Redux

This image is from our 2018 trip to the Vendée on the west coast of France. It's the city of Niort and one of its churches, Saint André de Niort. We had Tasha for just over a year at that point.

Saint André de Niort, October 2018.

I've got to get out with the camera one of these days and take some new photos.

Worse than ours?

This building is probably, over all, in better shape than our garden shed. But the door looks like it's seen better days. Still, there's something about that old weathered look...

All  four glass panes are missing, the window is patched with wood. Brillac, Vendée, 2018.

I'm planning a trip to the market this morning, as long as there's a break in the rain. We've been hearing reports on TV that asparagus crops are early this year, at least those near the coast and in the south west. I don't know about our local crops, but that's what I'll see at the market. I'll also check out the local strawberry vendors (it may be too early for those), and look for some radishes and nems (Vietnamese egg rolls).

Dying to get in

This is the entrance to a cemetery in the small town across the Vendée river from the house we rented. We took a short walk around the neighborhood and it was very quiet, except for a few people doing landscape maintenance in the cemetery.

It's interesting how the cross is made from the gate's middle picket.

We arrived at the gîte (rental house) on a Saturday, went to La Rochelle the following Monday, and to the island of Noirmoutier on the Wednesday after that. Tuesday and Thursday we spent closer to home. On Friday, we drove over to the city of Niort for a walk around before coming back home to Saint-Aignan on Saturday, three weeks ago now. I'll start posting my photos of Niort tomorrow.

Bye-bye beach

This is that beach in the video with Tasha that I posted the other day. After our little walk, we got back into the car and headed back to the mainland. We planned our return so that we would go south a little down the coast before turning back east and inland to our rental house. This took us through several rather large beach resort towns, including Saint-Jean-de-Monts, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, and Les Sables-d'Olonne.

A sailboat moored off the Saint-Jean beach on Noirmoutier island.

We really just passed through each one, stopping once for Ken to take a few photos. We were both impressed with the size of these places. Big wide beaches (and some surfers!) lined with wide promenades, boulevards, and mid-rise hotels and condominiums. And, since it was a week of school vacation and the weather was pretty good, they were crowded with people walking, shopping, and sitting in sidewalk cafés along the beach.

Some variety of yucca plant (I'm guessing) in bloom on the sand dune above the beach.

We also got caught up in some traffic, exacerbated by road construction here and there. But none of that lasted too long, and before we knew it we were closing in on our temporary home away from home after a long and successful day trip.

Salt shack, baby

The Atlantic coast of France is known, at least in France, for its marais salants (salt ponds). As far as I know, these are not large commercial operations, but small artisinal businesses where salt is harvested the old-fashioned way, by hand. Perhaps the most famous salt product from the region is fleur de sel, the fine top-most layer of salt crystals harvested from a pond, which is now marketed as a luxury product around the world. The most famous salt-producing area in the region is Guérande (north of where we were in October), and sel de Guérande is quite sought-after in France.

Salt ponds outside of the town of Noirmoutier-en-l'Isle (in the background).

I really can't tell one batch of salt from another, so I'm not necessarily attracted to sel de Guérande nor am I willing to pay the prices for fleur de sel. But I do see stories and documentaries about artisinal salt production on television and can appreciate what goes into it and why it's important to support those who do it. There are, of course, much larger industrial salt operations on the Mediterranean coast of France, but not here.

A salt shack, where salt is for sale. At this one, we saw a small trail peppered (get it?) with interpretive signs that explain salt production. Obviously, a tourist stop.

So, naturally, when we drove by one of the local salt ponds on the island of Noirmoutier, I wanted to stop for photos. The stand was closed when we stopped (scheduled to open later in the afternoon), but that was better for photos. We saw the typical rectilinear evaporation ponds with their little piles of harvested salt drying in the sun. The salt is gathered by hand, using a long-handled wooden tool to scrape it from the evaporating basin into piles for drying.

