It took us a full month after we landed in France to get ourselves together and finally plan a real trip. And let me tell you, I really needed this trip.
I’m sure at some point I will talk about this more in depth, but, and I hate to admit this because I know we are living what a lot of people (including us!) see as a dream, I had slipped into a bit of a funk after we landed in France. I wasn’t exactly unhappy. I mean, how could I be? We were living with friends in a gorgeous chateau and taking little day trips all around beautiful southwest France. I was most definitely happy. Most of the time. I just wasn’t exactly myself. I was at best, moody. And, at worst, b%$chy. So, when I say I needed this trip, I’m not lying.
One month to the day from when we left Texas, we hopped on a train and headed to the little beach town of Arcachon.
She is the best traveler.
I had no idea what to expect of Arcachon, but all it took was a quick walk along the boardwalk after checking into our adorable Airbnb (seriously, great location so if you”re ever there and need a place, let me know) for me to take a giant sigh of relief. It felt good. You know, the ocean will do that to you. Or, at least it always will for me. We walked along the boardwalk and Nora hopped right in the sand. She didn’t want to stay on the Boardwalk. She wanted her feet in the sand. I think she feels the same way about the beach as I do. We are beach people.
Love this whale”s tale on the main beach.
The finger!
Art installation along the boardwalk
It was a lovely first evening. We had dinner on the Boardwalk (of course we were the first in line – Will we ever get used to restaurants not even opening until 7:00?!? Spoiler alert – wait till Spain). Of course we finished it off with ice cream (always) and then went back home for bed. Travel can be exhausting.
Side note – it’s especially exhausting when your kid wakes you up in the night begging you to sleep with her and then kicks, rolls, hits on you all night long.
Day 2 – Dune de Pilate
I seriously debated breaking this Arcachon trip post into separate posts for each day. Looking back on my journals from this trip I feel like I could go on and on about each day. So, if this gets long, forgive me. At least I”ve added lots of photos to make it more interesting.
Back to day 2. We decided to spend our day visiting the Dune de Pilate. The Dune de Pilate is the tallest dune in all of Europe. Typing that, I realize how terrible of a description that is. I mean it’s accurate and all, but it does a terrible job of conveying how great this place is.
The day before I had done some research and discovered that you could catch a bus from the nearby train station. What I didn’t research was the bus schedule. We had taken our sweet time with a late and leisurely breakfast and with our late start, we weren’t gonna catch a bus until late afternoon, which definitely wasn’t going to work. Never ones to admit defeat (okay, that’s a lie, I call “uncle” at the slightest inconvenience. Thank goodness Paul always makes us push on), we found a bike rental place not far from the apartment and off we went.
The bike ride to the Dune was about 6 miles (best we could figure) and mostly uphill.Paul pumped Nora in a chair on his bike.Yes, we need to teach her to ride a bike on her own.But this ride would not have been one for a little kid. We had a little trouble finding the actual entrance. Actually, the truth is we found the entrance pretty easily, we just didn’t find the entrance with actual stairs. The entrance we found was just one steep, sandy climb to the top.
Does not do the climb justice.
The long, slow climb to the top was absolutely worth it. It’s so gorgeous up there! We sat at the top staring across the Arcachon Basin and Paul and I decided we have a goal of one day getting on a boat and riding over to the little “island” across the way.We might have included “a cooler full of beer,” in our boat ride goal description- hey they say you have to be specific about your goals or you won’t get there.
If you are anywhere near Arcachon, visiting the Dune is an absolute must. It’s sights like this that remind me of one of the reasons we took this trip in the first place – to see the world. How many people can say they’ve stood on Europe’s tallest dune? Okay, so about a million people a year, but I’m still happy we were three of them!
Day 3 – Cap Ferret
This was our last full day in Arcachon. After a breakfast of chocolatey treats (my French ordering skills are still severely lacking, but I have mastered “pain au chocolate”), we hopped on the ferry over to Cap Ferret and what did we find as soon as we stepped off the ferry? You guessed it, another bike rental shop. This time Paul and Nora got a Babboe. Y”all, I”m obsessed with the Babboe. It is so cool and totally perfect for our family. Unfortunately, the price tag is not perfect for our family. So, if anyone ever hears of a cheap-o Babboe, please hit me up. I want one so bad.
Tell me this thing isn”t the coolest ever.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Nice and warm without being hot at all. First, we biked across the peninsula to the beach and shared a smoothie with our toes in the sand staring out across the gorgeous Atlantic ocean.
Next, we hopped back on our bikes and rode about twenty minutes Le Herbe, a little nearby village known for its oyster fishing (do you fish oysters?? That can”t be the right terminology.). This little place felt so great -untouched is the word that comes to mind. Nothing fancy, just little outdoor restaurants serving super fresh food. We pulled our bikes up and sat for lunch at Hotel De La Plage. Don”t get confused, it”s not a hotel, just a restaurant. We had a lovely time sitting outside sipping wine and eating lunch. Paul tried that oysters and he has been converted to the French style of oyster serving. You will have to talk to him about this as I”ve never had an oyster in my life and likely may never.
After lunch we headed back to the ferry and made our way back to Arcachon, where we spent the rest of the day on the beach, complete with yep, that”s right, Ice cream.
I think you”ve probably got the idea if you”ve made it all the way to this point, but this was a much needed trip. The sand, the sea, and the sweet treats made us one happy family.
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