Mark in one of La Rochelle’s innumerable arcades
La Rochelle was a real surprise and a treat. It’s a small city, population around 75,000, but the historic center, the old port, and the green spaces all pack a serious punch. I just thought it was one of the most beautiful urban places we’ve been.
Our hotel was perfectly situated, right next to a long, narrow-ish park with nice walking trails that led down to the coast, but also on the edge of the old town. The buildings in that area were all this old, faded yellowish-white, a couple stories high, many of them with block after block of arcades to protect you from … well, presumably heat and rain, but that was no issue for us. We continue to have just about perfect weather on this trip, now up in the mid-70s during the day but that of course is totally pleasant.
The lovely park right near our hotel
Our first full day in town we rented bikes and rode out to Île de Ré, a cute not-so-little island just off the coast. It’s connected to the mainland by a bridge that runs a bit over a mile, and I had this vision of some long, flat, easy-to-bike motorway. Yeah, not exactly – it was a pretty strenuous climb up and up and up before we could head down and out to the island. Once there the biking was nice, the food was great, and then we turned around and biked home.
Mark biking towards an abandoned abbey on Île de Ré
There’s one fun piece of history from La Rochelle. Back in the 17th century it was a major center of the Huguenot (French Protestant) cause. But when Louis XIV reversed Henry IV’s Edict of Nantes and took away the Protestant’s civil rights, a bunch of Huguenots boarded ships and settled what became the very French town of New Rochelle a little north of Manhattan. And just coincidentally, a bunch of our closest friends in New York live in New Rochelle. So we had a wonderful little time in the Mother City!
The courtyard of La Rochelle’s old city hall
The old port is a bustling and beautiful part of the city
The streets of La Rochelle
Evening in La Rochelle
A beautiful farmer’s market right in the center of everything
Our friend Shideh had told Mark that the oysters here were some of the best in the world. We tried them … and she was right!
As usual we continue to have amazing meals here, including this soft-poached egg on something like ratatouille, with some tapenade and parmesan crisp on the side. And that was just the start!
Here I am getting ready to tackle that bridge out it Île de Ré
The abandoned abbey on the island
More scenery from the ride
Lunch al fresco on the island
Not to be confused with lunch al fresco back in La Rochelle
A nightcap on our little balcony
Breakfast was in a beautiful little garden behind our hotel
One more shot of the bustling old port
And then, just when you think you’ve seen it all … the bathroom at our lunch stop on the bike ride was this crazy mirrored room with the oddest toilet and water tank we’ve ever seen.