2023-05-15 18:09:47
Loud surf: the sound of the sea can be very loud at up to 100 decibels, for comparison: a jackhammer makes that much noise ten meters away.
Image: Frank Röth
Dangerous surf: If you want to realize your dream of a house by the sea, you should know how noisy the ocean can be.
SWe’ve had a little house on the Atlantic for a few years, I call it our “office” because we spend most of our time at our desks here too, but still: with the sea right in front of our noses. Back then, during the search, that was the sine qua non. The house could be old and dilapidated (and it was), but it had to be on the seafront, with no road or other house in between, and most importantly, where you could hear the surf.
That’s what my husband dreamed of. “Pieds dans l’eau” is the phrase to look for when searching, which is figurative in a uniquely French way: you live so close to the sea that you practically have your feet in the water. In the meantime, I would go so far as to say that the expression hides a whole way of life, because the French generally like to have their bare feet in the water at any time of the year or day: for snail hunting, swimming, surfing and going for walks. And while the weather seems to play a role, the water temperature clearly doesn’t.
#house #sea