Ars-en-Ré. June 7, 2018
It is always a special moment crossing the bridge from La Rochelle to Île de Ré.
Years back, we had to take a ferry, waiting in long lines to get the car on the boat just for a short crossing to the Island. The wait and the ferry ride represented a moment of decompression, a transition from the every day world into the world of vacations. During these ferry crossings as we were watching the island approaching, the time suddenly slowed down as if we were entering a new space. We felt in peace!
Today, the bridge is clearly a more efficient way to get to the Island. It goes much faster but for some reasons, the short drive over the sea still brings in us this unmistakable feeling of peace and joy and as we headed into a gorgeous sunset after a five hours drive from Paris, we both had a big smile on our faces.
Île de Ré is for us also a time of Friendship. This year was no exception and we got to enjoy old and new friends. A great surprise was to meet the Landevoisin-Campbell family that had rented a house in Ars for a few weeks. We always refer to Sabine’s family as our American family. We had the visit of Sophie and Jacques de G., we were happy to see again our dear friends Laurence and François L. as well as Marie-Claude and Bernard P. and meet our “new best friend” Sophie and Philippe C. all of whom have houses on the island. Michèle and Jean-Pierre A., our Miami Neighbors, also visited us from across the Pertuis d’Antioche
The house being very close to the Ars farmers market, we enjoyed everyday good fresh food. Pierre did a lot of cooking and mastered one of his favorite dessert: rhubarb tart. I don’t know what he put in it but it had some weird effects!
We never get tired of the village of Ars and its harbor, often having lunch at Le V.
Isabelle found some great yoga classes with a local instructor sometimes in the salt marshes since the weather had been so dry.
Sailing was of course on the agenda. Pierre enjoyed going out sailing in the Fier d’Ars with Philippe C. Below, Philippe’s yacht on dry dock for its early summer antifouling.
One afternoon as we were having a drink at the beach in Ars Aux Frères de la Côte, we saw The French frigate Hermione passing by…
If you want to know a little bit how this island is described in the US press, read this New York Time article: The True Heart of French Seaside Chic.
