After
a weekend of endless parties, majestic dishes and delicious wines;
Jim and I rented a car to go to France. The nearest place where we
could find one with automatic transmission was in Girona, about 45
minutes north of Palamos. Jim made the reservation online, and all
they had available was a VW Golf. On Monday morning, Marie-Laure took
us to the train station in Girona, where we found a small office with
a single agent and a line of customers at the door. The wait was a
bit long and when it was our turn our VW Golf was not available. With
great sorrow we learned that instead they had a Mercedes Benz for us,
turbo diesel with only 5000 km. Half an hour later our white steed
marched onto the highway to French land.
Our
first stop was in the medieval city of Carcassonne. On the way we
crossed many medieval villages near the Canal du Midi. As we had
plans to visit that area during our week on the canal, we decided to
move on our trip.
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| Plaza, Carcassone |
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| Ferris wheel at the entrance of downtown Carcassone |
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| Cathedral being restored |
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| Monument to the heroes in WWII |
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| Canal du Midi |
We
stayed in Toulouse the first night, before arriving to the hotel we
had dinner at an Thai restaurant, where the food, for some French
reason, was much more elaborate. The next morning we went to explore
the city.
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| The canal du Midi was just a few blocks away from our hotel |
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| River that feeds the aqueduct for the city of Toulouse |
As we walked the streets of Toulouse, in search of the historical center, a bus stop. I asked the driver if he was going to the Capitol building. I barely understood his answer. Even though, we got in, to venture into the magical pink city (called like that after the colors of the buildings). Suddenly the narrow street became into a square; with farmers markets, cafes in the porches and lots of people walking around. The driver said to me: "Arrivé, madame."
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| Capitol building |
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| Farmers Market |
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| Cafés |
At
2 pm the next day, we left Toulouse toward Gujan Mestras, an hour
from the city of Bourdeux. Cathy, another friend we met in Les
Saintes, had invited us to stay at her place and show us the area.
Thanks to our GPS, with an elegant British accent; we found our way.
After an hour nap at a rest area, we got to her place. Unlike
stoplights at all intersections in the US, the roundabouts in Europe
made the driving a lot easier.
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| the beautiful sycamore trees make the highways so pleasant |
Cathy
was waiting for us with a feast of pepperoni, mushrooms preserved in
olive oil, sardine pate, local and homemade wines, breads and cheeses
(my weakness). After a 2 hour meal and great conversation, we retired
to our lovely cottage. Cathy is not only a wonderful person, but also
an excellent hostess. We were at her place two nights and three days,
where we finally adjusted to the jet lag.
The
next morning he took us to the Esplanade oyster-farmers.
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| Map of the areal |
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| Traditional boats of Arcachon Bay |
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| Fishermen cabin |
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| The spouts glue themselves to this tiles |
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| Then they are put in this cages in the water |
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| Oyster shells are recycle |
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| Dock where boats come with the oysters |
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| Very friendly came begging for food |
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| Our tour guide, on the back the fishermen cabins |
Then
we went to the Dune of Pyla, the largest sand dune in Europe, where
David, Cathy's boyfriend, practices paragliding. There was not much
wind, but enough to lift up the kites and color the place. Walking in
the sand is hard enough, but climbing to the top is even harder. The
view was amazing, the dune extends from the north to Arcachon Bay and
to the south to a huge pine forest. The trees, despite being really
tall, appeared tiny. The top of the dune; with its 4 km long
serpentine shape, looked like the back of a dragon.
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| Hiking the dune |
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| Paragliding, no much wind |
Then we went back to enjoy the sunset, an hour of wine and delicious picnic that Cathy had prepared. It had completely darkened when we gather our stuff and began the descent back to the car through a half mile trail of stones and sand. And just as we walked into the woods a tiny light peeked from behind the huge mass of sand. It was a magical moment to see the full moon rising over the dune.
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| The moon |
Our third day with Cathy was a great surprise. Some friends invited us to go on a boat adventure around the Arcachon Bay. David prepared a delicious apple tart. And the weather couldn't be better; fresh temperature, sunny and not very windy. It was also low tide. Afterwords Cathy showed us the traditional houses of Arcachon. She made our stay in the area very special.
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| In low tide the boats seat on the mud |
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| Entering the city of Arcachon |
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| Our ride |
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| Sand bar where oysters are farmed |
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| Oyster boat |
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| Life is good |
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| Church |
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| Traditional houses in Arcachon |
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| Alexander Dumas house |
After a wonderful day we started a new journey to Saint Rojan; Just an hour away; where a friend was waiting for us. We were off to another adventure and more stories to tell.
AnechyNotes
