"DELICIOUS SAUSAGES GALORE AND MORE" France Travelogue by eden_teuling

Never forget, wherever you are, to explore >the local market places for specialities and to breathe the atmosphere and listen to the languages and sound with which the market vendor sings the praises of his merchandise, all in all an opera to enjoy!!

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Travelling down the coast we took a ferry to cross the estuary of the river GIRONDE from where we could see the famous LIGHTHOUSE "CORDOUAN" built in 1611: that means almost 400 years old. It is both on the inside and outside richly decorated and... there is even a CHAPEL high up the stairs. You can visit this lighthouse by boat from Royan: very worthwile !!We travelled Les Landes, a region with high dunes on one side and coniferous forests on the other side of the road. Peaceful and dreamy places to have a picknick and a siësta "al fresco" sniffing the air thick with resin. There you find Europe's highest dune "dune du PILAT"114 mt. and if there, waiting for the sun to set really is a MUST, SO GLORIOUS AND MYSTERIOUS and breathtaking an end of your day.

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COTE DE BEAUTé
Vieille gravure du 18e siècle

Le Phare du Cordouan en 1612, Tour qui servait de Fanal à Cordouan

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Nowadays this is the new phare: Le Phare de Cordouan in the Bay of Biscay.

Next to it a sandbank : Le Banc de Sable.

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Yes, in France you can sail, surf and make boat trips. In the south west of France, in the region of Les Landes the Atlantic is always very busy making the right waves and rollers, just to satisfy the people who come to France for watersports.
The beach is nicely white sand and theConiferus Maritimus grow even on the beach, which is a lovely sight.

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If I would like to paint my house this pink, or this orange I wouldn't be allowed to do so!!! I always adore facades painted in the most peculiar shades of all colours, like in Ireland (with a leadgrey sky above e.g.)and here in France, and the white/blue of greek villages. In my opinion you should be allowed to do everything that could please one (or more) of our senses !!!

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Travelling France from north to south and from to west I can't think of a kind scenery we haven't met there. From low, wet country side to sandy beaches, from pebble beacher to cornfields, from forests to sun-flowerfields, from rocks to soft meadows, it is all there.
Shady places and places where you seem to perish from drought and thirst, from vineyards to lavender-fields not to forget the OLIVE TREES.

The water is like a mirror: it reflects what is above it, which gives a lovely double image, beauty two times to enjoy!

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Above I wrote about all we saw whilst travelling through France and guess, yes this really French sweetie brought us there, a bit noisy perhaps and a bit cold in winter, somewhat narrow and somewhat unpretentious but always ready when we needed her, not afraid of heights or torrentious showers, and yes, always thirsty and dirty: a really plucky girl, our Sophie who unfortunately can't tell all she has seen and heard, which in fact is much the better, we never ever had to beg her: don't tell this or that ......

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This is the place where the sea enters and leaves the port of St. Brieuc in Bretagne. I stayed there for 4 weeks and enjoyed going to 'MA DIGUE' for a walk: to let the seabreeze blow away the cobwebs in my head (after my French classes) Sometimes it was quite stormy and sometimes I only felt a gently sighing breeze....
This photo I took on a dark day (see clouds) at MARéE BASSE (low tide).

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PLEASE SEE MY NEXT TRAVELOGUES, TOP RIGHT OF PAGE, ALL MADE WITH LOVE AND PLEASURE....

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