by Liz

Another rest day got scheduled for today due to a) a long 60-mile ride yesterday and b) having more time than we needed in the second two-thirds of the ride. And c) because the apartment we booked looked amazing. 

At first light, small fishing boats were heading out to the open sea. The sky turned briefly pink before the sun nudged over the horizon, signalling a beautiful day ahead. 

Yesterday evening we went to watch the sunset from the nearby cliff and found a beautiful marine pool. This morning we thought hard about whether that marine pool needed to be visited before breakfast. We were half awake, aching, warm, dry and clean, and decided (slightly guiltily) it didn’t. We’ll go later. Honest. 

We did our usual rest day thing of going out for breakfast. We think there’s a system we weren’t aware of, at least here in Les Sables d’Olonne. Cafés don’t serve pastries, they serve cakes. Bakeries serve pastries. So after a long walk, a ferry ride and another long walk, we finally sat down to breakfast around 11am. Outside a bakery. 

A walk around the old town revealed charming hollyhocks growing in tiny cracks in the pavements, narrow winding streets and alleys, including one two-feet feet wide called Rue de l’Enfer (Hell Road if I’m not mistaken) and on the other side, an enormous sandy beach full of school classes playing volleyball, practising longe côte (a relatively new sport where one ‘runs’ through water – this looked like a recurrent nightmare I used to have as a child) and large groups of energetic young people running up and down the beach with surfboards, suggesting lifeguard training. 

A beautiful view is nothing without major work being done on the building next door. We have cheerfully managed the intermittent drilling, banging and scraping since 8.30am and lapped up the peace of this place in the moments when the workmen down tools. Roll on 4 o’clock – or whatever hour is knocking off time in Pays de La Loire. We were aware that staying in a 12th floor apartment, we might have to be creative to be able to store and charge the bikes. 

The marine pool looked like an ‘infinity pool’ only much more beautiful for being carved out of natural rock, the sea water captured at the last high tide, lapping gently and shimmering in the late afternoon sun. I grilled a lady on her way out for useful tips and we had a refreshing dip. The workmen have departed and peace is restored. We are heading out for dinner this evening on the quayside. Tomorrow we’ll be back on the road.