Ile de Re

Another morning in France arrived and we headed out in our little Kangoo to explore the island of Ile de Re.

For many years the island was accessible only by ferry but for the last 25 years there has been a fabulous 2 kilometre toll bridge linking Ile de Re to the mainland. This place is a hot spot in the summer, but I have to say that in September it's still crazy busy. It's all relative I guess.

The first thing that we noticed as we started to drive along the coast of the island was that tide was out.

The second thing we noticed were the expanses of oyster beds, a principle commerce for the island - after tourism I suspect. It's interesting to note how far out into the ocean the harvesting tractors and trucks drive and one can't help wondering how often someone gets caught by an incoming tide.

As we continued our drive along the 29 km length of the island, we came upon these Abbey ruins. This used to be quite a landmark for sailors given the island is only 20 metres above sea level.

We drove almost as far as we could from the bridge to discover the Plus Beaux Village of Ars en Re. This was not the most fabulous Plus Beaux Village we've seen but it was charming nevertheless.

After a walkabout in Ars, we then headed back towards the largest and most vibrant town on the island, St. Martin.

St. Martin had a fabulous inner harbour surrounded by lively restaurants. It was a beautiful sunny day so eating outdoors was still in order.

Our restaurant, La Phare, seemed to specialize in mussels as we watched them delivered to almost every table. Dawn's choice of course was mussels, but a special selection of variously prepared little guys - lardons (bacon), curry cream and parsley. Claude had oysters - raw of course - while Carole and I had grilled bar (fish). Lunch was a hit!

We thought as we headed back towards the bridge that we'd check out the second Plus Beaux Village on the island but there was so much construction and so many detours that it turned out being an impossible task. So it was back to the mainland. On the way, we encountered for a second time some very unusual donkeys - long hair almost angora - maybe it was.

Back at the hotel - the GPS was working nicely now - we had some down time and then headed across town to a Carrefour for essentials for a light evening dinner after our substantial lunch. We then settled in to the lobby for cards and bubbly. The female owner who had chilled our bubbly insisted on giving us an appetizer to go with the bubbly - cheese and toasts - how civilized! We ended up spending the rest of the evening in the lobby playing cards and snacking. When the owner returned to shut the place down for the night, we told him we'd close up, so he left us with instructions for the evening closing. What nice people! This hotel, although quiet, with no restaurant or bar, would get our five star recommendation. The husband and wife plus two sons team were super nice and accommodating. Tomorrow, we head further south, to Cognac and Bordeaux.