April 1, 2014

Roth and Ramberg and another day in France

Calendar, Travel


Roth and Ramberg and another perfect day in France.

Every year, for the past 21 years, we’ve produced a self-promotional calendar for our clients and future clients. This year we took a trip to a little piece of France off the coast of Canada. It’s a French colony named St Pierre and Miquelon.

Well if you travel to St Pierre and Miquelon as we did, you obviously have to make the trek to Miquelon itself! The best way, and perhaps the only way, is by ferry service from St Pierre.

After talking with the tourist information office we found the ferry schedules and planned our 2-day trip. When asking about a place to stay they offered up l’Auberge de I’lle. The owner, Patricia, was to pick us up at the ferry drop off in Langlade and would take us on a guided tour back to Miquelon, including a picnic by the beach.  As far as hospitality goes, people here are off the charts!!

We boarded our ferry for an hour long ride along the coast to Langlade. A beautiful ride of course, even a few whales thrown in for good measure. It gave Elise (our writer friend) an hour without having to speak any French, and she seemed to enjoy the quiet as much as we did.

As we approached our destination we all begin to realize there was no dock. It seems the ferry service included a zodiac ride to the shore, complete with all the passengers helping to unload the luggage. Lucky for us because we think we had the most luggage of all.

We met our host Patricia who spoke very little English. Elise again jumped into action and began the tough job of translating for us. Patricia took us on a walking tour of the area which included a little coffee and dessert with a view of the ocean. Soon after we climbed into her truck and made the drive to Miquelon. If you look at the map this cluster of islands is referred to as an archipelago. St Pierre and Miquelon is named after the two of the three main islands-the third island is Langlade. It’s connected to the south of Miquelon by a 10 km sandy strip. There aren’t any permanent residents on Langlade, just a smattering of brightly colored summer cottages.

We stop along the way to see some wild horses, eat some hand picked berries, chase some seals, take photos and of course have a picnic. If that’s not enough we also stop at a farm and meet a man named Thierry.

Thierry and his English speaking dog head out to check on the sheep so we follow along…a bit like sheep ourselves. Thierry and his wife left the city of Saint Pierre to pursue a quieter existence on Miquelon. They raise sheeps for wool and ducks to produce some incredible foie gras.

After the awesome tour is over, we make the short drive into Miquelon and to our new home for a couple of nights.

The sun is beginning to set and we ask our host if she can think of someone who owns some horses (since they seem to populate both islands) that might be interested in having their photo taken.

A few minutes later we are driving toward the opposite end of town and meet a young woman named Laura. We spend the rest of the evening talking and taking photos of Laura and her horses. Laura leaves the island for school but was home for the summer to work at the local musuem and be with her horses. She has three in total Calypso, Lily Rose, and Pegase. A lovely young woman who still keeps in touch with us via Facebook.

Another perfect day in France.If you would like a copy of our calendar send us an

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