In praise of oysters..are the oldest foods of the human race

Although in France, you can get oysters it seems any time of the year, now being September, this time of year offers the best in oysters served.
I found this morning, an article in the London Times (yes, the Brits it seems gives a lot of their seafood treasures away to other countries, but they do like oysters in season)

 an editorial from September 4, 1919!
In part it reads ( and is still true today, I must add)
' Oysters are among the oldest foods of the human race. The presence of their shells in the ancient kitchens of the Baltic  shows that man was eating them in the remote ages when the brackish waters of that land-locked sea were still salt. 
Primitive man, ( American's take heed of this) used no condiments and the modern man ( foodie or epicure, my words) is advised to follow the old way. It seems nowadays,many people ( mainly Americans, my words now) replaces the natural juice, that should be redolent of the sea, with all kinds of things to cover up the taste of this most wondrous product from the sea. 
Stop it! If you must, do what we do in France, the oysters are served with a little bowl containing wine vinegar, onion and herbs into which each oyster is to be plunged for a number of seconds.'
But, but best of all is just the oyster and its juice itself.
As someone once remarked, its like kissing the sea on the lips.
PS: Don't even get me started on cooked oysters..to do so is to take a vintage Bordeaux wine and add a soft drink to it..

A hidden spot in Normandy - just a bit north of Honfleur - Etretat - the dramtic rocky coastline, BUT BUT

Yes, the cliffs of Etretat have attracted painters and tourists for over 100 years,. It's ( but only located in France) a mirror of the English White Cliff s of Dover.

But the real surprise here is something most painters and tourists never see but should. the 'WOW' of Les Jardins d'Etretat high above the cliffs. The blend of landscape art and art sculptures makes the gardens a delight for both garden lovers and art lovers and of course, the dramatic natural landscape only adds to the drama. 

The best time to visit? - early evening as the lights of the village below comes on whilst at the same time the sea and gardens are bathed in a soft evening light.