Eggs for breakfast heralded a slightly earlier start to the day. We cycled through Bois again and crossed to the north side of the island. We cycled past endless grape vines and then found ourselves out on the salt marshes.
There were lots of birds; herons, ducks, waders, etc. and there were endless lovely poppies everywhere, which made the ride really enjoyable. We peddled over a dyke and kept following the cycle tracks in to the village of Loix. It was too early for lunch, so we sat outside a café in the village square, drank hot chocolate and ate tarts and watched all the other cyclists peddling in and out of the square. We then continued on to the Pointe du Grouin where we sat and watched the mussel farmers and a few tourists collecting tonight’s dinner.
It turned out to be a rather hot day, so the return journey was quite tiring in the full sunshine and it was nice to get back to Eileen. We put the awning out and settled down with our books while listening to the birds and the distant sound of the waves on the beach.
On Friday we decided to go for breakfast of coffee and pain au chocolat at a local café. Unsurprisingly, Rodney still had to have his obligatory cup of tea before we could cycle over there. I then spent some time on my own wandering around the market stalls and tiny shops, mainly to try and find something for Rodney’s big 60th birthday. After that we stretched out for an hour on the beach, watching the sea slowly recede down to the rock pools. By 1 oclock it was too hot to sit in the sun, so we ate our baguette and pate lunch under Eileen’s awning while listening to Bob Dylan. Dessert was a bowl of the first cherries of the season…mmmm. This is the life we could easily get used to.
After a quick shower, we frocked up and cycled over to La Flotte, which was a tough ride as there was a steady wind against us all the way there. It took us nearly an hour, with me in second gear almost all the way, but it was well worth it. La Flotte is another pretty town with a central quay surrounded by cafes and restaurants.
We walked to the end of the wharf, strolled around the desirable clothes shops and finally settled down for pre-dinner drinks at the Hotel Francais on the Quai de Senac . When the chef arrived at 7pm we ordered our dinner and enjoyed a three-course meal while watching the yachts leaving and entering the harbour. Rodney tackled the langoustine (literally tackled), prawns and sea bream. I was more relaxed with my melon avec jamon, followed by salmon in a leek butter sauce. Tres delicious.
I was hoping that the strong wind would still be around to push us back to Le Bois, but annoyingly, it had dropped off, so it was still a good peddle back, but in half the time. In fact, just in time for another beautiful sunset on the beach, with slightly more pink than red tonight.
No, we’re going to get this country covered…..Hoping to catch up with Dave Barrett after the 15th somewhere near Condon, then down to the Canal du Midi to see Bill and Lynne, then up to the Alsace to pop in on Maxime and maybe a trip to Switzerland if we can squeeze it in. Have to catch the ferry back to Dover on July 23rd, so we still have about 7 weeks to go. So glad you’re enjoying the blog, we couldn’t have done it without Peter.
These recent posts look fabulous. It looks like you have found the ‘south of France’ with all the lovely cafe’s ,shops,coast line. I have found you on the …..Bing…. Maps and wonder how much further south you will go? Will you go across towards Marseille or head back ?
Loving reading your blog on Sat / Sunday mornings on Peter’s iPad …in bed. It’s like going on my own virtual holiday!
Lots of love