This photo is one of my personal favorites I shot during our recent road trip.
I love the composition of the bright colors, the neon pink fishing net, the sea and sky, the active motion, and an iconic symbol of Sète, France: the fisherman.
The first time I visited Sète, what struck me first was the color of the sunlight. It’s like nothing else I’ve experienced. It’s a crisp, pure, intensely bright white light. In the afternoon, as the fishermen come back to the docks and work on their rigging, it beats down on you. Seagulls chase the last few boats motoring their way into the port while the salty old-timers, skin darkly tanned and deep wrinkles, sip on pastis in the shade.
Sète has its own cultural identity, traditions, cuisine, and dialect.
Above all, the Setois gastronomy is a fisherman’s cuisine that has been enriched by the culinary know-how of the Catalans, Genoese, Neapolitans, and Spaniards. The whole gives a Mediterranean culinary heritage with specialties such as tielle (see photo in the slides, it’s a pie usually stuffed with octopus), macaronade, cuttlefish rouille, squid, and stuffed mussels, and fish soup, and more.
Climbing the hillside of Sete in the early evening, you’re treated to magnificent views of the sea, port, and canal. The historic fishermen’s homes, old tool sheds (swipe 👉 to see photos) are now a refuge of leisure. In 1850, there were more than 500 barracks listed.
These colorful cabins are passed down from generation to generation. During the second half of the twentieth century, Sétois artists, including Pierre François, took up residence in these modest bunks, where the sea, light, and scents combine to inspire creation.
Walking the streets of rural France 🇫🇷 allows you to connect with the heritage of so many happy moments, following in the footsteps of the fishermen, farmers, artisans, and creators who gave these places a soul.
Bisous and big hugs 🤗 from France,
Shannon