A little field trip

Through the Education Abroad Program (EAP to those who already know and loathe it) my fellow UC students and I were recently taken on a field trip out to the beautiful Bassin d'Arcachon. The journey started in a sleepy fishing village where the tide had gone so far out the boats were floating on nothing but sand (my first thought was tidal wave, but it turned out to be normal).

 And after a tour of a small oyster museum, we were then given the opportunity to watch the tide roll in as we sipped white wine and tasted the famed shellfish. 

 

The French refer to such tastings as a dégustation, and from a personal standpoint I found it a very fitting title. Maybe it was knowing my little oyster was alive while I chewed on its rubbery skin, or maybe it was just that I don't enjoy eating sea water: no matter the reason I would not call myself an oyster fan. I tried two- just to be sure- but sadly I'm just not a shellfish girl.


 The next stop on our trip took us to the largest sand dune in all of Europe, Dune du Pyla.  

                                        It was really big


After some much needed playtime (which really just meant building a human pyramid, among other circus tricks), we move on to our final destination. Swimming at the beach! The water was warm enough to splash around in without a wetsuit- which was definitely not something I've experienced in a long time- and the beach itself was just beautiful. I would say all in all a job well done by EAP. Finally.