Oyster Day

April 23 - This morning we have a 9:30 bus to Gujan-Mestras for oyster tasting. I'm up and about early enough to eat and just not grab and go. 

It's another magic bus ride as I fall asleep on the way. There are two groups so we walk around and learn about oyster farming while the other group begins with the tasting. It's not a perfect weather day but it's not raining. 

An oyster boat with mesh oyster bags. They move the oysters to bags with bigger holes as they age. 

All these farmed oysters are pulled at 3 years and sorted by size (1-5). As we move to do our tasting it starts to rain. We are the lucky group as it dumps briefly while we are inside tasting. 

These are number 3 the most common size for eating raw. They are a little more brinier than I'm used to but good. You can either pour off some liquid or give a squeeze of lemon to cut down on the brine. Afterwards we head to a restaurant for lunch. 

Talk about low tide. 

I ordered the duck confit. 

Aparna ordered the fish. This is definitely the most disappointing meal. Small portions and tasteless fish. Some others at our table ordered mussels and shared otherwise I would have been hungry still. 

The lemon dessert was ok. 

We headed off to the actual city of Archachon. It has a nice waterfront. 

Fun sculpture in the water. 

We wander around town to see some of the older houses that we saw coming in. 

Time to head back to the boat. After another nap on the bus, I freshen up. They have a horn troop coming. 

The songs are hunting calls. 

They also play inside so we can hear the difference. It's interesting in the boat as you get further away it sounds tin-y. 

Dinner tonight is at le reve It's just another seating area in the dining room but this has the "best" menu. 

Amuse bouche of lobster creme brûlée 

Appetizer of edible earth. It has the radish from the market. It's not good but he succeeded in making something taste like dirt. 

Tuna salad - not much salad. Funny enough a guest complains the tuna is plain. We look over and her plate is missing the mustard sauce. It really makes the tuna. 

Pumpkin soup with scallop. The scallop is perfect. 

Chateaubriand with béarnaise 

Various chocolates for dessert.  

Tonight is the crew entertainment. It's a bunch of cheesy skits and some musical performances. 

The hotel manager plays James Taylor. 

Nothing like men dressing up as women to get a few cheap laughs. Overall it was entertaining especially considering this crew just met days before our cruise.