It has been a while since I have written anything. I returned from the February break and had to face up the fact that I had ignored all of my work during my vacation even though I had every good intention of grading tests. So…been working non-stop all week.
But today was different. Today I slept in until after 10 a.m! I decided that I would finally go look for the flamingos after I struck out a few weeks ago. I headed for Bages, which is about 15 minutes from Narbonne. Bages is located on the étangs or ponds/back bay area of the Mediterranean. As I arrived in Bages, I could see them wading in the ponds. They are so beautiful and cartoon-like at the same time.
My plan was to stop and have lunch. I have mentioned before that if you don’t make it by 1:30-2 at the latest, you will be out of luck. We have found ourselves in this situation several times and I wasn’t going to let it happen today. I didn’t find anything in Bages so I headed on to Peyriac de Mer.
Bages in the distance.
In Peyriac de Mer, not only did I find even more flamingos but a really cute restaurant/café called Ô Vieux Tonneaux that I will definitely be returning to. One side is a restaurant and the other side is a cozy café with sofas. There are also books and newspapers everywhere, which was good since I absolutely hate eating out alone. I found a copy of the history of the town with tons of photos that kept me busy so I didn’t have to feel as awkward having nobody to talk to. There is also a bar there and on the weekends they have live blues, rock and other genres of music. They have an interesting menu that features local stuff and a pretty good tapas menu, too. I had some calamari and a potato tart.
Centre ville of Peyriac de mer.
After lunch, I did a little tour of the village. I discovered the Eglise Saint-Paul, which dates back to the 14th century. The church was fortified back in the medieval times.
The best part of my trip, however, was seeing the flamingos. There must have been at least 100 of them out on the ponds. They are difficult to photograph because they are constantly moving and the wind is pretty strong out on the étangs but I did my best to capture their beauty and elegance.
Every city, town and village pays tribute to those who served in World War I and usually II. This soldier is smiling.
The city hall of Peyriac de mer and Eglise Saint-Paul.
Wish I could have joined you for lunch!
Awe, thanks Susan! That would have been cool. Let me know if you will ever be in the area. Do you come through France much for work? If so, probably would be Paris, no?
I wish we did fly to France. We don’t fly nonstop from San Francisco to Paris anymore.
I told David, and Ryan we all should come visit you! Ryan is all for it (if Carrie will let him use her passes). David is too, if he can find time to take off work.