May 2011
While in France, we rented a car for 5 days to tour around the little towns that would otherwise be inconvenient to visit if we had travelled by plane or train. On one of our road trips, we drove from Bordeaux to the southwest coast of the country, the Arcachon Bay area. One of the stops included a trip to the Dune du Pilat, which is a giant sand dune that formed in the 17th century. It is nearly 3 km long, 500 m wide, and 105 m tall. There are stairs that people can use to climb to the top but we opted to climb up the sand. On the other side of the dune was the beach area and the Atlantic Ocean (or the Bay of Biscay if you really want to be technical). On the beach side, we dipped our feet into the refreshingly cold water an then headed towards the townsite where we had an icy cold treat while relaxing next to the water.
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We then drove to Arcachon for lunch at a place called la Bouée. Their house white wine was fabulous, and it was only 4€ for 500 mL! Most of the places we've been to in the larger cities charged us 2-3€ for a 125 mL glass. The most memorable part of this meal was my appetizer: baked Camembert drizzled with honey. Yum yum! Apparently the thing to eat in Arcachon are oysters but I didn't get a chance to try them.
After lunch, we walked around the shops in Arcachon and then strolled along the beach next to the Bassin d'Arcachon (Arcachon Bay). We noticed many topless women here.
La Teste-de-Buch and the rest of the Arcachon Bay area are popular weekend getaway locations for many residents in the Bordeaux region. We did our day-trip on a Sunday and our return back to Bordeaux was slooowww. There were numerous signs on the highway saying "Risque du bouchon" which I later found out to mean "risk of traffic jams". They did not lie.
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| Danbo soaks up some sun |
If you're ever in Bordeaux, consider visiting La Teste-de-Buch and the Arcachon Bay area for a slower-paced, relaxing beach break!
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