"But What Did You Do?"

Since you ask, not a lot and slowly! A typical day started with slices of baguette, butter and honey -- first up made the coffee. Then showers and around 11 a.m. we'd set off in the car -- one day we went to the flea market in Pont l'Abbe (think: piles of"Crocs" and you've got it.) It was rainy on and off so we weren't sorry to leave.

Sunday, we went for a boat ride on the l'Odet River. To get there we kind of had to hurry our preparations .. Michelle and I were ready to go, but Richie was piddling around upstairs. Michelle looked at me and said, "You know, Nina, there are three women living here!" and yelled up the stairs at him again.

We made it just in time. Michelle had asked for one of the translators to do it in English and we had barely seated ourselves on the upper deck, when the nicest young woman approached us and asked if we were the ones. During most of the cruise, she stood near my shoulder and would give me previews of coming vistas. She worked from a script and showing it to me, asked me how to pronounce one of the words -- it was "hiden" for "hidden." She did a very good job.

When we docked, we went to lunch at Le Sans Souci, one of the many restaurants in that area with an expansive outdoor patio. The special was scallops and langoustine brochettes with an orange butter sauce (14 Euros) and we all ordered it. Very, very good...

Another day, we went to see Raz, a point of land high off of the water, a nature preserve complete with shops, restaurants and a welcome center. In the past, the Atlantic was so wild and the winds so strong that an entire village was inundated - the water was over the roofs! (And yet, much like the residents of Malibu, they're still there.)

They fish for bass there -- looking up at the cliffs for bird activity - when they hover and swoop, they maneuver their boats there. Bass like churning water and the boats are tossed like corks in it. To say it's dangerous is wildly understating it.

We went to take a look at Le Torche beach - a wide, wide expanse of sand with "perfect" surfing waves. International competitions are held there.

Very often, we'd hit the supermarket. The French love freshness! and if it means going on a near daily basis, they will. The fishing boats begin to come in around 4:30 -5 p.m. and they have a ton of customers waiting to see the day's catch. Fish markets there also sell bottled and refrigerated soups --Fish Soup, Lobster Bisque...

By late afternoon, we were all ready to laze at an outside table of various cafes, bars, for a relaxing drink and a view of the harbor. Then home and dinner.

It was very relaxing -- we only turned the TV on once a day to see the news (although I cheated and read the Drudge Report online.) It's a very, very quiet neighborhood - only the tweets and twitters of birds break the silence. Knowing the Atlantic is only 2 blocks away, one can almost hear the waves breaking.