St. Pierre and Miquelon, France (Yes France!)

These are not Canadian islands! France has owned and controlled these dots in the Atlantic for more than 300 years. The people speak French and, although they understand some English, they are reluctant to admit it. Many, even professionals like the pharmacist, do not understand or speak English. Upon arrival we were each given a small French flag. The signs were only in French. Everyone was trying to find a bakery or café. They one that was open had a line out the door! People joyously waved their baguette in the air if they were lucky enough to get one. The Cathedral was small but very pretty. The plain plastered cement building had the center of the entry façade made with stonework. There are plenty of stones and rocks available on these ’rocks of the ocean.’ A holy water font stood empty at the entrance – covid protocol in place even here. Sanitizer was there instead, as in all the churches we visited. The sturdy wooden pews held Catholic hymnals and missals. The pipes of the small organ were on the side of the church. Above the altar was a beautiful stained glass window that occupied the whole wall. Therefore the crucifix was at the front but to one side facing the center aisle. I have not seen that before anywhere. Another thing that I have never seen is a triptych stained glass window in honor of Pope John XXIII. As a newer saint most churches already have all their glass in place. He must hold a special place in the hearts of these parishioners. Further on our walk we dodged cars as the sidewalks were hit or miss in location. The broad red pavement had room for cars and people with the understanding that it was the people who must move out of the way! We browsed through the tiny grocery store. It had one room chilled for everything that we would usually find refrigerated and all the produce. I checked at the open pharmacy for an eyeglass kit, hence my knowledge that the pharmacist was not English speaking. When I left there Carol, who was waiting outside, started pointing down the other street. I thought she was just letting me know that was where she was going. But no. When I turned the corner the bright yellow building had a big black rhinestoney pair of spectacles hanging as a sign. Yea! An optician! Inside the one lady understood immediately what was the problem. The optician herself laughed at the now fraying thread holding my glasses together. It took a bit for her to find the right screws but she fixed them and even replaced the good one. Just as at home there was no cost. Feeling confident that I would be able to see my way home comfortably we continues our stroll. We met a lady who was from Chicago. She lives in a building across from the entrance of the Museum of Science and Industry in the same place that our old family friend used to live! After chatting a bit she joined us. Carol, Susan, and I became a trio exploring the delights of a small French island community in the North Atlantic. There was a little fair going on in one of the back streets. Just for us I am sure. The guitar player and a lady singer were entertaining in French. A few booths of hand crafted items including cheeses or paintings had a small crowd around them. Someone said a store had handmade chocolates so we went in search of them to no avail. It did bring us to the town square where dancers in colorful French peasant or fisherman or artist attire demonstrated several folk dances for us. The introduction to the dances was in French so, sorry, I am too rusty in it to be able to tell you what the dancers represented. But it was a nice way to spend a half hour while perched on the edge of a raised flower bed. There is a ferry to go to the islands of Miquelon or Langlade. We did not go as the time would have been tight since we did not do it first thing in the morning. We did see members of a ship tour stuff themselves into a very small fishing boat and head out so we think that is where they were going. I would not have liked to be on that excursion! They could not even all sit down and life jackets were no where in sight although there were most likely some on the boat somewhere. Miquelon is uninhabited and has a few well maintained buildings remaining from previous inhabitants. Mostly it is for hiking. As the afternoon progressed the skies darkened and clouds began to gather. Taking streets we had not yet seen we turned back toward the tender landing. Just after we got back to our cabin the skies opened and I was glad we had not ventured further. Maybe next time. There is always so much to see and do that you just have to pick and choose what seems the most enjoyable for that day. Back on board we had a coffee and a tea at the Dutch Café. We shared a Dutch pancake with berries. Then time for team trivia with Deb and some new people whose team had gone to Scattergories instead. Only two games being played today and they were scheduled at the same time. Who is planning these activities! Later we had a light dinner. The lovely lady singer had a new program today. Jamila did a very nice set of Broadway and movie classics and even some Duke Ellington ending with a stunning version of Hallelujah. All much more my kind of music. Then Deb, Carol and I found a nice corner of a closed lounge to just chat and catch up on Deb’s latest projects. We caught Rita as she went by and we all agreed to not go up and join in the games but to have a quiet evening together. A perfect ending to an interesting day…AND I can see again!