The coastal town of Soulac-sur-Mer in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France reminds me of the classic 1966 French film by Claude Lelouch, “Un Homme et Un Femme” (“A Man and A Woman“).
The quaint town would have been the perfect getaway for the lovers –widow and widower-, Anne and Jean-Louis.
The town’s centerpiece is the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres (“Basilica of Our Lady of the Edge of the World”). It’s a Romanesque-style church built between the 11th and 12th centuries and, due to siltation, remained buried under the sand for 150 years until a 45-year restoration project “unearthed” the church back in 1905.
From the basilica, you could cross the street and go left and head right into the center of town along Rue de la Plage, or you can head straight towards Rue du Maréchal d’Ornano. Admire the rows of small but beautiful, low-slung, summer houses with tiled roofs and picket fences.
At the corner of the street with the same name is the historic Hotel de Ville. The French flag proudly flies below a clock with the national motto, “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” emblazoned on top.
Hotel de Ville, contrary to its name, is not a hotel but the administrative office of Soulac-sur-Mer. It hosts not only public meetings but also exhibitions, concerts, and other community events that bring the residents together and foster goodwill.
Along the sides of the small but beautiful and well-maintained garden are epitaphs of famous French public officials who had graced the historic building, including one named Charles de Gaulle.
From Rue du Maréchal d’Ornano, you can head straight and send your postcards at Le Poste (post office) at the corner of Rue Victor Hugo. And suppose you happen to be a tourist backpacking or traveling all over France in a rented motorhome. In that case, you can kill some time and wash some of your dirty clothes at a nearby laundromat while you’re shopping for some special ingredients, wines, and drinks for tonight’s dinner at L’Essentiel.
Yes, do all of the above in a place seemingly caught in a time warp, where the distant past and the present seem to have converged in this quiet commune.
I couldn’t overcome the mixed feelings of nostalgia, deja vu, and a sense of wonder as we walked along the brick sidewalks towards the busier Rue de la Plage. I’m sure that I would meet some people I had known in the past, including Anne and Jean-Louis, and that nothing had changed.
Despite being an off-season (we went there in early May), a sizeable number of tourists had disembarked from the nearby port of Le Havre to visit the town and spend some time on the beach.
Just a few steps after we turned the corner towards Rue de la Plage, the sight of Marché Municipal awakened me from my daydreams.
What better way to taste the local dishes than having them in the food stalls of a public market, just like what we do almost anywhere in Spain?
The municipal market was closed that day, so we took an alley with a lovely water fountain towards Rue Trouche to look for a bakery and get some fresh French rolls. They would go well with the gourmet sardines we got at L’Essentiel, along with a few bottles of locally-made soda. We would have our lunch at the beach.
After our brief lunch and catching a view and a stroll along the shoreline of the Bay of Biscay, which eventually blends with the mighty Atlantic, we headed back to town and did some shopping along Rue de la Plage.
The flux of tourists we saw earlier had tapered to a few; some had sat down for lunch at a few beachside restaurants that were open, while some had probably taken the approximately one-and-a-half-hour drive to the wine-producing city of Bordeaux.
Note that if you visit Soulac during the off-season (September to June), most shops, including the municipal market, open only a few hours from Friday to Sunday.
But no matter what time of the year you visit Soulac, don’t forget to try out the locals’ favorites, Canelés de Bordeaux (rum and vanilla-infused custard with a caramelized crust) and Pastéis de Nata (a French twist of the popular Portuguese custard treat). They go well with a cup of coffee or any of your favorite drinks.
As we boarded our bus to leave the town, I could still imagine the hushed voice of Anne explaining to Jean-Louis why it was difficult for her to immediately erase the almost-perfect relationship she had with her late husband, Pierre.
As the couple heads out for the bay, Anne has already realized that she will have to forget about the past — to live and be happy in the present.