Sail away

We saw a lot of sailboats on our trip to the coast. Well, duh. But really, who owns all these sailboats? I know the French are really, really into sailing, but these boats must cost a fortune, not to mention the expense of docking them in a marina. I did notice that there are many businesses that rent sailboats, so they're not all individually owned. Still...

A couple of catamarans parked on the beach.

Having grown up inland, I don't have much experience with sailing. It's not something I've done or ever wanted to do. But I can row a boat, canoe? Hehe... a little nautical humor there.

Another beach

I'm going out of order here. The beach in yesterday's post with Tasha was the third beach we walked on. After the first beach, on the bay side of the island, it was time for lunch. We drove around, looking for a spot that might have a picnic table or, at least, a bench we could sit on. We had packed sandwiches, chips, and a bottle of wine for a picnic.

Beach cabins line the Plage des Sableaux, with the big conifer forest behind.

We headed further south, still on the bay side, through a forest of conifers toward a beach called la Plage des Dames. The road dead-ended at the beach and there was not a parking spot to be found. There's a restaurant there and it was full-up with customers. So we continued driving south, through the forest. Suddenly we saw a couple of tables among the trees and one was empty, so we took it. After lunch, we continued on our way and saw that there were quite a few picnic tables further on. Lunch was tasty and satisfying and we were ready for a little more sightseeing and a short walk.

Information about how the beach is maintained in an eco-friendly manner. Oh, and no dogs allowed. We and others ignored that.

At the southern end of the conifer forest, we came to la Plage des Sableaux and got out of the car to have a look. There were quite a few people doing the same thing. On the northern end of the beach stood a long row of beach cabins. I've seen these on tv documentaries about the coast and beach resorts. It was cool to see them in person.

Tasha Tuesday

Dog day at the beach! This is the second third beach we took Tasha to on Noirmoutier. It's on the ocean side of the island, so there is more sand, and dunes. She had a good time running around and smelling things. When she got thirsty, she went to the water's edge for a drink. Oops! The look on her face when she tasted sea water was priceless. She only did that once. Luckily, I had some fresh water in the car so she could get the taste out of her mouth.

Tasha poses for her portrait on the beach at l'Epine, Noirmoutier.

I took a short video of her running around. I don't have a lot of experience with video, so it is what it is.

Number four

All the houses in Le Vieil on the island of Noirmoutier are painted white. So it's not surprising that someone would want to be sure they could find theirs. What better way than to paint the house number BIG.

Or maybe it means that 4's are not permitted?

We're having periods of rain and periods of sun. But the temperatures are warm. This morning's low is about 12ºC (53.6ºF). Sunday's high was close to 17ºC (62ºF). This is the traditional time for Indian summer when there is one. But I see the long-range forecast is for more seasonable (close to freezing) weather in about a week's time. We'll see.

Ile de Noirmoutier

Among the places on our must-see list during our trip to the Vendée was the island of Noirmoutier. Ken and I had set foot on the island once before, in 1992. The island is connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway that is submerged during high tide, and we wanted to drive across. We did, and then immediately turned around and drove back.

Looking northwest over the baie de Bourgneuf.

Since the 1970s, however, a bridge connects the southern tip of the island to mainland France. So, for this trip we decided to take the bridge. On arrival, we drove the entire length of the island to its northwestern point and a fishing town called l'Herbaudière. Then we started back along the bay side to a small resort town called le Vieil, where we stopped to walk around and see the beach.

Looking southeast toward the beach at La Clère.

Tasha was extremely excited to be on the beach. It was her first time running in the sand and I could see the big smile on her face. Once again, we arrived near low tide. We could see people out among the rocky tide pools collecting shellfish like mussels and small clams. La pêche à pied (fishing on your feet) is very popular on the Atlantic and Channel coasts.

Away in a manger

This is une mangeoire (a manger) in one of the cow pastures that Tasha and I passed while walking along the Vendée River. Before the sun was up, ground fog made the pasture look a little eerie. On our way back to the house, however, the sun had burned the mists away.

