Anniversary

July 19th was the three month anniversary of the day that Patrice and I met. Three months. Is that all? It feels like we've known each other forever. A huge surprise to us both. And probably to many of you, too.

We have been living together since the middle of May. We have decided for many reasons to live in Patrice's apartment on the east side of Paris: 1. He is the owner rather than renter, 2. There is more usable space, and 3. The monthly charges are half what I was paying before. I have given my notice to René and Sophie, and will be officially giving up my apartment at the end of September.

We observed the anniversary by going back to the scene of our first meeting and drinking another Kwak to celebrate.

Here's what Patrice had to say on the occasion of our anniversary:

"Three months! It’s at the same time a long and a short period.
Three months of happiness!
I wonder how many people haven’t known even a single day of happiness ?
And, you know, it’s only beginning. . .
I can never thank Christopher Columbus enough for having discovered the New World. It’s really a New World for me and, I hope, for Elaine too.
We are on our way for the next twenty years, at least."

14 Juillet

Thursday was France's national holiday - the equivalent of our 4th of July. The day is always marked with a military parade on the Champs Elysees. We didn't make it to the parade, but awoke to the sound of the jets streaking overhead.


Later we went to the nearby Place de la Nation to check out the tanks and other vehicles on display for the public.

You can see that kids like to climb all over over these things. .

Atlantic Coast

We didn't spend all of our time in the oyster beds of Arcachon - we also visited the coastal town of Cap Ferret. On the way, we stopped and dipped our toes in the ocean. I forgot my swimming suit that day - and besides, the water is pretty cold - about 64 degrees F.


On the way back, we stopped by a little restaurant where the special of the day was paella. Yumm.


We also climbed up a lookout point with a narrow winding staircase.


The view from above was exquisite. But maybe we weren't paying attention?


By the way, do you notice anything significant in this photo?

I've started wearing skirts . . . occasionally . . . . uh oh. What next?

Oyster beds

Last August I visited the oyster beds of Arcachon with Francis and Frédéric Dubourg. You can read those posts here. and here.

Last week Patrice and I returned to the Arcachon oyster beds and we were lucky to spend two more days on the boat with Frédéric as he further explained the intricacies of oyster farming.

You will recall that oysters lay millions of microscopic eggs once the water reaches a temperature of ~23 degrees C. The larvae then spend about two weeks swimming freely - at the end of which time they must attach to a surface in order to grow a shell. Last summer, Frederic distributed 1800 tiles in an area protected from winter storms - hoping to return this year to find that the oysters have attached and grown to the size of a quarter. A few days ago, he recovered a few hundred tiles, and scraped off the layer with the year-old oysters. Here's what they look like now.





Next step: distribute the baby oysters into a different area where they will grow for another year.


It's a labor intensive process. The oysters grow more quickly when they grow directly on the sea bed, but they must have plenty of space, plenty of oxygen, and plenty of food. Frederic does this by raking the soil, but with primitive machines such as this,


and the old fashioned way like this:


Furthermore, Frederic alternates the oysters between different beds - much the same way that a farmer will rotate crops - in order to find the perfect growing conditions for his free range oysters. The Dubourg family is the last of the oyster growers raising oysters directly on the sea bed. It's a labor of love, and the oysters honestly taste fresher having spent their lives submerged in the waters of the Arcachon basin rather than being bunched together in bags which are out of the water for longer periods of time.



Frederic works almost entirely alone in the oyster beds - doing the back breaking work of seeding, spreading, sorting, raking, tending, repairing, gathering, sorting, bundling, and shipping the precious cargo directly to the Cabane a Huitres in Paris. That's where Francis takes over - greeting and serving the customers, sometimes shucking 60 dozen oysters in a single day. The entire production of Dubourg oysters is consumed at the Cabane in Paris. Direct from the water to the table within 24 hours.


Heading back to port - Théo, Frédéric's son, Frédéric, and Patrice. Maybe Théo will take over from his dad - making him the sixth generation?

Arcachon (continued)

Arcachon is a resort town with some incredible houses that date back to end of the 19th century - built by wealthy vacationers from all over Europe. They seem to be all turrets, towers and trim. Most houses have been divided into apartments, but are still quite striking. Here are a couple just down the street from where we are staying.



I'd hate to have to paint the trim on one of these!

Arcachon

Francis (from the Cabane a Huitres) has graciously lent us an apartment in Arcachon where we have come to get some fresh air after last week's events. Unfortunately, the apartment doesn't have internet access and I am suffering from computer withdrawal. I am now in an internet cafe on battery power, so I don't expect I'll be posting much for the next few days.

Thank you for your kind thoughts regarding the loss of Patrice's brother.
I'll be back online in a few days.

Happy July 4th!

Trocadero

The fountains of the Trocadero gardens (across the river from the Eiffel Tower) are not often working. So when I passed by recently, I wanted to be sure and capture the moment.