Weekend at the Beach

Summer has finally arrived in France! Well, it was here for a few days, anyway, and now we're back to cool, rainy weather again. But it was a lovely weekend.

On Friday morning, Philipp and I headed to Ste. Marie sur Mer, a little town near Pornic (a slightly larger town) on the Atlantic shore. Click here for some photos of this beautiful coastal town.

Philipp's parents have a house near the beach, and throughout the summer, you can count on encountering various groups of the family there at any given time. This weekend, there were Laurence & Jérôme, Anne & Laurent, Matthieu, Louis, Clément, Joséphine, Romain, Maxence, Philipp & me. Whew! Seven adults and five kids (ages 1 - 8 1/2) As always, we had a great time! Philipp did some work around the house, the kids played, I went for a run along the path by the shore, we played on the beach and took out the boat for tubing and boarding. The water was pretty warm, the waves aren't too big, there are lots of jellyfish, but only out away from shore.

One highlight of the weekend was when Josephine (age 14 months) finally said "Tata" for the first time! Laurence and I (two of her aunts) have been trying for a long time to get her to say "Tata" (the French word for "aunt") ... and it finally paid off! I definitely heard her say it on at least three occasions. Now if only she'd say "Papa", Laurent would be happy!

So what are the most important things for you to know about Pornic and the surrounding area??? First of all, there is the faïencerie. This is where ceramic pottery is made with traditional patterns. Everyone in the family has bowls for their breakfast cereal / hot chocolate / coffee with their names on them. So last year, I surprised Philipp by ordering bowls for the two of us. We use them every morning.

It's impressive to walk (or run) along the path by the shore, because in a few places, there are still old German bunkers from World War II. Here is a photo of one near where I run:

One thing about living in France, is that history really is all around you. I am fascinated by places (homes, old town centers) that have a strong aura of the people who once lived there. This area is no different. It is easy to imagine this same area, more than sixty years ago, and the war that was tearing it apart. Perhaps my sense of this time period is hightened right now, because I just read a powerful book by Joanne Harris, entitled "Five Quarters of the Orange". (click here for info) It takes place in an imaginary town near Angers in present day and around 1942. Go check it out at your local library ... it's a great read!

The other VERY IMPORTANT thing about going to the shore is stopping by the town of St. Michel-Chef-Chef. (don't ask me why there are two chefs ... no one has been able to tell me) This is where the cookie factory is!! You know how Hershey, PA smells like chocolate ... well here, the air smells of butter, sugar ... only good things! This is where we get Philipp's all-time FAVORITE cookie ... Roudors! It means "wheel of gold", and you can probably guess why ...

They are so delicious. How could they not be, with all that butter, sugar, etc.? Philipp can go through an entire package of 12 in an afternoon, which is why I'm a little worried that we just brought home 3 kilos of them!!! (they had a special ...)

But Philipp assures me that as soon as we get some more wind, he'll work off all those cookie calories. Last week, he bought a new kite!! (before you think he simply bought a new little toy, like his remote control helicopter, let me explain ... this is no child's toy) Philipp loves to kite surf. If you're not aware of what this is, look at this photo I took of Philipp a couple years ago with his old kite.

You can see his blue and white kite, which is like a sort of long narrow parachute, with inflated "ribs". It is attached with thin ropes to the harness, and also to the bar he uses to move the kite for steering and speed control. His feet are in straps on a sort of small surfboard. Philipp absolutely loves kitesurfing! He describes it as being pulled on a skateboard behind a sports car, and you've told the driver to accelerate ... brake ... turn ... do what he wants. I understand the adrenaline rush he gets, especially when he manages to jump and be carried in the air for several seconds and meters. I tried it once, on the beach, with Philipp right behind me, but I got nervous at the idea that if I did something wrong, this huge, powerful kite could pick me up, drag me, cause me serious pain ... I try to not think of that when Philipp kitesurfs, because he knows what he's doing! (I, on the other hand, did not) So I'm satisfied to watch. I just hope we get some wind this week, because I know how excited he is to get out and try his new kite! I'll try to get some photos of him.

So, most of our weekend was spent at Ste. Marie. We came back Sunday morning, because we were invited for lunch by some friends, who were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. We had a lovely time with them and their other guests. The weekend was over too soon! But the good news is that another one is just around the corner ...

HAVE A GREAT WEEK !!