Manger with fog.

The word manger [mon-ZHAY] is the French verb "to eat." We use it to mean "feeding trough." The French word for that is mangeoire [mon-ZHWAR].

Manger with sun.

An old word for une mangeoire is une crèche [KRESH] which, in France, has come to describe what we call a nativity scene. It's also become, since the late nineteenth century, the modern word for "child day care center."

A misty morning

On our first morning in the rental house in the Vendée, a Sunday, I felt a slight chill in the air and noticed ground fog forming in the low lands on either side of the river. Tasha and I were out for a walk as the sun came up over the shallow valley. Mist rose from the river like steam from a hot bath. It hugged the hillsides, unable to climb much higher than my head.

Barbed-wire fences marked the boundaries between pastures.

We walked along the road parallel to the river. The water flowed so slowly that it was almost imperceptible. On either bank, neatly cropped pastures stood empty, the cows probably still huddled in their barns. With the exception of some birdsong and the occasional frantic flapping of a duck taking to the air, there was no sound.

A rare opening in the pasture fence. We didn't go in.

Tasha made her way, nose to the ground, trying to figure out the lay of the land and who, and what, had passed before us. By the end of our walk, the mist had gone.

La Venise verte

The marshland region we visited last week is formally called le Marais poitevin, but it's also known as la Venise verte (Green Venice). The channels that criss-cross the region remind people of the canals in Venice, except that they're located in a green landscape and not a city. But, more than that, the water is very slow-moving and duckweed grows and covers the water's surface in many of them.

A channel that feeds the Vendée river near our rental house, covered with green duckweed.

A sizeable tourist industry is built around boat rides on the canals, either renting boats to people or taking them on rides with a guide. The boats are small and flat-bottomed, and the guides stand in the back of the boat and push them with long-handled paddles, in much the same way the famed gondoliers in Venice drive the boats there.

La Vendée

A few steps from the house we rented is the Vendée River, a small river full of fish and other wildlife that is part of the Marais Poitevin (the Poitevin Marsh) region. Parallel to the river where we were is a mixed-use trail system for hikers, bikers, and other recreational users. Sections of the trail are closed to vehicular traffic, making it a good place to walk the dog.

The river at the end of our road, with a small parking area and a few picnic tables.

The land on either side of the river is mostly agricultural. We saw many pastures for cows, fields for corn and other crops, and up on the heights were a few vineyards. The fields are criss-crossed by hedgerows and called bocage, a landscape feature that we don't have here in the Touraine where we live.

A house on the heights above the river.

We each walked Tasha along the river both in the evenings and in the mornings. On the morning walks we were pretty much alone save for a few fishermen on the banks or in small boats, and a small group of cows munching on grass. There were plenty of birds, too. Many ducks and other water birds and some others that I didn't recognize.

If you look closely, you might see the guy in his boat arranging his fishing gear for a morning outing.

On two mornings I saw a couple of ragondins (coypu or nutria) scurrying along the opposite bank and swimming in the river. At first I thought they were big rats, and they are related, but I'm certain that they were coypu. Apparently they dig their burrows along river banks to feed on plant stems. I saw a brown one and a white one. They steered clear of the dog.

Tasha Tuesday

Ken went to the store. Tasha and I stayed home. She spent the whole time sitting and standing at the door, waiting for Ken to come back. She hates it when the pack is separated.

Looking for her master's car.

The photo I wanted was of her sitting and looking out the window, but as soon as I picked up the camera, she got up and ran around me. For this shot, I had to tell her that Ken was back so she'd go look out the window again instead of at me. And she did. But she didn't sit again.

Inside the house

Here are a couple of photos from inside our vacation rental house. I didn't take any pictures of the bedrooms or the bath, but Ken did, so maybe he'll post them later. First up is the living room. It was quite spacious, but simply decorated. The sofa and chair were both very comfortable. The television was connected to a basic satellite network that had, in addition to all the standard French channels, an unusually large selection of German-language channels.

