Noirmoutier-en-l’Île 14 June 2016 : Caspar Institute

Somewhat better weather today, but still windy. I bundled up and walked to the harbor where the bakery is for our morning chocolatine ... and couldn't resist the island's characteristic sweet, the Nourmoutins, sweet cookies with strawberry stuffing. The proud on-land products here are potatoes and strawberries.

After breakfast, we drove across the farmland that separates our little settlement at the north end of the island, l'Herbaudière, to the town center, where there's a Tuesday market. As expected, the covered market had plenty of the wealth of the surrounding sea.

Like the far north coast of the US, this is the land of the lobster, and mighty healthy looking specimens they are, too, with their rubber-banded claws. Last night for dinner, to make up for an unremarkable lunch, we had superb locally produced lobster bisque, and a jar of cassoulet we had been treasuring since Mirepoix along with our customary salad.

At noon, although the sky threatened from time to time, there were also bursts of sunshine (and constant wind). We bundled up and walked to the harbor hoping to find one of the restaurants there open ... and we did. Score!

The gracious hostess at Le Jusand settled us into a table for two, where a charming server attended us with great care. 1: She giggled when Rochelle called attention to her fancy fingernails while she poured our shared glass of wine. We don't drink enough to make the restaurant people happy. 2: My starter was a gorgeously laid out combination of Noirmoutier's two best products, little potatoes and gently smoked, thin sliced Atlantic Salmon with a mustardy aioli. 3: Meanwhile, Rochelle had the local edition of the classic French fish soup. 4: Next, she had a very pretty little, and I mean little, salad. Luckily, we got two of them. 5: My main course was another potato specialty, a Parmentier, a sort of upscale shepard's pie with goodly chunks of duck breast floating in a deliciously salty, profound gravy. 6: Finally, a light caramel custard served on delicate leaves of sugary pastry, decorated with two delicious little chocolate wafers and strawberries.

We walked out to the end of the breakwater and looked at the Atlantic, very choppy due to the incessant wind. This is a working port, but also the place where some of the Parisian elites keep their luxury boats. Nothing huge and ostentatious, like what you see on Nantucket or Barcelona, but big beamy comfortable looking tubs that are probably a delight on those few days when the wind isn't howling off the Atlantic. The folks who have second homes here can afford a house for a few weeks a year, and a boat for a few days. Lucky for us, a very few of them have also figured out they can rent their houses out for a pretty price when they aren't using them.

Let's hear it for AirBnB!