Joyce and I were up early, the sun doesn't rise till 7:45am, very strange to be so dark till so late. Breakfast and packing all done and out the door for 9am. Bert and I took our bags and went for the car - it has been parked all the time we were at San Sebastián so it cost a little to get it out but that was ok.
Loaded Bob and Joyce at the apartment and set off through the maze of roads and bridges, roundabouts and overpasses. 26kms to the French border, there some very heavily armed guards - obviously looking for someone but not us.. Paid a toll of €1.70 and we were in France, no passport control at all.
Motorway'd most of the way, both Bob and Bert drove to share the work. It was long day in the car and we got here safe.
Our little cottage is very cute and very French - with a simple kitchen and minimalist decoration. Parked in the street - free!!! Bert, Joyce and I went to the Carrefour (supermarket) and got some supplies in for tea, Bert and I headed down to scout out the town and beach area.
This is a few shots we took downtown La Rochelle - more pics tomorrow. Found some fantastic French food shops on the way home, the butchers and patisserie... Had a small selection of deserts for the patisserie, very nice. The food in France is unexplainable - you have to see it to believe it and the way the shops display their produce - needs to be seen.
Relaxing and slowing down for 5 nights here. Oh the beach is only a few blocks away too, so walks there at night are on the agenda, the sun sets very suddenly between 8:00 and 8:30pm...