Ken set up our laptop computer on the coffee table. We also had our tablets. And a glass of wine, of course!

The kitchen was a standard IKEA installation with all the basics, including a dishwasher and a washing machine. As with most gîte rentals in France, the kitchen was stocked with all manner of dishes, glassware, pots, pans, and utensils. We ate most of our meals there, with the exception of one lunch in a La Rochelle pizzeria and a couple of picnic lunches that we packed for day trips.

The owner left us a bottle of his home-pressed white grape juice (we think it was chardonnay) and a bowl of walnuts from the tree just outside the kitchen window.

There was a half-bath on the main floor. Upstairs were two bedrooms and a full bath. Everything was modern and clean. The shower was a little strange, however. We had to step down three steps into it and there was no light inside. Some light from the main bathroom fixture made it in, and we augmented that by hanging a flashlight from one of the towel hooks. Also, the bracket that was supposed to hold the shower head up didn't work, so we had to hold it by hand until we figured out that we could wedge it in between the ceiling and the bracket, so that worked out in the end. Bathrooms can be an adventure in France and we're accustomed to them.

Our Vendée adventure

We decided last summer to plan a trip to the central Atlantic coast this fall. In 2008 we went there, to the Ile d'Oléron, and wanted to do a day trip to nearby La Rochelle. We got to the island, but there were strikes and the ferries over to La Rochelle weren't running, so we didn't get there. Such is life. So we planned last week's trip so that we could visit La Rochelle and other nearby places.

The door on this end opens into the living room. One of the bedroom windows is just above.

We rented a gîte (a vacation rental) on the Vendée river in a small hamlet (not unlike our own) outside of a small city called Fontenay-le-Comte. The setting was beautiful. The little house was even better in person than it looked on the internet. When we arrived, all the windows were open to let in the summery weather. We moved in and felt right at home.

The door and window on the left are in the kitchen. Those are grape vines clinging to the walls around the house.

There were a few little issues. The stairs that led up to the bedrooms had a very low beam and, despite warnings, we both hit our heads a few times. The internet wi-fi connection was spotty and slow. But otherwise, it was very comfortable and we liked it a lot. Above are a couple of photos of the house from the outside. The owner lived in a big house right next door (below). Tomorrow I'll show you a couple of shots of the inside.

This is the owner's house, an old farmhouse that he bought and restored in 2006.

My other car...

...is a Bipper Tepee. Just kidding. This is the first time I've seen a Bipper Tepee, and the first time I've ever known that a car called a Bipper Tepee exists. Hey, let's take the Bipper! Everybody into the Bipper! I don't even know how to pronounce Bipper Tepee.

You bet your sweet bippy, er, Bipper, it's made by Peugeot.

If you haven't figured it out yet, we are now back from a week-long trip to the Vendée, the central Atlantic coast of France. With any luck, we'll both be posting our photos and impressions over the next days.

Fall back

This weekend we'll move our clocks back one hour. That means it will be getting dark earlier in the evening. At least it will get light a little earlier in the morning, for a short while. The news people are hinting that this might be the last time, that daylight saving time (called "summer time" in Europe) might be going away soon. We'll see. I'm convinced that for all the people who complain about changing the clocks now, we will hear from just as many people who wish we still did. Mark my words.

An old door.

And the weather people are telling us that this weekend will bring a change in the weather from the nice warm days we've been having to more seasonal weather. That means dropping temperatures and (gasp!) rain. I may have to fire up the wood burner next week!

Your guess is as good as mine

I saw this painted over a little window on the side of a house. I wonder what goes on in there? I think I know what doesn't.

Don't even think about it.

I went to bed around 21h30 last night and got up at 07h15.  That's nearly ten hours. Of course, I didn't sleep the whole time. Some tossing, some turning, some getting up and walking around the house. I was waking up every hour for a while, and each time I looked at the clock it was a quarter after the hour. I saw 00h15, 01h15, and 02h15, that I remember.