I saw him in a vendor’s truck and walked nearer to take a photo.  The pup turned around and went to sit in the corner behind the potatoes.  His owner called it to pose, but the dog really did seem quite shy.  Poor thing was torn between hiding from me and my camera and trying to keep an eye on its owner. 

An after lunch snack : passing up a bakery, “ Ce n’est pas possible”

Do kids in the US get to roam the streets anymore?

Stone buildings and narrow side roads.

The Tardi exhibit at the Hotel de Ville

I went to see it and was quite taken by the illustrations.  I will do another email about Tardi and the exhibit.  Randal took a pass and returned to the boat but I wanted to see the exhibit so stayed in town.  The exhibit opened at 2 pm so I went off to find some tea.  My first stop was that cute cow place but I was told they were only serving lunch and not tea.  Okay, fair enough as the tea places didn’t really serve lunch and this place was busy.  So I walked down the street and found a place that offered tea and coffee and pastries. 

I has just taken out my kindle and was looking forward to reading and relaxing when a lady sitting alone motioned for me to join her.  I really wanted to just sit quietly and ready, but one can’t refuse an invitation like that so I packed up my kindle and carried my coffee to her table.

Before she invited me over, I’d taken a photo of the tea shop  and she was in it. 

She was a retired elementary school teacher who spoke even less English than I speak French.  My dictionary didn’t seem to help either as nothing I read from it seemed to make sense to her.  But she seemed happy to have the company.  I asked to take a real photo of her, but she said no so this will have to do.  After a bit I asked if she would like to come to the Tardi exhibit, but she said no.  I gave her a boat card with our email and website, but she waved away the idea of using a computer so I wrote our street address.  Maybe there will be a letter waiting for me when we get home.

Not sure if I’ve ever seen a Socialist Party office at home.  But I’m not surprised to see them in France.

Shoe – Mender Jeannette

The zipper on the front compartment of my backpack had broken.  I thought I’d use some other closure but hadn’t figured one out.  When I saw the shop I went in and asked if anything could be done, maybe Velcro or a buckle, but Jeannette said she could replace the zipper if I could wait 10 minutes.  Sure!

She fixed the zipper so my backpack is good as new.  I wish she had spoken English as it’s not typically that you see women shoe-menders.   Somehow, to me, she looked the part. 

She also made and sold small change purses and such.  They were a bit more than I’d normally pay, but I was just so taken by the fact that she could do all of this work and had her own shop, that I bought one. 

Make up your own caption!

The breakwater wall that now protects the marina from weather rather than from invasion.

I can’t explain this odd photo any more than I could explain the funny shaped beer glass.   I didn’t walk out on the wall to see why the biker is up high and the person standing is so low.  Lots of folks did seem to take advantage of the long wall walkway for exercise and fishing.