Tag Archives: seaside

Lovely By The Seaside at St. Kilda In Spring

The throngs are yet to arrive — it’s only Spring y’know — but several dozen people were sprinkled up and down the beach and boardwalk at St. Kilda Beach this week. We’re lucky to live in such a pretty place, but I’ve lived in seaside towns in the USA and the UK and there certainly was a familiar feel to our stroll along the boardwalk. In spite of the whipping wind, the smallest bit of sun appears and off come the shirts, out comes the lily-white skin, and up go the refreshed signs from the local council telling folks what they are and are not allowed to do on the beach.
 

The sparsely populated St. Kilda beach and boardwalk on a sunny Spring day in Melbourne, Australia

The sparsely populated St. Kilda beach and boardwalk on a sunny Spring day in Melbourne, Australia


 
Spring sunbathers at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia

Spring sunbathers at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia


 
Sand sculpture of a shark at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia

Sand sculpture of a shark at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia


 
Woman on a bike at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia with her Jack Russell dog sitting in the front basket

Woman on a bike at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia with her Jack Russell dog sitting in the front basket


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No dogs allowed on the beach at St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, during the 5 months of high tourist season

No dogs allowed on the beach at St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, during the 5 months of high tourist season


 

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The French Atlantic Coast at Mimizan

Ten months? How can ten months have passed since our last trip to the Atlantic seacoast in Mimizan, France?

We detoured away from the logical and time saving straight-down-the-middle path from North to South as we drove from Normandy to the Midi-Pyrenees and veered off for a last look at the ocean for awhile. The peaks of the Pyrenees were soon to be a daily part of our view and we both loved the dramatic crashing waves of the Atlantic seaside.

Arriving mid-afternoon, we went straight to the beach which was a mere block and a half walk from our hotel. The sky was glorious, the beach was almost deserted, and the waves were crashing beautifully onto the beach.
 

Plage Cormorans (Cormorans Beach) Entrance to the Atlantic seacoast at Mimizan, France


 
The weather was equally beautiful the following morning as Mark headed to the windy beachfront to have a quick Tai Chi session on the beach and say goodbye to the seaside for awhile.
 
***NOTE*** I have re-edited this article, removed the link to YouTube, and have reloaded all of the photos in a new slideshow that is larger, cleaner, and much more crisp! The quality of the digital images in the YouTube slideshow was very disappointing, so I think that I shall limit my usage of that site to the occasional video upload. I would rather not present work to the world that is almost right instead of genuinely good. So in that vein of maintaining quality control, I have spent the last 2 full days researching and testing various programs before I was happy with this one. Thanks for bearing with me during the fine-tuning process.
 


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The Gentle Beauty of Granville in Normandy, France

It was late in the afternoon and the appearing-then-disappearing sunlight streamed through each intersection in sporadic bursts. The two main streets of the Haute Ville section of Granville are lined with beautiful old stone houses, many dating back to a period between the 15th to 17th Centuries.
 

Stone buildings line the Haute Ville (high town) section of historic Granville in Normandy, France


 
The upper portion of the town is surrounded by an ancient fortified wall from the 15th Century and is perched high atop a hillside overlooking the latter portions of Granville built on reclaimed seafront.
 

The jumbled rooftops of the lower town section of Granville in Normandy, France


 

Coastal overlook with World War II bunkers visible in Granville, Normandy, France


 
This part of Normandy hugs the curving coastline and has some of the loveliest towns in all of northern France. Granville has much to recommend it both historically and visually and can easily be visited on a one-day outing.
 

Pastel colours of the seacoast on a sunny day at Granville in Normandy, France


 

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Below Zero in Brehal, France

This may be the Normandy coast of France and yes, I know that our temperatures here are a few degrees warmer than they are at our friend Polly’s house 35 minutes inland from here. But the below zero temps we’re having are a shock to the body!!!
 

Oh my! It is below zero in Brehal, France!


 

Brrr!!! It is below zero and windy in Brehal, France!


 

Deborah is smiling in the sunshine in spite of the below zero temperatures in Brehal, France.


 

Each and every puddle in the road that is left over from last week’s rains is frozen solid and the pond at the end of the lane looks like a small skating rink.
 

Iced-over puddles in Brehal, France


 
We kept the walk with the dogs briefer than usual because every intake of breath was a bit painful. As you can see in the photos above, I was bundled to the eyeballs and underneath that heavy wool coat, long wool scarf, wool hat, and lined leather gloves that are visible, I had on lots of layers — leggings, a thick pair of baggy track pants, a long-sleeve thermal shirt, a turtleneck, a long-sleeve cashmere sweater. I was still freezing and my face ached!

