On The Dunes

Today was the day! Big hill of sand!!  We pedaled for a couple of hours to see the Biggest Sand Dune in Europe, Dune de Pyla. I don’t know what I was expecting, really. Perhaps something like the Biggest Ball of Twine, or the Largest Mound of Paper Bags. I mean, it’s just, you know, a hill of sand, right?

And when we got there, we saw much parking, little kitschy souvenir shops, and junk food stands. Ooooooh. All that cachet, plus a hill of sand, I thought. I confess that at this point I was possessed of a diminished degree of enthusiasm.

But after we parked and locked our bikes, and walked in for a couple hundred yards, we saw this.

I couldn’t help but grin a bit, and sort of get into it. We walked a few paces forward, then walked a few paces back again and took off our shoes. 

We began the ascent, and no, not up the stairs, because duh.

The sand was fine and soft, and made for a tiring and delightful uphill slog. I had to pause a couple of times on the way up. Upon arriving at the crest, it was possible to look down the full extent of the dune.

It was a great vantage point, and it was possible to see far away, and the things you could see far away were fun to look at. Something clicked, and I totally started enjoying the outing.

Chris makes his Happy Dune Face

Here’s a shot across the bay at Cap Ferret, where we had cycled the day before.

And to the North and out to sea. I have a greater appreciation for piloting a boat or ship through a channel – almost the sand out in the water that is visible here will be completely submerged at high tide.

And, of course, for the Sisters of the Travelling Scarf…

The Travelling Scarf has now been atop the Highest Sand Dune in Europe

***

After pedaling back to Arcachon from Dune de Playa, and said goodbye to our bicycles. They would be picked up by the tour operator. Our tour package would end in that night, with lodgings arranged in Bordeaux. We grabbed our bags, wheeled them two blocks to the train station, purchased tickets, made our way back inland.

After checking in at our hotel, we went out to begin exploring, turned left from the hotel's front door, and saw this.

Monument aux Girondins

The Girondists were originally part of France’s legislative assembly, becoming one of the groups which supported the French Revolution as it began. However, the Girondists were executed under orders of Robespierre after they began opposing the movement.

Surrounding the column is a pool, fed by multiple fountains. We spent a bit of time walking around it; the visuals were pretty impressive.

***

As it moved toward evening, we cast about for a place to have dinner. We selected what looked to be a reasonably upscale café.

I went for a margarita. Partially, I wanted a margarita, and partly I wanted to see what the interpretation of a margarita was in France.

What arrived was pretty tasty. Heavy on the lime, which is a good thing. I was reminded of Alton Brown’s recipe. This one, however, seemed a little light on the alcohol.

One insane thing I do, is take shredded cheddar or jack cheese, put it in a pyrex bowl and melt it in the microwave, and spread it on a Keebler club cracker. The part where it’s insane is that I do this over and over, believing that somehow this time it will taste as good as I imagine it tasting, despite the fact that it never does.

Camembert Roti

If you want to do something like that except without the insane, this is how you do it. That’s a whole Camembert, sitting in a bowl, melted, with two spoons.

Spoon it on a chunk of baguette, wash it down with a 2006 Chateau Leoville Barton Saint-Julien, and it is ohmygod good.

For the main, I ordered a rib steak. I asked for medium this time, and actually got medium, with just the right amount of pink. I was a little disappointed with the cut. It was rather thin, but the quantity of meat seemed in keeping with the price, so no complaint. There was a fair bit more gristle than I would have expected, though. Despite the disappointing cut, it was kind of fun to get a ramekin of sauce béarnaise.

I’ve been so blown away by most of the food, getting a mediocre steak (and, previously, a ridiculously undercooked €17 burger) surprised me a bit. But then again, I dwell in the Land Of Beef, so any restaurants here would have to really produce something special to light my fire.

Julia went for lamb chops with potatoes. The lamb chops were tasty, though a bit thin and a little overcooked. The gravy, on the other hand, was out of this world. Once the lamb was gone, we both took turns sopping up the remaining gravy with pieces of baguette.

[In retrospect, we both agreed these main dishes were the most mediocre we had while in France, after disqualifying from consideration the Royale With Cheese fiasco – ed.]

***

Night had fallen, and we strolled through the shopping and theatre district back to our room.

Plaza where we had dinner

Macarons so good, rodents eat them

Le Grand Theatre

Don Carlo was being performed at the Grand Theatre, but the last show had been at 3:00 that day and the next performance would not be until three days hence, when we would no longer be in Bordeaux. We shared a pouty moment, then pulled on fresh pairs of big boy and girl undies and agreed we would probably be able to find other cool things to do and see.