Let’s see, there was a tortue in a jardin . . .
oyster shacks in a spot whose name I have already forgotten (Lesley, please help me . . .)
but whose picturesque qualities I have not
and there was sand . . .
a mountain of it to climb, the Dunes de Pyla (autrement dit Pilat), with a new friend and Pater and bright children with boundless energy
horizons to contemplate
meditations on the difficulties of ascending and descending
the possibility of more challenges
with more tawny sand contrasting the sea’s blue
the dance of sea and sky
bloggers become friends . . .
aerial acrobatics (have no fear — we were spectators only!)
pretty seaside villages busy with Sunday-ing families
trompe d’oeil walls . . .
storybook Arcachonais homes . . .
with paths worth peering down.
All in all, a very good day. Sunday near Bordeaxu. Merci à Lesley, Zachary, and Eloise.
When I was 20, my sister and I traveled around France for 5 weeks. We stumbled upon Arcachon, and St. Juan les Pins. Always remembered just how beautiful it was. I am so happy you were there.
Those dunes are amazing. What a lovely town!
I adore the harbour and the dunes are rather unexpected…how great that you met up with a fellow blogger!
The shoreline pics look a lot like coastal northern CA. Glad you are seeing such a variety of locations. The luxury of ample time to explore is my idea of heaven. Thanks for taking us to Bordeaux.
how wonderfull to be somewhere completely different .. home is a bit sunny today .. ahhhh ..
i like your new 'cover' photo .. it is, isn't it ..
So enjoying your travels – living vicariously can be fun.
Lisa: I just wish I'd taken more pictures of the Arcachon cottages — my new friend Lesley tells me their architecture is unique to the region.
Pseu: They really are! The largest in europe, at least, and I don't know where else dunes exist on this scale — stunning! We're curious now to find out more about the geology. Fascinating.
Hostess: Yes — and another Lesley!
Marguerite: I love it too — the freedom to explore without feeling constrained to see this or that. It's been wonderful!
Jane: Glad you're having some sunshine — we've been rather spoiled so far here, although there's rain in the forecast for Sunday . . . and we gardeners
try to embrace the rain, don't we?!
Marsha: Glad you're enjoying the voyage as well!
The tortoise seems to have gone back into hibernation because we haven't seen her for a few days.
Here's a site with some old photos of Arcachonnaises arcachon-nostalgie.com/villas.htm
According to this site, the dune du Pyla is moving inland at a rate of 3/4 m per year. dune-pyla.com/information/welcome/
PS. The oyster shacks were in Gujan-Mestras.
Lesley, thanks. those are both interesting sites — I'm quite in love with the Arcachonnaises!
I'd expect the tortoise will be back out soon — it's suppose to be quite warm tomorrow, here in Paris at least.
That looks like a very nice place to befriend a blogger.
what a beautiful landscape, Frances! thanks for sharing! xoxo Lisa