Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Oyster, Ocean and Dune


Basliktan da anlayacaginiz uzere sizlere bu uc birbirinden alakasiz cok yakin arkadasin Cap Ferret de gecen hikayelerini anlatacagim. Fransa'nin bati kiyisinda bulunan Cap Ferret yarimadasi, kendine munhasir tarziyla ve yapisiyla guney kiyidaki rakibiyle (St JEan de Luz) yarisarak Bordeaux'nun ve Paris'in varlikli ailelerinin en gozde tatil mekanlari arasina girmeyi yillar once basarmis bile. Varlikli aileler dediysek akliniza hemen St Tropez gibi bir yer gelmesin. Burasi bir balikci kasabasi. Cap Ferret'de gosterisli yatlar, Ivana Trumplar veya Paris Hiltonlar goremeyeceksiniz. Onun yerine kasabanin etrafinda dolasan balikci kayiklari ve forkliflerinin uzerinde kendilerini "paysans de la mer" olarak adlandiran istiridye ciftcileriyle karsilasacaksiniz. Ayrica mimari beklentilerinizi de olabildigince basit tutun zira burada Gehry nin Californiya kiyilarina kondurdugu o super modern evlerden bulmaniz pek mumkun degil. Birbirinden guzel yerel cam agaclarindan yapilmis dogada kaybolan ahsap evler sizleri guzellikleriyle kendilerine hayran birakacak. 

As you gonna understand from the heading, this post smells like an ocean!  Cap Ferret, a peninsula on French west-coast, is a specific and  unique summer gateway for the wealthy Bordelais and Parisians   for many years. With its unique landscape as well, they are always in an endless competition with its south-coast nemesis (St jean de Luz). As I mention about wealthiness of the area don't flash somewhere like St Tropez! Here, there is no luxurious yachts, no Ivana Trump or Paris Hilton. Cap Ferret is a village de pêcheurs who called themselves as "poisons de la mer". Instead you will find fishing boats and oyster farmers driving around town on their forklifts. In addition don't have big expectations about the architecture of the houses like the ones Gehry built on the "west coast". Small wood houses perfectly lost in the nature and made from local pine are decorated with blue and white shutters.




Okyanusa gelince, dalgalarin yuksekligi istahli sorf ahalisini tesvik edecek kadar nezih ve yeterli. Plajda, ise suyun icindekilerin aksine sakin hayat devam ediyor. Insanlar yavas yavas kumlara siziyor, kimisi deniz kabugu toplamanin pesindeyken,  kimisi sadece surf tutkunlarini izleyip keyif yapmanin pesinde.  
In the ocean, the waves are decent enough to encourage an enthusiastic surf community. On the beach side, at the low tide, life is more serene contrary to the ones inside the water. Slow by slow people are  trickling across the sands. While some of them pursuit of picking up shells, the others prefer to just lay down and watch the surfers. 





Gec ogleden sonralari ise istriridye ve beyaz sarap a adaniyor. Gidebileceginiz bir cok adres var fakat biz orada yasayan bir arkadasimizin tavsiyesiyle (yerel bilgi en iyisidir diyerekten) Chez Boulan i sectik. Bu minik ama huzurlu restoranda belkide cift olarak hayatimizin en mutlu bir kac saatlerinden birini gecirdik. Hatirladigim kadariyla rezervasyon kabul etmiyorlar o yuzden ayakta beklemeye hazirlikli olun. Icinizden gelen homurtulari duyar gibiyim ama  merak etmeyin guleryuzlu ve muhabbeti bol calisanlari sayesinde zamanin nasil gectigini anlamayacaksiniz. Masaniza oturdugunuzda aninda her sey masanizda olacak.  
Late afternoons are devoted to fresh oysters with white wine. You have plenty of addresses to have them but, we decided to try a suggestion of a local friend (locals know the best) Chez Boulan. In this small but cute restaurant as a couple we spent one of the happiest time of our life. Good food, lover and a landscape (dunes of Arcachon). Awesome trinity !!! As far as I remember they don't accept reservations so be ready to be at the line. I feel like hearing your unsatisfied inner voice. Don't worry you will not understand how time spin away thanks to the friendly and chatty staff. And finally when you pass through your table everything will be there in a minute. 
Aklinizda bulunsun; Fransizlar Louis XIV' den miras kalmis bir gelenek sebebiyle istiridyeyi icinde "r" gecen aylarda (Fransizca) tuketirler. Diger aylar ureme aylari oldugundan korumaya birakirlar. Yani yazin geldiginizde ben istiridye istiyorum diye tutturmayin pek bulamazsiniz. 
Ps: In France people eat oysters just in months that contain "r" (in French). This rule is little merit today, as it dates from the days of Louis XIV and a royal edict forbidding farmers from harvesting wild oysters during the months without an "r", the period of reproduction. 


Gunes yuzunuze vururken, burnunuzda okyanus kokusu ve karsinizda kumdan bir dag. Sanirim huzurun tanimina biraz da olsa benziyor. 
While sun is across your face, smell of ocean is on your nose and the view of mountain of sands. I guess the explanation of peace is a little bit something like that. 


Gitmek icin; arabaniz varsa ne mutlu size eger yoksa hic uzulmeyin karsinizda toplu tasimanin uzmanlari var. Bordeaux'dan 601 numarali otobuse bindiginizde yaklasik olarak 1:30 saat icerisinde Cap Ferret de olacaksiniz. Otobusler gercekten cok konforlu ve kolay. 
To Go: If you have a car happy you !!! But if you haven't don't worry here is the masters of the public transportation talking, from the central Bordeaux , when you catch the bus number 601 around in 1:30 hours you will be in Cap Ferret. Busses are super cool and comfortable. 


Sessun top / Zara cardigan / Cheap Monday jeans / Woolrich parka / Nike blazers

Pics by JB and me 

For more info about Cap Ferret and Bassin d'Arcachon click here !