Ile de Re, March 27

     Jecca and family recommended that we visit Ile de Re as it reminded them of Nantucket when they were here two summers ago. It is an island in the Atlantic, low elevation, about the same size. It is, however, connected by a bridge to the mainland. It was built in 1987.
     There are about 20,000 islanders and 220,000 in the summer, so like Nantucket in that it is a tourist destination. But, the island is still a working island with farming, LOTS of oyster fishing and other fishing and it is not "cutified" like Nantucket is. It is a place where the Parisiens go in the summer, but we did not see a single mansion. We guessed that they probably aren't allowed. But, like Nantucket, it is full of expensive restaurants. Oysters and mussels are their specialities. The island caters to cyclists with many cool bike paths.
  The main similarity today was the weather - windy, foggy and rainy! It felt very familiar. We did a little birding, but even the birds were mostly sheltering.
  We paid 8 Euros to cross the bridge and we explored every single village on the island. Little ferries used to serve the island and, in summers, it could be several hours wait to cross over.

    The island has two distinct geographies. The southwest has sandy beaches and the northeast is marshy with salt and oyster beds.
   Several towns, like St Martin, have incredibly beautiful harbors. St Martin was the main port in the 17th and 18th C and a place where convicts from which convicts like Alfred Dreyfus were deported. A far cry from the tourist harbor of today, but the entire town was fortified. (Fort La Pree, built in 1626) It is on the World Heritage List.
   During WWII, the Germans built bunkers on the shores and we could see their ruins.

    We ate at Le Patio in St. Clements by the Phare des Baleines (Lighthouse of Whales). Very crowded and busy in the season, we were one of two tables occupied. It was a real find. The prix fixe menu was fish soup, tuna with a lemon glaze and vegetables and a dessert similar to creme caramel, but much less dense and not quite as rich.....It was all incredible. The soup was hearty and we could have easily just had it to be full.

The tuna was so big that neither of us finished it.
   Best of all was the wife of the owner who was our server. Her father-in-law was the last keeper of the light house, for one. She also pointed us to places to buy a few local products to take as gifts to our French friends. We went outside of Ars to a place that harvests salt and got some salt and some salted caramels. Then, we went to Le Plage de Bois to a place where they press and sell the wines of Ile de Re and got two fortified wines for presents.
    We did not leave the island till after 4 and we did a brief driving tour through downtown LaRochelle and then went to a Hyper U for a bit of food and then got a bit lost getting back to our hotel!
    But, we picked up some snacks for dinner and spent a quiet evening. We did talk to Grandpa White on the phone as his birthday is soon and we do not know if the next place will have reliable wifi. We also talked briefly with Nick.