Guérande and salt

 Guérande is a medieval walled city and is famous for harvesting salt. Being flat and near the ocean, the area has salt marshes, which are "farmed" by hard-working individuals who harvest the salt by hand using hand tools. There is no mechanization here. It's said to be the best salt in the world. 

If you look at the map below, you will see a maze-looking area in blue and white. Those are the salt marshes. 

On Sunday, Debbie, Bill, Dan, and I headed west toward the coast. We reached the seaside town of Balz-sur-Mer but not until after we stopped at a roadside stand to buy salt. We got a lesson on the salt harvesting from a young man who spoke not one lick of English but who was very enthusiastic about helping us understand the process. He was selling many flavors of salt, including salt with herbs, salt with wasabi, and salt with vanilla bean. Debbie bought some of the vanilla bean salt for her cookies, so we will look forward to an update and maybe a tasting. :)

At Balz-sur-Mer, we decided to find a place for lunch. Debbie and I walked to the beach while the boys found parking. Once we were at the beach, Debbie and I wondered how in the hell Dan and Bill would find us, so we decided to do what we would do if we were lost in the woods: We would stay put. So we got a table at a restaurant and got ready to order. We figured that Dan and Bill would find us sooner or later. I texted Dan, but it is always at guessing game as to whether texts will go through. They found us, we ate, and all was well. 

Here is the harbor and beach in front of the restaurant:

As we walked to the car, we went past a military cemetery and, of course, had to go in. 

 (Dan - Vicki is not one to ever pass up an old cemetery!)

I took a photo of a butterfly bush growing in a grave site:

This may be an idea for the Elmwood Cradle Gardeners!

Upon our return to La Giro, we were greeted by Teresa, Reginald, and Emily who had been joined by Bill and Nancy Taylor. Bill McCormick cooked hamburgers, and we enjoyed dinner outside with the cows.