Walking the Quays in Granville, Boats with No Water

We walked out onto the giant concrete barriers that provide a cushion against Atlantic Ocean storms and protect the pleasure boat harbor here in Granville. Even though it was 9:45 pm, it looked like it was about 6:30 pm, the barriers provided a long, long promenade from which to view the fishing boats, all stranded with no water at all on one side, and in the distance on a beach, people yelling and playing soccer.

We met a British couple who had come over on their BMW motorcycle on the ferry from Poole. It was their first time to Granville, and they said they agreed with us, ‘it’s lovely here.’ We all liked our cheap ocean front hotel and liked walking on these big quays and seeing the strangeness of a harbor full of boats with no water.

Sometimes when you travel you go back to days of youth, places evoke nostalgia and warm memories of being here once before. Granville had that for me. That’s why some people travel, to try and get back to that. But at age 50, traveling here to my beloved France, I have no yearning for youth, just more appreciation for being in the right place at the right time.