I'm aiming straight up at Phare de la méditerranée, which translates "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean." Despite the name, it's not a lighthouse. The top of the tower is a revolving restaurant with views of, you guessed it, the Mediterranean. There are a few touristy places like this because Palavas-les-Flots is a French vacation town. But it's not over-the-top commercialized as you might find in other areas. There is a casino, but it's low-key, not overly flashy. One thing you will find a lot of though is ice cream. For whatever reason, they are crazy about ice cream, and in tourist towns, you'll find it on every corner.
This scene is a nine frame high-resolution panorama of the beach at Lloret Del Mar. If you wanted, you could zoom in to see the menu at KFC. Not that you would or that I would go to Spain for KFC, I'm just saying. Printed at full resolution, this is over eight feet across - a lot of detail. For panoramas to work, they need the right subject and, the Mediterranean is full of these kinds of scenes. I was here twice in September, once for an over-night and, a week later, to retrieve my lost passport. It was on the second trip that I made this. After I did, I went to an outdoor cafe facing the beach, not too far from KFC.
Depending on the time of day, the scene at this beach is entirely different. I'm not sure which one I prefer better. Having spent almost a week here, I had plenty of opportunities to take in the view. I think perhaps that I like the early morning view for the stillness of the water. If I think about it much longer, I'll probably change my mind. The defining characteristic of Carnon Plage is the circularity of the shore. (BTW: Plage is the French word for beach.) Breakwaters were constructed to prevent erosion such that waves passing through form rings. The beach is therefore circular and, there is more of it than if it were merely straight. In the end, it makes for good picture taking, which for me, is all that seems to matter.
