The weather pattern broke today. After further overnight rain, the morning rain forgot to stop and allow the afternoon sun to shine. Drat! The solution to the meteorological depression that seem sto be with us was to spend much of the afternoon at La Tremblade sampling the local specialities, oysters. Since it looked as though little else was about to distract us, we pushed the bateau out and, rather than stick to oysters, went the whole hog on a plateau de fruits de mer. The restaurant pushed the bateau out as well – the seafood selection was served in a model boat almost the size of our table. As far as I can remember, one person’s portion consisted of:
- half a crab;
- 6 fresh oysters;
- 6 fresh clams;
- 6 whelks;
- 6 langoustines;
- 8 prawns;
- countless shrimps;
- countless winkles.
Clearly, wading through such a feast is worthy of a little time and considerable effort, cracking and sucking various shells. A plateau de fruits de mer is more of an event than a lunch. Washed down with a bottle of blanc marine, what better way to spend a dismal afternoon?
The inlet at La Tremblade is a picturesque and entertainingly bustling little place with the oyster farmers going about their daily business as the tides rise and fall. The modern oyster boats are flat-bottomed metal affairs but yesterday we’d seen a wooden wreck that we took to be the remains of an old oyster boat from years gone by. Little seems to have changed other than the method of construction. The oysters are still damn good, too.
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