The team at BordeauxLife are beyond excited that our favourite restaurant opens on 11th June and we’re starting to dream. It’s a balmy evening and we are sitting at a table with friends and family (socially distancing bien sûr!), we’re sipping a chilled glass of rosé and soaking up one of the best sunset views in South West France. We’re looking at the menu - think local seafood platters and expertly prepared fish and anticipating the simple joy of eating something that has not been prepared in our own kitchen (we never want to see a pack of beef mince again - ever!). Where are we? La C(o)rniche in Pyla sur Mer of course - a 2 hour round trip for us which these days feels like a treat in itself - a little taste of the freedom that has been missing from our lives since 17th March. La C(o)rniche is a hotel and restaurant on the Atlantic coast to the west of Bordeaux - a little slice of heaven on the edge of the largest sand dune in Europe. Perhaps we’ll leave Bordeaux a little earlier than planned and take a walk along an almost deserted beach - Plage Petit Nice would be perfect. Fresh salty air and gentle waves. The sand beneath our toes and a paddle in the icy ocean is the perfect balm for feet that have forgotten what the word “pedicure” means! Pleasures such as these are something we took for granted 3 months ago, never for a minute imagining that life was going to charge so dramatically. Our mental health has taken a beating and it has become increasingly tough as we move closer to seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. The world seems like a much smaller place now and focussing on local attractions without the stresses of air travel, in our opinion, is absolutely the way to go. Where are your dreams taking you? A family picnic or a hotel spa? A walk on the beach or live concert? We’d love to know. Last weekend, the team at BordeauxLife, in a bid to ignore all things Brexit, decided to celebrate the arrival of spring in our outstandingly beautiful part of France.
A Saturday morning trip to the local market yielded new season green asparagus, locally grown and hand picked that morning. In addition to fresh eggs and baby potatoes we added a couple of barquettes of Gariguette strawberries to our baskets. An old and much loved variety, sweet and juicy with the promise of summer in each bite. After a couple of pleasant hours in the kitchen we enjoyed the fruits of our labours under a warm Spring sun. In an attempt to walk off Saturdays lunch, we took the dog down to our local stretch of canal for a chilly early morning walk - even after 10 years of living in this area, the stunning views never fail to give pleasure, whatever the season. Lunch with friends at La Co(o)rniche in Pyla-sur-Mer was next on our agenda - in just over an hour the landscape changes from rolling vines to flat, never-ending horizons, impossibly tall pine trees and almost deserted white beaches. We may continue to ignore all that is happening in Europe next weekend too! |
Blogs At BordeauxLifeA mostly light-hearted look at life in South-West France Archives
November 2020
Categories
All
|