InOnce we committed to coming to the Olympics, we knew that we would need some place to cool our heels in between Jeff’s two race walk events 6 days apart. I love Paris, but I don’t love crowds. I knew that we would be well advised to get the hell out of dodge for a few days to recharge, but where? Any easy day trip would not be far enough to lose the crowds or to be interesting enough to spend multiple days. Hopping to more than one town seemed unwise. While I yearned to return to the Cote D’Azure, it is far, expensive and would be mobbed with the whole of France on vacation (at least anyone not staying in Paris for the Games).

An exhaustive search left me spinning in circles. I finally settled on what appeared to be a sleepy town at the end of the TGV Line on the Atlantic Coast- Le Croisic. I settled on a gorgeous hotel Le Fort de L’Ocean. After the transportation woes we experienced getting to Paris I was concerned not to have anything go sideways for this leg of the trip. As we settled in on the TGV, I began to exhale since our final destination was the end of the line and the last train of the night. So even we could not mess this one up.

Of course, one piece we had yet to consider was how we would get from the train station to the hotel at 10:15 pm. Our answer came to us by way of Jeff’s phone ringing from an unknown number in France. As he answered interested to see who was on the line, it was our hotel in Le Croisic asking if we would be arriving tonight. In our hectic dash to get clear of Paris we neglected to think about the late hour of our arrival. Helen at the hotel reception was quick to offer a shuttle to pick us up since public transportation was done for the night. This was a sign of the marvelous experience we would enjoy here. I know we are well traveled, but we are not well pampered most of the time. This visit would be an exception to our usual rule. It cannot be overstated that every member of the team here at Le Fort de L’Ocean was exceptional across the board. They went above and beyond in every situation from our first hello to our last goodbye. The hotel is small and hosts only 9 rooms, but there is something to fit most budgets despite the heavenly, well-deserved, four-star status. It was decadent without being stuffy. The staff anticipated our every need and then some. We were about as far from the hub of town and the port as possible, but with bikes on loan getting around was quite simple. While we stayed in a room approximately half the price of the more extravagant rooms, the staff treated us like royalty.

Our 315th Wedding Dress shot was actually taken with a cell phone with an ipad as a filler light. We left some equipment in Paris, so we had not lights and sometimes a cell phone is good enough!

Le Croisic has all the charm of a sleepy little fishing town, but with stunning architecture and relatively, inexpensive gourmet food. Even the provisions from the boulangerie were superb. There is life bustling about in town, but it was not overcrowded by any means, a rarity today. The only sad part of the trip for us was to bid them farewell but as they say, jusqu’à la prochaine fois. I fully expect to return to our gem here. Please do us a favor and if you are reading this tell a friend, just do us a favor and don’t tell all your friends….

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