Les USA: The beach

The other day I was thinking about a vocabulary book I used when I was a student. It contains lists of words, and they're classified according to big categories, such as"the family," "the countryside," "at work," etc. It made me think that I could do the same with my blog, and talk about America, using such categories for each new entry.

Since I went to the beach yesterday, I'll start with that.

The beach I went to was in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach is a resort town, with hotels and apartments along the shore. There is also a an alley where you can walk or ride one of the many bikes for rent there. The handle bars on those bikes look funny, their shape reminds me of what you find on Harley-davidson motorcycles.
I heard a lot of locals saying that they didn't like the beach there, probably because it is too touristy for them, and the abundance of hotels, apartments and shops don't make for an authentic and natural experience. Presonally, I don't mind it.
The sand is a bit clearer than on the Mediterranean, and I believe the water is a bit less salty, for my skin didn't feel as sticky when I got out of the water, which was nice. The waves were very enjoyable, although I expected them to be bigger than they were, since my wife had stressed the difference with the Meditterranean sea so much in the past.
Although the beach is huge, people don't seem to take advantage of all the available space, and prefer to sit as close to the water as they can, so that the first half near the ocean is packed, and the area behind is practically empty.
At some point I used the porta potty that was near the alley. I wouldn't have mentioned this, but after reading so many blogs from American expats talking about how nasty the French public bathrooms are, I was surprised to find the most disgusting bathroom I had ever seen in my life here. I know, I know, there are porta potties in France too, I'm just really surprised that in such a clean and superior nation as the US, they are in use too. Ethnocentric expats, this bit was for you.

There are a lot of life guards, they sit in their little wooded elevated chairs and keep their red life saving rafts nearby, just like in Baywatch. That's funny too. Every 30 seconds, they whistle because someone swam too far away in the water.
Women don't go topless, as everybody knows, but that's okay with me. The only ones who do it in France are ugly anyway. Since women can't take their tops off here, some will compensate by wearing tops that are too small for their breasts, so you can see it anyway. In fact, unlike what a lot of people think, breasts are okay in the U.S.A. Really, it's the nipples that will get you into trouble.
The men's swimsuits look like shorts. Like in France, maybe a bit longer (although I hear the tight speedos are making a come-back and are being trendy again in Europe. I did see one guy wearing one in Virginia beach though.)

After the beach we went to a restaurant where we ate crabs. I heard Maryland is THE state to go to if you want crab, but Virginia's crabs were tasty as well.

Hier je suis alle a la plage a Virginia Beach, une station balneaire, avec ses apparts en bords de plage, ses commerces et tout le toutim. Il y a une promenade en bord de plage ou l'on peut louer des velos ou des rollers. Les velos sont marrants, ils ont des guidons un peu comme des guidons de Harleys.
J'ai entendu pas mal de gens du coin dire qu'ils n'aiment pas trop la plage ici car cela manque d'authenticite et c'est devenu trop touristique. Cela me fait exactement penser a ce que qu'en France certains reprochent a la Grande Motte et ses pyramides.
Le sable est plus clair qu'a la Mediterranee, et l'eau semble moins salee. C'est tant mieux, cela gratte moins quand on sort de l'eau.
Les vagues sont plus grosses qu'a Palavas, et c'est beaucoup plus amusant comme ca. Ceci dit, elles n'etaient pas aussi grosses que ce que ma femme avait bien voulu me faire croire. Ou alors, elles etaient en petite forme ce jour-la.
Les femmes ne font pas les seins nus, mais je ne vous apprends rien de nouveau ici. Et d'ailleurs, je m'en fous un peu. Celles qui osent enlever le haut en France portent bien souvent des poitrines sur lesquelles nos yeux n'ont aucune raison de s'attarder. Les americaines en mal d'exhibitionnisme rattrapent le coup en achetant des maillots trops petits de toute facon. Les seins, c'est pas ca le probleme. Le principal, c'est surtout de cacher les tetons.
La plage est immense, mais les gens , venus en nombre, preferent s'agglutiner tout pres de l'eau, laissant un grand espace vide derriere eux.
Les hommes, eux, portent des maillots similaires a ce que l'on voit sur les plages francaises, peut etre sont-ils un peu plus longs, allant parfois sous les genoux. Il parait que les petits shorts moule-burnes font un grand retour en France. Ce n'est pas le cas ici, meme si j'ai pu en apercevoir un exemplaire. Un courageux.
J'ai fait un detour dans des toilettes publiques, et a ma grande surprise, j'ai du faire mes besoins dans les chiottes les plus degueulasses que j'aie pu voir. J'ai vraiment ete decu. D'habitude, ce sont les etrangers qui sont sales. Peut-etre etaient-ils reserves aqux immigrants,,. Eh oui cher(e)s expats ethnocentriques et compagnie, regalez-vous, cette fleche est pour vous.

Apres la plage, nous avons file vers un restau la faim au ventre. Nous y avons savoure de delicieux crabes en terrace dans un cadre tres calme, dans la baie, au loin de la plage. Ce fut une belle journee.