La Rochelle…

Ok, more of what we know:-

- French men look good in shorts

- French men play pétanque

- French people in general are very patriotic (the win at rugby last night shook the city)

- It’s hard to tell gay French men apart from straight French men. They all look good whether they are in shorts, playing pétanque, or just being patriotic about rugby.

Yesterday we continued our French adventure - we’d made it as far as the beautiful port of La Rochelle. (Nearby Île de Ré is on our list for next time). 

We loved La Rochelle. We really did.  It was vibrant, pretty, full of history (as ports often are), and it even had its glitzy bits. 

What’s more Stuart was delighted we’d visited his childhood Tricolore textbook city of choice. 😅

Our walking tour (we like walking, we really do) took in:-

La Rochelle market (built in 1836!)

Old Town (delightful, great patisseries)

Maubec door (we knocked, they answered)

Saint-Louis Cathedral (big and with very snazzy stained glass)

Big Clock (it was running slow)

Old Port (buzzing)

Lantern Tower (173 steps, it was damned high)

Chain Tower (only 162 steps but with a nice museum)

Saint Nicholas Tower (172 steps - it was so confusing, Escher would have loved it)

Marina (big, calm, and a Eurythmics cover band were warming up)

Park of the Fathers (dogging aplenty!)

Lighthouse at the End of the World (quite the photo opportunity)

Back in the port we ate, we drank, we chatted with the locals. My French must be improving. No laughing at my accent - just my jokes! Haha. 

Great weekend break destination if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods.