Our tour today started with a very informative stroll through the town of Sète.
It was settled more than two thousand years ago by the Greeks because of the hill surrounded by water that was easy to defend. The name Sète is derived from an old Roman word that means ‘whale’ since the Mont St. Claire hill looked like a whale to the sailors.
This is also the end point of the canal that was built by the french king to connect the North sea to the Mediterranean. There are now many canals so the town is also known as the ‘Venice of the Languedoc’ They also have a yearly ‘canal jousting’ competition.
The town sits next to the Ètand de Thau, a saltwater lagoon, where there are more than two thousand oyster beds. One of the main industries in town.
The other is of course wine, since it is the closest port to the Languedoc wine region.
After our city tour we were off to an oyster farm to get a closer look. Included was also an oyster tasting with a local wine which paired very well.
We watched the worker as she cemented baby oysters to a string. This will then hang in the lagoon for about three years before they get harvested.
Since there is no tide here, they never get out of the water and thus do not grow the strong muscle to close up, which makes them a lot softer.
The oyster place was dark and industrial and we were getting worried about where we were going to do the tasting. Our guide took us to a set of stairs and like a true speakeasy, it opened up into a fantastic seafood restaurant.
We gorged ourselves with the freshest seafood (and oysters, of course) with the wines made with the local Picpoul grape.
After lunch we went to a local wine farm to taste the other local industry, wine.
We had a few extra minutes so our guide was able to stop for us to do another tasting and buy some Picpoul wine.
A great day!
Once an island, described by the poet Paul Valery as the ‘singular isle”, this port town owes its existence to Louis XIV and Paul Riquet’s major canal, built to link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean – now known as the Canal du Midi – which led to the creation of this new seaport in July 1666. Here there are neither city walls nor palace. The architectural heritage of Sète, which was spelt Cette until January 1928, gradually grew up around the development of its port.
They were hand building a ship to get ready for a big boat festival that happens once every two years.
First she lays out the baby oysters in groups of two and then strings a nylon rope over them.
After a blob of cement, a third oyster gets placed on top to hold the rope in place
These will now move to the oyster ‘bed’ in the lagoon to hang there for about three years.
