Day 4

3 October 2022

Just back from dinner out, again. The 4 cafes below our place are buzzing, once again, and it is Monday night, a work night. The French seem to have worked out a café culture to be envied, or they are simply lazy cooks. Whichever it is, we love it. The vibe that floats up through our windows is fantastic.

Today we went to the seaside.

But first an update from the drama of yesterday morning. My brother, Kerry, sent me a link to a news report. The story is that 3 people were trapped in the carpark lift…..not sure if they were arriving or leaving ? Anyway, one young guy decided to climb out the roof and then he fell 6 floors in the lift shaft. Multiple injuries, not sure what, and he is in a critical condition in hospital. At least we now know what happened.

Now the seaside. The great deserts of the world have sand dunes, and so does the Bordeaux region. We ventured out to Arcachon and climbed the largest sand dune in the world. The Dune du Pilat. I’m not actually sure that it claims to be the largest or highest, but it is 110m above sea level. Very impressive, and luckily they have installed steps to help you reach the top.

A friendly chocolate Labrador didn’t need the steps, but was looking for a drink when he reached the top. Wonderful views back across the bay, looking towards Cap Ferret, which is the up market escape beach side place for the rich and powerful.

After the climb I was keen to seek out the oyster shacks that cultivate and distribute their oysters and for which Arcachon is famous.. We drove through the Arcachon township which has very swanky places that seem mainly occupied by retirees who frequent the yacht clubs.

The oyster shacks, on the other hand, are just that: shacks. They grow their oysters on land in the shacks with filtered water from the Bay of Arcachon, and have been doing this forever. They also have traditional style oyster leases as well.

We found a shack for lunch, which included prawns, bread, terrine, wine and 6 large and 6 small oysters. Oh, that’s right, Kirsty doesn’t eat oysters so that was 12 for me !! They were delicious, although very different from a Sydney Rock. They were not as creamy, and a bit more rustic. The Bay of Biscay water is also a different taste to the Pacific. It was a great lunch.

A long drive later we arrived at Cap Ferret, to explore this “select” place. It is literally opposite Arcachon, but you have to drive all the way around the Bay to get there. Well worth it. It is hard to see the houses as they are well back on large blocks and protected by large walls and remote controlled gates. At the beach/water level you can see back on the water front places, which look amazing. A modest 4 bedroom timber place, on 1000m2, will set you aback about $7 million Aussie dollars, and I also saw one for $20 million (address and pictures withheld !!).

The trip back as tedious as we hit peak hour, and I may have misheard the GPS at one point, but Kirsty also misheard it as well. The driving has been OK, but it is frustratingly slow off the freeways/ expressways.  The French, well at least the Bordelaise, follow the speed limits to the number, if not below the number. They give way to everything, even when they don’t have to. Bikes and pedestrians rule this place.

Another wonderful day, and back to city life tomorrow.