Biscarrosse area.

Biscarrosse is in the Landes area of Aquitaine in southwestern France. 

Near Biscarrosse is the French  military test area for rockets . This area also has facilities for launching civilian rockets to study the upper atmosphere. In addition to tourism and military uses the underground area is proving to be a good resource for natural gas.  

the view from  our hotel room (panorama)

our bed and breakfast hotel.  this building was prior to conversion the storage place for a boat storage. It is now a modern and very up to date hotel.  

Bisacrrosse is located between two lakes and has several smaller islands which are joined by this type of bridge.  The trail is a delightful place to while away some time.

boat harbors extends into a couple of inlets from the lakes and joining waterway. 

Jean-Marie was an exchange student who lived with us for a while in 1988. He is most fortunate to have the medals from his father's WWII service for France.  Jean-Marie was the reason for us to visit this area and provided helpful guidance (and translation) for this week's activity.  Recalling the highlights, and low lights, of his time in the USA  provided plenty of conversation. 

Jean-Marie's son Baptiste enjoys showing off the medals. He is in the fourth grade equivalent and has enough energy to power the city lights, if we could only figure way to harness it.   

Evan and Ellen Brookfield are Canadian ex-pats living and working in Biscarosse.  They graciously hosted us in a Sunday brunch that included local wines and cheeses along with  local foods prepared by Ellen (a very good cook)

As with  many towns Biscarosse has a farmers' market in the town square. 

This cheese monger had some Pyrenees Hard Chevre cheese that was without a doubt the best we have had this whole trip.  We should have bought the whole round. 

Being only 30+/- km from the Spanish border the influence on regional cuisine is very evident.  This vendor has Paella along with other Spanish and Basque  dishes. 

I am certain there was a fan blowing the aroma of this dish out into the crowd area.  That is unfair marketing. 

Rain does not stop the hardy people who live in this area. 

Biscarosse Plage is the beach area and like other beach areas has a bevy of small shops and restaurants. 

Recognizing that this area attracts an international group of travelers the main beach area has the flags of the members of the European Union. 

Previously a whaling center, the area has changed into a tourist center and fishing community.  This array of seafood was outside a restaurant.  Choose your meal and get it cooked. 

The stroll area at the beach. 

Nearby Arcachon  is another beach community that draws an international crowd. 

The inlet is quite large and has boat mooring adjacent to the beach area. The whale tail is a piece of "art in public places" 

Some build sand castles s-- here the artists build and color sand animals.  Oryx and parrots and bears and eagles all very well done. Far enough from water to be not bothered by tides or storms. 

Old fashioned carousel that isonly open in high season.   

I wanted a photo of some big wave but the inlet had almost none.  SO I got up close to fake some . 

Mother Nature was very kind to us during our travels in this area.  there would be some drizzles in the morning and then sun with this kind of cloud.  Shirt sleeves, sun, breeze  our experience on the beach.  

Biscarosse was a center of hydroaviation and one day on our return this plane was parked near our hotel.  The weekend following our departure from the area there was to be a large fly in of other seaplanes and related aircraft.  

On one of our walks we discovered a very small museum dedicated to sea planes.  According to the information  plaques several innovative designs were build in the Biscarosse area.  In the museum there were 8 examples of  both older and experimental pontoon planes.

This panoram is fromthe top of the Dune of Pyla, the largest sand dune in all Europe.  To the far right is Arcachon bay and to the far left is Biscarosse. 

Access tothe top is either by these steps or storming up the side of the sand dune itself.  Adults used the steps while kids, of all ages, would climb the hillside.   

Parasailing fromthe top of the dune is a very popular sport.  The onshore winds are ideal for launching.  We watched over ten gliders soar far and wide for several minutes and they continued after we had left.   

This is the side of the dune away from the ocean. The forest is being eaten by the dune as it slowly moves inland.  

Stairs and adults on the left  and energetic people to the right

ON our last day in Biscarosse I awoke to this rainbow.  teh days we spent here were great and this was a perfect ending to our stay. 

Louvre

We, I, underestimated the time that a trip to the Louvre would take.  The variety of art and sculpture are overwhelming and just as you think that you have finished one area, an item catches your attention and a new venue is opened for exploration. While we were there several, many, school groups were also visiting. I began to envy those children for their access to such treasure (note one of the photos below shows that not all of them agreed with my assessment).

The entrance to the Louvre is from a large plaza.  People will pose for pictures even if they don't know you. 

The actual entrance is below ground in this modern assembly area. 

The Arc de Carousel  is one of the bookmarks for the Louvre entrance plaza. It is also at the opposite end of the Champs-Elysee from the Arc de Triomphe. 

inside view of pyramid. scale can be seen by man standing on balcony. 

There is so much to see that the museum is divided into four major sections and each of those has several sub categories, as shown by this directory of just one quadrant. 

fantastic ceilings abound

Venus de Milo 

I seriously doubt this is true.  Praxiteles may have sculpted the first but "invented" ?

There is a room full of what appears to be clay toys for children. 

Napoleon had extravagant tastes 

Emerald serving dishes

Lapis drinking bowls

The  museum allows artists to set up their easels to copy works of art. 

France's crown jewels

just a card table made from precious stones and jewels. 

Gilded paintings for churches

sculptures added to ornate ceilings provide a depth of vision for the paintings

Mona Lisa

crowds are omnipresent at Mona Lisa

These paintings are representations of people done by painting veggies to symbolize the four seasons. 

detail of one of the veggie people

Not everyone is enthralled with the art. 

one of the more famous French Liberty paintings

Classroom at the louvre

This and three others are flat painted on a ceiling their three dimensional appearance is very realistic 

the pyramids have opened some of the courtyard areas with light.

Apollo chasing Daphne -- what fun is had when the museum closes at night

expansive courtyards reduce the massive sculptures to smaller images. 

Street art isnot so  impressive as that inside. 

hot chocolate at the end of a grueling day is welcome and enjoyed.