Mark seemed fine as he wrangled with the spaniels, but he did admit that his face was feeling icy.
 

Mark walking the spaniels on the beach in winter in France.


 
I can’t even imagine sailing on a day that was so cold, but the sun was bright, the skies were clear, and this man with the red sailboat was dressed in waterproof sports clothing and he decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, the boat seems to have been hit by a wave and shoved onto the beach a bit too far up the beach from the preferred destination. So, after making certain that the small boat was firmly wedged against the sand and it wouldn’t float way, the sailor gave up and walked down the beach to get his truck and boat-trailer.
 

Walking away from a red sailboat to get the boat-trailer


 
Ah well — back to the sofa with a blanket around my legs while I edit photos!

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Back in Blustery Brehal in Normandy

We’re back in Brehal, St. Martin de Brehal to be specific — right on the coast in Normandy. Having arrived back on one of the Brittany Ferries a few days ago, we’re happily re-ensconced at the beach. We love this beach house and it may be blustery and rain-battered most winter days, but we wouldn’t trade it for the world.
 

Wet and windy weather on the English Channel


 

The picture above was the weather outside my window on the ship on the day that we sailed back — and nothing has changed. Winters in Normandy are wet, wet, wet!

So is it any wonder that I was more than willing to push this button and go back inside whilst on the ship?
 

Press the button to go back inside


 

Press the button to go back inside


 
I had gone up on the decks to find out just where the lifeboats were on this ship. And after the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia last week off the coast of Italy, this picture below (which is not exposed correctly due to shadows) shows the FIRST THING that I looked at when we got into our cabin!
 

The all important evacuation route map on the back of the cabin door


 
Keep coming back for a series of Photo Of The Day posts from quite a LOT of places we have travelled in the last 14 months. I’m doing edit-and-upload sessions to my various agencies and I continue to come across wonderful slices of life in various European cities that aren’t necessarily commercial or sales-worthy, but they might be funny or poignant or simply an interesting angle on the world.

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Photos Of The Day: Drive Oh-So-Alertly At This French Beach

The sign below is not something to glance quickly at and then ignore. If you happen to be in a car, you will be ignoring it at your peril!
 

Pay attention! Drivers need to be alert about what is right in front of them!


 
This sign is on one of the main streets in St. Martin de Brehal on the Atlantic seacoast of France. It may have been a gloomy and chilly day when we took our walk last Saturday through this village in Normandy, but at least the rain wasn’t horizontal as it had been for the previous four weeks.

Here is what the street looks like with a restaurant and bar right on the corner as you approach the beach.
 

The beach and the sea are just past the last building on the corner in St. Martin de Brehal in Normandy, France.


 
And this is the beach scene below. Walking on that beach is one thing, but trying to get a car out of the sand or potentially plunging into the high tide is another matter altogether!
 

If you drive down the wrong street in St. Martin de Brehal in Normandy, France -- this is where your car will end up!


 

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Turning This One Over To Mark

Most of you who follow this site know that I have been a professional photographer and journalist for most of my life. But an emerging talent needs to be introduced.

I bought Mark a slightly more user-friendly version of a Nikon camera than my big, heavy pro cameras when we left Australia and I told him what my university instructors in the journalism department told me decades ago — a good photo is dependent on the skills of the photographer, not on the cost of the camera or lens. And then you need to practice, practice, practice. We’ve been spending time as we travel fine-tuning his technique, his stance, what to include or not include in a picture, general lighting questions, etc.

Mark taking photos inside canal at low tide in Mimizan, France

Mark taking photos inside canal at low tide in Mimizan, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we were at the seaside at Mimizan on the Atlantic coast of France last week, Mark wanted to climb inside a canal that was practically empty since the tide had gone out. I politely said no thank you since I didn’t wish to (1) fret about getting my own two cameras and a camera bag safely down there and (2) worry about when the tide would come back in and fill the canal. I was right on both counts because (1) I was coughing too hard from a developing chest cold to have fabbo balance whilst scrambling over rocks and (2) no sooner had Mark finished taking his pictures than the sea began to slide back into that canal as I kept repeating, “Mark, the water is rising at the end of the canal!!!”

Mark inside canal in Mimizan, France as tide begins to come back in!

 

Enough from me — enjoy some of Mark’s moody mossy shots.

Posts abloom beneath the waters of the canal in Mimizan, France

 

Base of the canal wall in Mimizan, France

 

Posts like standing stones beneath canal waters in Mimizan, France

 

Bumpy bottom of canal revealed at low tide in Mimizan, France

 

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