Ile d'Oleron

The Ile d'Oleron is connected to the main land by a rather beautiful bridge which we swept over this yesterday morning and onto the low lying land where we went out to the furthest tip to a lighthouse which overlooks the treacherous and rocky coast. It was a fab day - warm and not a cloud in the sky and being in October not many people about.
The main photo shows the coast line and looking over to the city of La Rochelle and the Ile de Re' where we are headed today.
Lunchtime, we stopped at a rather ramshackle restaurant for mussels (mussels and oysters are a large part of the economy here) which were cooked in a new way for me. The mussels are arranged on a wire rack and then a layer of dry pine needles are stacked on top and set alight. The mussels are cooked very quickly giving off a slight smoked pine taste - so delicious washed down with glass of white wine . One tray of mussels per person!
A very pleasant day.