Our next stop was Cap d'Agde, but unfortunately all the rooms were booked for the night we had been hoping to arrive. Instead we decided to stay one night in the only town that had a room available: Perpignon. We almost missed to train from Cerbere (where we had to switch trains) to Perpignon because the ticket line was so long and slow. I've no idea what the problem was at that station, but they did not have their game together! So we just barely made it to our hotel in Perpignon. We got a feast of bread, cheese, wine, chips, applesauce, and vanilla-caramel puddings for dinner which we spread out on the floor and pigged out on. The next day we headed off to Agde from where we caught a bus to Cap d'Agde (or the Cape of Agde). Let me tell you a bit about the place we were going. It's a nudist resort. Yup, a nudist resort on the south-east coast of France. Right on the Mediterranean. Upon arriving (after a slightly confusing bus ride) we promptly headed off in the wrong direction. The guy in the guard house starting yelling at us - not in a mean way, just to get our attention - and directed us to the check-in area. After checking into the nudist colony area (where you get to wander around buck naked everywhere if you wish) we checked into our hotel. It was a nice place with a pool, sauna, Turkish bath (steam room), and our room came with a little kitchen and a nice balcony overlooking the pool area of the resort next door. They played club music from morning to sunset, which was nice at most times, and a bit annoying at others. So we all got naked! Which was weird at first, but we got used to it surprisingly quickly. If you just... act like no one's naked, it's pretty easy! And of course, it really helped that everyone around us where ever we went was usually nude, or at least partially nude. So first thing we did was to go check out the pool area. The pool was cold, and the Turkish bath was very warm. I liked the Turkish bath. And it was very interesting to go to the pool and see two children, a little boy maybe 6 years old and a little girl a bit older swimming with their Mom. Yes, all were in their Birthday suits. I actually thought it was kind of cool. I suppose I tend to feel that American society is so uptight about nudity - that being nude is equivalent to sex. I think it would be nice to raise children with the realization that nudity does not only mean sex and that it can be acceptable to be nude in other appropriate situations. Nudity is so taboo, and female nudity in particular in America seems to be put on some sort of pedestal that I personally think is a bit ridiculous. So it was somewhat refreshing! And I hope I haven't offended anyone with my opinions - they are, after all, just my personal opinions. So, after the pool we headed to the resort grocery store where we got expensive ingredients for risotto. Robyn cooked us a phenomenal risotto with peas, ham cubes, zucchini, and lots of parmesan. We also had a bit too much wine to drink that night which made it a fun, yet forgettable evening!
The 24th I woke up with a hangover, which is never fun. Chuck cooked us a simple but yummy breakfast at at sometime during the afternoon we headed to the crowded beach to soak up some rays. The sun was strong which made the cool Mediterranean water really nice. Chuck ad I spent some time swimming and then playing in the sand on the shore while Robyn mainly read and sun bathed with a few dips in the sea to cool off. I was irresponsible with the sun screen and didn't completely slather myself which left me with a bit of a burn at the end of the day. After the beach I managed to get some laundry done - I did all our clothes since I didn't need to leave out what I was wearing! I cooked a pasta dinner and we kept the wine to a minimum. Before bed we had a quick sweat in the Turkish bath. All in all a pretty relaxing, simple day.
The next morning Chuck made a breakfast again. He made an adaptation of his famous breakfast burrito, but using a dinner roll instead of a tortilla. Yum! It was an overcast day but we headed out to the beach anyways. It was about half as crowded as the day before due to the lack of sunshine. Chuck and I took a walk down the beach to people watch a bit. We saw regular people who like to be naked - nothing special. After our walk we did a little reading, Chuck took a dip (I thought it was too sun-less for a swimming), and then we headed back to the hotel room. We went to the grocery store for some more expensive groceries and Robyn made us some more of that risotto for dinner. Another very relaxing day.
We checked out early on the 26th - so early in fact that no one was at the reception desk (then again it seemed the desk was manned only about five hours of the day anyways). We slipped our keys and a note about our early departure under the office door and took off. Cap d'Adge was a welcome vacation from our vacation. But next stop: Zermatt, Switzerland!
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