Visiting the France's Biscarosse Lake and Landes Region Museum outside Bordeaux with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Biscarrosse attracts tourists for its three lakes that are just inside the Atlantic oceanfront below Bordeaux in the Landes region.
Biscarrosse attracts tourists for its three lakes that are just inside the Atlantic oceanfront below Bordeaux in the Landes region.
The three
lakes named Cazaux-Sanguinet, Biscarrosse, and Parentis feature sailboating and
swimming as their main watersports. Our
destination was next to Lac Parentis and offered a glimpse into the life of the
region; the Musée des Traditions et de l’Histoire de Biscarrosse (Museum of the Traditions and History of the Biscarosse) is small yet
very informative.
My husband
and I began our tour by watching a video in French about forest industries and
hunting, which are traditional activities in the Landes. Paper manufacturing and resin collecting are
modern and traditional ways of making a living from wood. The little resin
collectors’ cabins were made available to everyone in the past and are at the
origin of Landais hospitality according to the video.
The hunters
of the Landes region walked on six-foot stilts called échasses. A better vantage point for shooting and
perhaps surer footing in the underbrush might explain the use of échasses.
The museum
itself housed a reproduction of a resin collector’s cabin, lacework, a dinner
table set with dishes, and a pair of échasses among other traditional items. We
bought a Landais beret at the exit, which my husband noted was softer than a
Basque beret.
Out by Lac
Parentis, there was a small summer camp for children. They were dressed as
knights and were fighting with collapsible swords. They were probably learning how to sail in
calmer moments as well; there were smaller sailboats alongside larger ones
lined up on the lakefront.
Our lunch
reflected the oceanfront location of the region. We ate boiled whelks and
shrimp followed by duck kebabs and cheese.
It was a delicious finale to a lovely day in Biscarrosse.
By Ruth
Paget - Author of Marrying France and Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
 |
| Ruth Paget Selfie |
