We just got back from a perfectly wonderful lunch at the beach! It's High Summer Season here in Sète, but we were able to get a reservation at La Ola by calling last night. They were turning people away when we arrived (come back at 3:30...).
This was a no-photo event 😉
We started with champagne and tapenade, then gaspacho (with watermelon!) for Rick, and oysters for me. I can usually talk our friend Michel into splitting an order with me, so I get just a taste - but, no Michel, so I had to have all 6 LOL. They were perfect, so maybe I'm out of the splitting game...
On to the main course! Rick had swordfish, and I finally got thon rouge (bluefin tuna) - cooked as the chef likes it, red in the middle. My side dishes were *fantastic* - cheesy crispy/creamy rice, and mixed roast veggies.
We ended with espressos, while eyeballing the ice cream.
We were outside, in a lovely breeze. And, a pretty amazing thing happened - a gust of wind brought a smoke cloud our way, and we reacted (ok, I reacted, with "that" face plus body-jerk). Then we hear out neighbor saying something to his wife, who had just lit up - she immediately got up, said (basically) oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I'm going over there to smoke - and she did! I was a little embarrassed about "that" face, but everyone was taking it as normal. In FRANCE!
After lunch, I waded in the sea a bit, then we left. We had intended to double-check our impression of another beach restaurant further down, and so we drove along the free parking area (it fronts the beach for approximately 12 kilometers). Well, mid-August, free beach parking, means just what you'd expect - jam packed full! We gave up, and also decided that the other beach restaurant would be off the list until September.
Now - home, chilled wine, fans, and a weekend ahead of us 🙂
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