We made the most of a rare sunny winter's day and decided to take a drive to Royan. It's only 160 kilometres away, so an easy drive for australians.
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| It was a glorious sunny day until we reached Royan - then the clouds rolled in |
Royan is a resort town about 100 kilometres
northwest of Bordeaux. It’s where the Gironde Estuary meets the sea and the
area has been occupied since prehistoric times. The romans planted vineyards,
farmed oysters and mined the salt . The Visigoths came around 418 and then
the Vikings around 844.
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| Notre Dame de Royan (1958) behind the modern apartment building |
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| Where the estuary meets the Atlantic |
The town was virtually destroyed by allied
bombing in 1945 as there were two german forts here protecting the access to the
port of Bordeaux.
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| Belle Epoque villa beside a modern version |
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| love this wrought iron decoration |
The main beach is two kilometres long and there
are still some Belle Epoque villas scattered amongst the more modern houses and
low level apartment buildings.
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This group , clad in wetsuits , chose the water instead of the promenade for their walk.
The temperature was around 10 degrees with a cool breeze! |
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| Strung out a little, but still walking |
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| We didn't wait to see if they went the whole length of the beach - and back |
On the day that we visited, the promenade was busy with joggers,
bike riders and people walking their dogs, even in the cooler weather.
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| Winter at the beach |
Must share the interesting roundabouts we saw on the way.
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| Escargot anyone ? |
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| Oysters ? |
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| You know you're by the beach now |
Thinking especially of everyone back home in
Australia - take care.
