La Rochelle

After a 5+ hour drive we had made it from Carcassonne through Bordeaux’s wine country and into the port of La Rochelle. Located about two hours north of Bordeaux on the west coast.

On our drive Mom decided we should take a small detour that estimated to add 20 minutes to our drive but instead added an hour. We stopped at a town called Saint Emillion, known for its vineyards. Naturally we partook in tasting some Bordeaux wines, and Mom even walked away with some fois gras. Overall, it was well worth the extra time.

We only had a few days in La Rochelle, our first being Mom’s birthday which we celebrated on Ile de Ré, the island off the coast. Just a quick drive and mile long bridge and we were there. We stopped first at a town called La Flotte, where we are walked around and took in the sights.

Just outside the main harbor we stopped for an amazing lunch. In France they do a special menu, for a pretty good price. We both got appetizers, entrees, wine, and then dessert if we wanted. All for just over $50. Not too bad for two people.

After eating so much we needed to walk, and so we did. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect and we could see the mainland too.

We stopped at another small town on the island and naturally ended up shopping. Some shops were very touristy, while others were way out of our price range.

The last stop was at the tip of the island to see the old lighthouse. Another gorgeous sight, and to look out and see nothing but the Atlantic Ocean was astounding too. It was the first time for me I’ve been able to look back at America from the other side of the ocean.

The second day we decided to explore Cognac, which was about an hour outside of La Rochelle. Mom had been researching our family tree and learned that a portion of the family (in the 1600s) were from the La Rochelle and Cognac area. Several of which left through La Rochelle and travelled to the New World.

You can see all the huge cognac houses when you drive in. Hennessy, Remy Martin, Martel and others. We had decided to tour an older cognac house that was in a Château dated back to the 10th century. King Francis the First also spent a lot of time at this Château. Even though we have seen so many chateaus all over France, we still are not tired of them.

The tour continued and we got to see where the cognac is kept and learned all about the process of making cognac, which was definitely new to me. It’s a blend of eau de vie and each bottle is created with eau de vie from more recent eras to years ago. Some cognacs have eau de vie dating back to the mid 1800s!

I will say that even though I learned a lot about cognac, it didn’t help me appreciate the taste. It is a strong liquor and if you can’t get past that then it’s hard to enjoy. Mom did better than I did with the tasting. She was able to enjoy it much more than me.

Fast forward to the next and last day in La Rochelle. We decided to actually go see La Rochelle since we hadn’t yet. There were a couple museums we wanted to go to and of course see the harbor and towers.

The first museum was located in an actual German WWII bunker, in the middle of the city. The Germans occupied La Rochelle for almost 5 years during the war and it was one of the last areas to be liberated.

The museum gave a better idea of how a bunker works, as far as living conditions and air flow. The ceiling, flooring, and many of the doors were original, not to mention all the artifacts from WWII. The museum lead you from when La Rochelle was first occupied, the Vichy government and the resistance, the German U-boats and when the Allies liberated the city.

In fact, the Germans who were in the bunker were part of the German Navy and when they took La Rochelle they immediately started building a U-boat pen for the all the submarines. The pen is still around today but closed to the public, although you can see if from different points in the city except for the old city.

That U-boat pen and the area was one of the locations for movies Das Boot and Raiders of the Lost Arc. To me it’s very interesting to see all these artifacts and gain a better appreciation of WWII. Although it was way before my lifetime, it wasn’t for my grand parents who fought in the war.

By the end of the day we had made it to the old harbor which is the home of the only medieval light house still around.

As a mountain girl I have never spent much time around a port or harbor and boy was it cool. Boats everywhere! Sail boats! Motor boats! Ferry boats! Oh my!

I can also say that I learned something new about my mother while in La Rochelle. She used to sail! You read that right, Doni was a sailor as a young girl. Being around all the boats, especially sail boats, she recounted the stories of sailing when she was younger with my grandfather. She also told me about the time she and a friend in Grenoble rented a sail boat and sailed the Mediterranean.

I, however, was not to keen to jump into a sail boat. Mom and I get along great and travel very well together, but our teamwork is not always up to snuff. At that moment in the harbor I could foresee the future, and I saw myself and mom in the water from the boat tipping over or mom forgetting to tell me to duck, and then all of France laughing at us. Nope. That was not happening on my watch.

After accepting our future in nautical affairs was slim we went back to our apartment. The next day we were driving north into Brittany and making camp in Saint Malo.

Stay tuned for more. I hope to post more pictures from La Rochelle soon.