Salt and Wine

On Monday, V and I decided to take advantage of yet another day off of work and take a day trip. We decided to visit Guérande, a medieval city in Brittany famous for it's salt!

La Porte Saint-Michel, the main gate into the medieval city.

Guérande is so small that it doesn't have a train station, so we had to take an early train from Nantes to Saint-Nazaire, then take a one-hour bus ride from there to Guérande. Whew! After inquiring after a map at the Office de Tourisme, we walked out of town and towards the famous "Marais Salants", or the Salt Marshes. There, we paid a visit to Terre de Sel, which is a big distributing company affiliated with the local salt harvester's co-op. They provide daily tours of the marshes, and we got in on a 45-minute explanation of the history, geography, and geology of the region, as well as a description of how the marshes work and what the harvesting process is like. 

Next time you use or look at salt from Guérande, be amazed!! The process is actually quite fascinating. The harvesting season can only occur for about three months in the summer when the weather is best, and it's a very complicated process of slowly letting sea water into the marshes, which are hand-formed each year by the paludier (an ancient Breton word meaning 'man of the marshes'; he's the guy who harvests the salt), letting the water evaporate and the salt concentrate, and then gently scooping up the two kinds of resulting salt crystals. First, you have 'gros sel gris' (big salt crystals, grey color) which is harvested in the morning, while 'fleur du sel' (smal crystals, white, VERY salty!) is harvested late in the afternoon. Paludiers have been harvesting salt in the region since 600 or 700 AD. Wow!  

A view of the Marais Salants. Each small section you see here
produces 50 kilos of salt *per day* all summer long!! So much salt!

After the tour, we went back to the main building and proceeded to buy inordinate amounts of Guérande salt and other salty Breton specialities. We couldn't resist! :)

We then walked back to town and went into the old city walls for lunch and some exploring. We found a really cute crêperie and enjoyed a wonderful and very Breton lunch of galettes and cider. 

My delicious galette with potatoes, raclette cheese,
prosciutto, onions, and salad. YUM!

V with her butter & sugar dessert crêpe

It was fun to walk around inside the fortified city walls and see the old buildings and churches. We were both reminded of and amazed by the vast amount of history present in every city and town in France! It is SO cool to have castles, ancient city walls, Roman ruins, or what-have-you right there at every turn.

Luckily, it was a beautiful, cloudless day, and although cold and a bit windy, we were very happy to have such a lovely day and to have been able to get a glimpse of this incredible treasure of French culture. I'm so glad we went! 

Last night, the gang headed to Jeroboam, a local wine bar. I was introduced to Jeroboam just before the Christmas holiday, and I instantly fell in love. I introduced the girls to the spot in January and they loved it, too! They have a fantastic wine selection, delicious small plates of cheese and meat, and a wonderful atmosphere. It's fun to go there and enjoy a tasty new wine, relax, and chat the night away!

As for the near future, the gang is going to have a pre-holiday dessert and wine night tonight, I'll be taking in the Nantes Symphony Orchestra on Thursday night, and then early next week, I head off for a 10-day vacation!