Talbert Pipes Life in France Places Pénestin There are dozens of beaches in this area but all the tourists go to La Baulle, apparently so they can lie crammed together like sardines. THIS is my kind of beach in June! They call Penestin the "Gold Coast" or "Gold Mine" and here you can see why - the orange-gold cliffsides make it extremely colorful on a sunny day. Emily realizes this is a topless beach, while I wait expectantly... During one of our visits, we sighted this strange cryptozoological creature out on the waters. This is an ironic shot, since there have been many times during our first year in France when I was tempted to try walking back to the USA, but when we spent our first day on this beach I knew I was home already. That's a Buffet shirt, BTW, and after spending a year accessing the outside world only through the occasional boxes that friends and family send us, I've come to understand and live these lyrics: Jason Mason hears the sound A whistle blows in Congo-town and the mail boat's in, mail boat's in It brings him things from oh-so-far Old magazines and Snickers bars A simple man, a simple plan The world's too big to understand