Yay beach time, but be alert as the coming of the GLSOAT is at hand.
After our cool-down day and bounce back from Nîmes, we needed to rent another car, and so we had a bit of a hassle and ended up getting a manual Citroen.
European Cars:
Cars are something that I have always been interested in. Here are some of the brands that I spotted primarily (and how they’re pronounced: I saw a bunch of Renaults (reh-no), Peugeots (pu-joe), Skodas, Citroens (sit trons), and a company called DS automobiles, Porsches are also pretty commonplace. A major thing I did notice was that European cars seemed to be a tad smaller. And the sightings of electric cars were increased tenfold. Oftentimes the narrow, ancient roads are what compel people to buy a smaller car over there so they don’t crash. Gas prices are also enlarged quite heavily from prices in the U.S because of the different embargos and contracts. The highest price I saw for a liter of gasoline was around 9 euros or $10.26.
The Hotel and First Time Swimming in the Meditteranean
Since our Hotel parking lot was on the opposite side of the hotel, the adjacent road was often flooded with cars going pretty fast, so you would have to make a crossing of death every time you wanted to leave. The hotel was okay, I think we payed more for the placement than the actual room, as the room was a little lackluster but the placement was premium.We woke to a rainy day on the day designated to be the beach day. No matter, we put on bathing suits and walked to the shore. We get to the beach and I hesitated to swim for a while. Eventually, I got in the water and found it quite pleasant. The waves were small and my dad and I swam out to the buoy and back. Ronan stayed back at the hotel and didn’t feel like swimming that day in the rain.
The GLSOAT
You are probably confused as to what this acronym means. Well, I’ll tell you, it stands for Greatest Lunch Struggle of All Time. You see, while driving to Les Issambres, we stopped by an Italian Bistro in Brynjolf, and it is here that an argument would ensue between the three of us, that was, in short, completely and utterly pointless to me. It was sparked by a simple overreaction, and since we didn’t want a repeat of those events, it made it almost impossible to move forward and find lunch. This is when I realized compromise is a huge part of traveling successfully with others. Ultimately we had to settle for paninis on the side of the road and I remember that I got a four-cheese blend, and also stealthily fed a few bits to some nearby pigeons. It also dawned on me later how glad I was to finish my food before the argument escalated because food always tastes tainted to me when the conversation disintegrates into oblivion. Afterward, we decided we would swim again, and this time Ronan would join us. We also skipped some stones on the Meditteranean, with my dad claiming the record of 7 skips.
Final Hours of Les Issambres-Picnic On the Beach
Before we went off to adventure in Nice, we wanted one last picnic on the beach. The conditions for this all worked out incredibly, as there were windsurfers riding around atop the water, and there was a beautiful sunset, which just so happens to be the 1st photo on this homepage (New Mexico sunsets are still on par with it though, I’m used to good sunsets). I’m glad that sand didn’t get in my food, as it’s “coarse, rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” After that, we rested up and prepared to go explore the city of Nice.
Le saviez-vous? (Did you know?)
Les Issambres is a travel destination often sought out by a specific kind of traveler during the summer. As this area stretches over 8km of inland water, it is a perfect place to parasail, paraglide and windsurf. The way the cliffs form to the ocean combined with the drop-off/wind ratio make for the ultimate experience of those sports. Also, the sea glass is stunning and perfectly formed by the natural crashing of the waves here. It looks like you are walking on jewels when the sun hits the beach a certain way.
Back to the Map
https://seamusschroeder.com/?page_id=4(opens in a new tab)
If you have any comments or would like to contact me, please do so via My Instagram Merci/Gratzie!