Ile de Re July 18^th

Again we forged thru the countryside in France and found our way to the Island of Ile de Re.  Did I tell you we have the use of their car here? They are so generous. Between the two of us, one as the driver and one as the navigator we seem to get to where we are going. This island is bigger than Ile d'Aix the first island we visited. We had quite an itinerary planned but of course it changed as the day moved forward. We did find a lovely market and bought some great cheese and bread. It's always fun for us to talk to the locals in french. Anne's french Canadian accent is recognized immediately and me they can't quite figure out. We try to find a vendor not too busy whom we can amuse. They are great interchanges. 

We were delighted to find an antique carousel at the the market. It was for children and powered by a man peddling on a bicycle seat in the middle. There was a little toy dog that was attached to the carousel and it ran around as he peddled. It was fun to see and the kids were having a great time. We walked around a bit and then had our picnic on a bench looking out at the ocean.

We finally decided to get on our way and drive to the light house where the beach was located. It was a beautiful drive and we happened upon an old abbey that we stopped to admire.

As we arrived the sky turned dark and within 10 minutes drops of rain began to fall. However, we continued our drive and found our way to the light house. We tried to find the beach from there but had trouble. So we stopped in the little town of La Riviere.

The town had all kinds of signs to the beach. We kept following signs and asking people but we never did find the beach. The little village was very pretty though and we loved absorbing the flavor of it. Many doors had a grape arbor over them. The vine was planted next to the door where there really isn't much ground or dirt showing. They must have been planted a long time ago and the street was then paved over. I wonder how they can keep growing. They were beautiful and I remember that grape vines have a root system that can go as deep as 6 feet. So I guess they know what to do!

Since we couldn't find the beach we stopped at a patisserie. We were advised to buy a “religieuse” which is basically a cream puff with chocolate or caramel filling double decker style. It was really good. I think we need to start having more french pastry!

www.theguardian.com  for a look at religieuses pastry.... drool...

We decided to drive back feeling a little frustrated not finding the beach. However, after about 5 minutes on the road I spotted a beach entrance. So I quickly pulled in and away we went for a stroll. We had thought about swimming but since it was late and there were no beach showers, we decided to walk the beach and see the war bunkers. Man those things are big. They don't look big from a distance but once you are near you are impressed by the size. We thoroughly enjoyed our beach walk on a near empty beach and then headed to Saint Martin de Re.

We took a short walk around the town and found a restaurant less frequented for dinner. Since there weren't many people at the restaurant we were wondering if the food was any good. We must have ordered the right
thing as it was fabulous. We both ordered the smoked salmon salad. It was beautifully presented having 2 spots of black caviar on a two lemon slices and a third splash of red caviar on a spoon of creme fraiche. It was so good. I'm glad the other tourists hadn't found this place.

Rain pelted down as we left and headed for home. What a glorious day.