Coincidence or fate? Serendipity or randomness?
I often find that once I make a decision and take the first step in that direction, the rest of the journey feels guided—almost as if the Universe were nodding in approval of my plans. Sometimes I’m aware of this serendipitous chain of events as it unfolds; other times, I only notice the invisible links in retrospect, as I reflect on recent adventures.
Recently, I had the chance to take a break from work and enjoy a change of scenery with a few days on the coast of Normandy. It’s only now, as I sit down to reflect on my latest reads, I realize just how guided I’ve been over the past few weeks. Without even meaning to, I’ve been reading—on and off—a novel perfectly in tune with my journey.
Here’s a little coastal inspiration to transport you into the world of travel rituals—real or imagined.
Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier
At the beginning of May, I got inspired by the cover of Tracy Chevalier’s 2009 novel, Remarkable Creatures. It’s been on my shelves for some time now, I feel I was saving it for the right time, and this was definitely it. Chevalier has become famous for her novel inspired by Vermeer’s masterpiece Girl with a Pearl Earring, but my love for her writing dates from her debut novel, Virgin Blue, of which I spoke here a few years ago (if you’ve missed it, you can read it and watch the video I made for it HERE and HERE as well).
This time, her love of history introduced me to one of the unsung female heroes of our culture : 19th century English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist Mary Anning. You see, I’ve never shown much interest in fossils, unless they’ve crystallized in all the pretty colours of the rainbow. So as I started reading the novel, I realised that I had no idea at what point we, as a civilization, realised that dinosaurs existed and that they were extinct. For a subject that seemed far from my usual area of curiosity, I was hooked from the first few pages.
Tracy Chevalier centers the novel around two historical characters that she brings to life with the magic of fiction : Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, a British fossil collector and amateur paleontologist herself, best known today for her collaboration and friendship with Anning. The chapters tell the story of their friendship and of Anning’s major discoveries on the coast of Dorset, while alternating both of their voices. This is a writing technique I always enjoy, since it gives a special dynamic to the read, and makes me immerse myself more in the story since I feel I’m intimately linked with not just one, but two characters. They become my friends, and for a few days, I share the same mental and emotional space as them, linked through the invisible threads of literature.
But this novel went deeper than history and dinosaurs. The story of two women driven by passion and knowledge, collided with patriarchy, with the quiet violence of a silenced gun. In a world that was just beginning to understand the vastness of its history, a woman had no place in the scientific societies. The simple fact of walking on your own, as a woman in the city, would turn heads and raise questions, so imagine having opinions and emitting hypotheses. Yet women have always had a discreet curiosity that was carefully silenced by society.
How many remarkable women that we shall never know, spent their days discovering, preserving, and interpreting beauty—whether in a library, on a beach, in a workshop or standing before the kitchen table. What do collecting fossils and the small rituals of daily life have in common ? Both are quiet acts of noticing, of shaping time through the discreet presence of spirit. And through the stories of these two exceptional women, Tracy Chevalier’s novel feels like an invitation to unearthing wonder in our lives, every single day.
The Quiet Presence of the Sea
The sea is the most discreet character of the novel: daily walks on the beach, hours spent hunting for fossils in the sand and cliffs, feeling the tides as intimately as your own breath. Without a single word, the sea shapes everything—eroding, revealing, silencing. Its rhythms mirror the characters’ inner lives, offering solace in repetition and clarity in solitude. Without spoiling the story for you, Elizabeth’s closing words are a sublime ode to companionship and communion with nature:
Mary Anning and I are hunting fossils on the beach, she her creatures, I my fish. Our eyes are fastened to the sand and rocks as we make our way along the shore at different paces, first one in front, then the other. Mary stops to split open a nodule and find what may be lodged within. I dig through clay, searching for something new and miraculous. We say very little, for we do not need to. We are silent together, each in her own world, knowing the other is just at her back.
– Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable Creatures
As I walked along the wild beaches of the Chausey archipelago—somewhere in the English Channel, just off the coast of Normandy—the sea felt familiar and comforting. For a moment, I was part of that world, sitting on a block of granite with a curious seagull at my side, staring into infinity. Whether it’s the glint of sunlight on wet seashells or the whisper of waves folding back into themselves, the sea becomes a constant companion, quietly witnessing change, grief, and wonder. In its vastness, there’s room to think, to dream, to let the weight of the past grow lighter with each wave.
The taste of the sea : a Sencha green tea Ritual
My seaside escape is slowly fading into memory, so before the emotions fade as well, I’m connecting them to rituals I can come back to, every time I feel the need to reconnect with the sea. And if I let my senses lead the way, I find myself in front of a cup of Sencha green tea.
Water at 70°C / 158°F, a teaspoon of dark green needles and three minutes of silence. The result is pure magic.
The light green potion smells like freshly cut grass, yet that first sip has the unmistakable taste of seaweed. This is a privilege reserved to Japanese green teas alone. And through this simple, pure taste, a world of sensations unravels in my mind :
…the trace of my toes on the sand…
…a fine line of foam that borders the wave coming toward me…
…the cry of a seagull…
…salt on my lips…
…a thousand shades of blue…
…and a place on the horizon where sea and sky are one.
Reading as Ritual, Nature as Guide
Reading Remarkable Creatures was like holding a seashell to my ear—I heard not just the story, but the echoes of women who walked before me, quietly making sense of the world. If you’re craving a gentle escape, a reminder of the beauty that lies in silence and observation, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
And maybe, after reading, you’ll find your own ritual to reconnect with the sea—whether near water or not. A walk, a cup of tea, a page turned slowly.
Let it be simple. Let it be sacred. Let it be yours.
Until next time, enjoy your reading and your rituals !
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June in Paris is a dream of blooming garde
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