Fort La Latte dates back to the early 14th cent, with tons of upgrades and improvements until its military abandonment in the early 19th cent. Layers and layers of history blend into a breathtaking clump of stone defenses on the high cliffs above an iron bound shore.
The drive up was amusing, at least the GPS thought it was. At least once along the way our Garmin demanded we take "Road" instead of any recognizable highway. A long, low farm road led us past cows, more cows, an old Frenchman with walking sticks we were sure he was going to whack our car with, some cows and a cow. Popping into civilization again, we had a great view of the tide flats receding off into the low distance and a welcome sign for Fort La Latte.
The fort itself is low set from the approaching land. Covered head high in thick, impenetrable raspberry, cedar and ferns, a narrow dirt road is the only option to get to the fort gates. The shore surrounding is barely hospitable to a boat of any size, just one or two gravel beaches offer and cover in a hard seascape.
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| Awfully casual for a siege, but whatever makes em happy. |
Coming down off the road, we wandered thru the tourist gate into the fort grounds. It is a privately managed historical site and the 5euro entrance fee is below average for this sort of attraction. I guess they have to hire someone to vacuum and Swifter the place once in a while.
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| We brought wine... |
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| Damn paparazzi are everywhere here!!! |
The fort is a tumble of walls, towers, gates and keeps, all culminating in a high tower, supposedly impenetrable. I'm guessing not, since my military genius wife made it right up to the top with little trouble.
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| Just toss down the rope ladder and quit hamming it up, lady. |
From the top, we could see all of the coast for miles and the hard stone cliffs of the shore. Angry and grumbling in the surf, it would have been an imposing place to attempt to take by sea. The fort itself took a more logical shape as we could see the curtain walls, buildings and gardens in relation to each other.
Each time we go to another fort, I am amazed at the ambition and skill of the builders who loved without electricity, internal combustion, steel construction and modern heavy lifting gear. It is quite humbling...
On the way home, we stopped for a lovely lunch at a roadside bar before fighting THE F*CKING GPS(tm) home. In order to protect the innocent, let's just say we saw a lot more cows.
For dinner we went back to L'Atelier Gourmand. Again, it was spectacular.
Much food and wine was enjoyed and I am pretty sure we alternately amused and horrified the locals trying to enjoy a evenings repast. Too bad, we had a hell of a time!
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| The Crew, minus Clayton who was hiding from the waitress for some reason. |
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| Shrimp, monkfish and veggies on light filo dough sheet. |
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| Cod en papillote with potatoes, veggies and a garlic cream. |
Tomorrow is salad day.
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