057 France: Florensac part 1

France: Florensac
Marseillan Plage; Agde; Rochelongue; Sete; Metz; Pont du Diable; Pic St. Loup; St. Guilhmle-le-desert;

While I don't think this is the most flattering photo of TJ it is the only one we have. On the way from Barcelona to Florensac we stopped to have lunch with my niece's partner's sister. She is near Narbonne Plage at Saint Pierre Le Mer - a magnificent tucked away place. Their restaurant is on the beach. Absolutely fantastic. We had a great time and it was nice to have someone else to talk to than each other :)

The local cooperative. The area has the best red we've tasted in France. The local Syrah is very palatable and only E4.50.  You can fill your own bottle, from a hose like contraption, for just E1.15 per litre!!!! We weren't game enough to buy any and there were no degustation's (tasting)

There is a character in Florensac who looks like a hippy stuck in a time warp. Here is his car. I guess it makes it easy to recognise when your eyes aren't really able to focus. ha ha
We met his neighbour - she doesn't like his music and made a point of telling us so.

Frank swears blind that he had no idea the girls were in the photo. He says and I quote "Honestly, I was focusing so hard to make sure that I got the water-jet surfing guy while he was in the air that I never saw the girls. It was just as much of a surprise to me as it is for you".
Hmmmm.

Now this is a spectator sport. We wandered into a restaurant for lunch and saw a crowd on the other side of the river. We had waterside seats just by pure luck.
Two boats, with BIG guys, (we saw one team training in the pub) row at each other while two guys stand with shields and lances and try and knock each other off. There is lots of posturing and a great amount of fun - having said that they do take this quite seriously.

The seafood here is fantastic. In the restaurants they shuck the oysters and muscles in front of you so you can see they are fresh.  This is a farm in a lake with Sete hill in the background.

An old roman bridge with a mill nearby. There were artists here painting the scene. A beautiful, out of the way, location where we found a lovely walk and Pedalorail - so we went back the next day (you had to book)

This was so much fun. Due to language challenges we ended up in the cart at the back of 15. The ones in front went so slow Frank got off and picked blackberries. We soon worked out that only one needs to peddle, so by taking it in turns we were very fresh. At half time they turn the cart around, so on the way back we were in the front. Now I'm not saying we are competitive but I think we broke the speed record on the way back.  There was no sign of the young lads behind us!!!

 

 

St. Guilhelme-le-desert. What a great name.  It says it is in the top 12 heritage attractions of France. What? It then dawns on us just how may 'lists' there are; UNESCO, World Heritage, Top regional sights, Top 20 heritage sites etc. Too funny. While it was lovely, it certainly wouldn't make the top 12 of anything we've seen

Now we've seen some strange art but this is right up there in our top 12 strange art list - found in the crypt of the St Guihelme-Le-Desert church. We think it is a tribute to the dearly departed but it was too dark to interpret the French signs.

So we've bought this tent for the beach and it has turned out to be one of the best purchases we've made. It might not look it but we both fit in side by side comfortably. It gives shade, has side netting so you get a through draft and gives a bit of security to your stuff.

Now putting the thing up is easy. You just open the bag, let it 'jump out' and hope it doesn't hit you as it launches itself to freedom from the bag.
So if it enjoys being free from the bag you are right if you guessed that it does not like to go back in that little dark bag. Two adults can come very close to wetting themselves while trying to put it back. Our first attempt ended with us just stuffing it in the car - open. But we didn't let the little monster get the better of us and on our second outing we both wrestled it back into the bag. If someone had been videoing us they would have made a fortune by posting it on YouTube.
We've captured it a few time now, it doesn't get easier, we've no idea how we did it when we've done it but we've laughed a lot.

We are in Florensac for 3 weeks, for rest and recuperation and getting a tan.