France

Valerie was studying today so we went alone in our hire car to Arcachon.   We climbed the vast Dune de Pilat - a single enormous sand dune that towers over 100m high and which is encroaching inland at a startling 1.2m per year.

It was a still, misty kind of day with thin, pale sunshine.  We stayed atop the dune for some time simply enjoying the view and watching the activity of distant boats on the bay.

We drove all the way along the waterfront around the Basin de Arcachon with several stops to look around.  We left it a little late to find lunch as the shops were all closed from 12.00 to 2.30pm so we stopped at the beach on the point at Cap Ferret and sat on the ocean side watching the Atlantic.  There must be a military base nearby as we saw a steady stream of military jets flying overhead - some of the very low.  It was kewl!  We bought icecreams and walked to the very point at Cap Ferret before heading back towards Le Haillan.

Pete was anxious to see the Medoc so we drove that way, passing through some beautiful forests as we went.  We were really a little late when we arrived so had to be content with driving through the town and past some vineyards - we paused at one that was still open to buy a bottle to take back to have with dinner.

Marie France prepared a special meal for dinner that evening, being our last one here, complete with her wonderful chocolate mousse for dessert and accompanied by some very fine wines.