Oléron : Day One

Ken has already described our arrival at the Ile d'Oléron on his blog, and since I was driving, I didn't have the opportunity to take pictures of the striking fisherman or their fiery blockade. You can read about it here.

Part of our little courtyard outside the great room. The days got sunny and we spent a lot of time around this outdoor table.

Once checked into our little home away from home, however, all that faded into memory. Ken and Cheryl went out for provisions for dinner and came back with a few dozen oysters and a couple big fillets of ling cod.

The appetizer for our first dinner on the island: local oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce and tabasco.

We set to making dinner, and it was wonderful. Ken made a classic mignonette with vinegar, shallot, and black pepper. We sautéed the cod in a mushroom cream sauce with white wine. Yum! The gîte was very comfortable with two bedrooms and two baths, one great room which served as kitchen, living and dining room, and a nice paved private courtyard that faced south. We were able to leave the car on the street out front.

Callie settled right in after her four hour car ride.

The house is in the small bourg of la Menounière, near the fishing port of la Cotinière on the Atlantic side of the island. The weather wasn't great when we arrived, but it quickly improved.