We had a lunchtime booking at the restaurant L'Etoile in Deauville for 12.30pm today, so we set off at about 10.30am. Sophie directed me onto the busy N13 through Caen first, and then we turned off onto quieter, more scenic roads. We're finding the map app on Sophie's phone is a lot more reliable than Trish at the moment, but Keith does keep an eye on the paper map as well!
It was a grey, heavily overcast day and cold. The blue skies and sunshine of yesterday had disappeared, unfortunately. We made it to Deauville by 11.30am and parked on one of the main streets. We headed in the direction of the main square where a food and textiles market was taking place. Sophie bought herself a pair of black corduroy trousers, and we popped into a gorgeous wine and food shop, marvelling at old bottles of Calvados from 1939 up until the 2000s. The 1939 bottle of Calvados was selling for 1490 euros, while the 1968 was 550!
We picked out a couple of bottles of wine, and Keith bought a tin of sardines. The range of food and drinks was vast, and we could have spent hours browsing in there! However, time was marching on and it was almost 12.30pm. L'Etoile was busy with lunchtime diners when we arrived and we were greeted at the door by the owner. He sat us at the same table as last year!
He gave us a menu, but we also looked at the set lunch and specials boards. Sophie and I decided to opt for the set lunch - Sophie chose a ham and mozzarella salad for a starter while I opted for the pumpkin and carrot velouté. For our main courses, we both chose cod with a kind of ratatouille. Keith stuck to one course - a veal chop that he'd enjoyed last year.
Tall tales?
Sophie and I drank a glass of Chablis with our meal and Keith chose a local beer made in Deauville. As we were waiting for our lunch, an elderly man at the next table leaned over and asked if we were English. He was obviously keen to talk and seemed a little lonely sitting by himself. He said that he'd owned a house in Deauville for twenty-seven years but had just sold it. It was good to talk to him, but the restaurant was busy and noisy - there was a large table of diners opposite - and we had to keep straining to hear him.
Our food arrived and my soup and Sophie's salad were very good. Our cod was delicious as well, but our new friend kept asking Sophie how to turn up the volume on his phone as she was trying to eat! Keith gamely worked his way through his large veal chop and I found four bones in my fish. I attract bones in fish, just like I attract slightly strange characters who want to tell me their lifestory!
The man then ordered himself a half bottle of red wine and carried on talking to us. He was keen to tell us about the sale of his house, which overlooked the famous Deauville racecourse. He said he'd met Frankie Dettori once at the races, who had ordered Champagne and oysters. About the sale of the house, he wouldn't mention a price, but he told us about the man who wanted to buy it, and who wanted to bring up his children in the area. He then mentioned his paintings of semi-naked women dotted about the house (I swear I'm not making this up, but why he felt we needed to know this, I have no idea) and how the buyer's mother wasn't impressed. He finished off this tale by saying he demanded another 50,000 euros for the house, which the buyer paid. I dread to think how much it went for! Later, looking at house prices, most were heading towards 1.5 million euros!
By now, Keith was bored with the man and made his feelings known by ignoring him. However, he carried on, saying he had celebrated his 81st birthday on the 12th of January (a fellow Capricorn then, which might have explained a few things) and how he'd driven over on the ferry. Sophie and I ordered dessert: an apple and almond tart served with cream, and Sophie treated herself to a glass of Calvados. No homemade version this year, though!
The restaurant had emptied out and the card machine had stopped working so we received a handwritten bill for lunch, which came to 135 euros. Luckily, we had enough cash on us! Our new friend, obviously wealthy (or was he a fantasist, we'll never know!) was working his way through steak and frites and seemed sorry to see us go. He mentioned he was divorced so that would explain his table for one. Next to us, throughout most of the meal, were two older, well-preserved French women, both with tiny Yorkshire terriers. Was it a doggy playdate for them? They chattered away non-stop and Sophie was fascinated by their jewellery. This town certainly has its fair share of wealthy people! I'm sure the man could find a wealthy divorcée or widow to share a table with!
After paying the bill and saying goodbye to our new friend, we walked slowly back to the Carrefour supermarket we'd parked opposite, and bought s few things we needed. Keith returned to the car while Sophie and I went back to the loos by the market. The stalls had all been packed up now and a solitary man was cleaning the paving slabs.
A slow drive along the coast.
Rather than go back to the house on the autoroute and N13, we headed along the coast again. In the town of Houlgate, I parked right on the beach and Sophie and I went down onto the sands. We could see thousands of shells washed up by the sea and we spent a very pleasant half hour collecting some pretty ones that Sophie intends to make into earrings. The beach was almost deserted, just a few hardy dog walkers out enjoying the bracing afternoon air.
I loved the old houses lining the promenade. Were they single houses or apartments?
In the distance, we could see a sandbank with flocks of seagulls having a feast on the creatures that had been washed up onto the sand. I've never seen so many shells gathered in one place before!
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Back at the house, we lit the fire and relaxed. Sophie and I played a couple of games of Scrabble and much to her disgust, I beat her both times. She was not happy! We munched on little creamy cheeses and Cracksters and will be taking a fair amount of food home with us, including a loaf of bread and paté!
The remote control started working again so we were able to log out of Netflix, and by 9.30pm we were all ready for bed. Tomorrow will be a long day!
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