See The World

with BILL'S EYES

There were cooks and cleaners housed in this 'two person' motor hotel with queen sized boudoir, chef's kitchen, cocktail bar, 6 person dining setting and disco platform.

Pétanque and roller boards in play - each with the same endeavor.

La Rochelle is replete with boats/yacht/vessels.

The obligatory ramparts and fort on the harbor entrance.

Peugeot motor vehicles are popular but not as popular as this classic model.

The sky and sea make for a picture that yatch and boat owners will appreciate.

Yachts everywhere.

Interesting city streets.

Our digs for the night with yet more yachts in the background.

Day 23 begins in La Rochelle (thankfully because I do not remember moving the van during the night). We intend traveling at least 300 kms today but we will see.

We also needed to re-stock, so one of our requirements for the day was to find a supermarket that we figured would be best found in or near a larger city, which from experience is an experience in itself.

It is raining this morning and it is hard to get going as the two cups of coffee, breakfast and catching up on Facebook is always a treat that is hard to forego. 

In fact the coffee ritual is an interesting one in the van. Since we do not always have electricity and we have a gas cooktop the van included an Espresso maker (mocha pot) that requires the cold water reservoir to be filled and the coffee grounds basket to be filled and then placed on the gas burner until the water has been converted to steam pushing through the ground coffee and percolating using steam pressure into the container above the water container. It is helpful to understand that the coffee is not instant and more importantly is percolated so it is strong and GOOOOOD.

More importantly it is my duty to prepare the mocha pot the evening before so that all I need to do is take it from its storage place and plonk it on the gas burner and eagerly await the percolation to stop. I like doing this task as the coffee smell is part of the ritual and Lee often makes the dinner so it only seems fair that she enjoys a freshly percolated coffee in bed each morning.

Well there are lots of good reasons to delay our start but there are kilometers to travel and only so much of the day in which to do them. Well as it turns out we are well on our way (just before 11:00 am) and the route we chose is smooth and productive as the kilometers melt away and we are soon in Nantes. Right in the inner suburbs of Nantes, indeed the less desirable suburbs of Nantes, that our GPS has lead us to, in search of a supermarket. Well parking in the streets is not an option and neither in the shop parking area so we recalculate another supermarket on the outskirts of Nantes which at least is in the general direction we want to go after this large metropolis.

I take a juncture here to speak of the towns and cities we encounter along the way. Our map (the daily source of information about the geography of France) indicates cities and towns in equally non-descriptive dots and circles and it is a bit of a lottery as to what the dot or circle actually represents, and in the case of Nantes, we know it is a city but we have no idea how expansive it is and no idea that we should have avoided it at all costs.

None-the-less we live and learn and the GPS takes us to a Lidl, which is a British supermarket chain in France, that we hope will have what we need. Suffice to say it has alcohol and some of what we need, so we are happy enough and have a lunch of fresh baguette, meat and cheese - again in the parking lot.

Our great sacrifices are soon worth it, as we find and ensconce ourselves in the little seaside town of Port Louis (you may need to use Google maps to find it on the Brittany coast of France South of Lorient). 

Here is the interesting part, we jump on our bikes to see more of the town. Seems that a precident has been set and bikes are a legitimate form of transport to see the sights, indeed more sights than would be capable on foot alone. The pictures reveal the beauty and pleasant surroundings that we encounter. We make it back to the van as we have done a great circle about the coastline of this seaside township and the Aires await us, and although we do not have mains power again tonight we are able to create a lovely meal and a relaxing evening which leads to an early night as we put over 300 kms behind us today.

Day 22 is Mothers Day, at least Australia, since we we saw no evidence that it was so in France, and we had arranged to Skype the family their late afternoon on Mothers Day in Australia. It was great to see and speak with all the family (sort of all at the same time), one set located in Adelaide and the other in Darwin 3000 kms to the North both in Australia and we were in Bordeaux France. I have a detailed knowledge of the technology of communications but it is still a wonderment to me and more so when I see the gleeful faces of my grandchildren and hear their chatter while they view our sleepy faces having just woken up.

We are off to the sea, the Atlantic Sea this time and which seaside town is still under discussion, but we head off in the North Easterly direction from Bordeaux. Being in a Camper Van is great on many levels but it still needs to be driven from place to place and there will be a variety of roads to be navigated, including the toll-ways which eat up your money but are preferable to the secondary roads if you want to get some kilometers out of the way. The toll-ways are however monotonous and the views limited, so we try to use them when we think we have to. Do not get me wrong, the toll-ways provide 130 kmh travel speeds and are of a high standard with Aires (break stops most with petrol stations and eateries, rest areas for cars, camper vans and trucks) which are plentiful, well maintained and well sign posted.

La Rochelle is the place we end up at after about 2 and half hours of driving and an extra hour of fluffing about which included a diversion of sorts getting out of Bordeaux and visiting Rochefort but being disappointed with Rochefort since it is supposed to be a city of interest in the Bordeaux region and did not look and feel very wine orientated or have any features of that took our interest.

However, our simple need to see and touch the sea, resulted in us choosing well, since the town of La Rochelle is much larger than we anticipated and on Sunday the streets and areas about the harbor were full of families and couples enjoying the low-twenties temperatures and overcast sky walking about the picturesque surroundings. Lee expertly located an Aries and we used to our bikes to explore the township. This was the second time we have jumped on bikes and it worked out very well, since we saw much more than if we had walked and the freedom of the bikes allowed us to take some routes that we would otherwise have not. Indeed when we think back there were not many townships that we had previously visited that would have been ideal for biking but this one was prefect, mainly because there we no hills.

The pictures associated with this post are not the best representation of this township but you get a feel for the marine influence and of course we took time out to enjoy a beer and soak up this French seaside atmosphere. The waiter of the busy outside restaurant took umbrage at us putting our bikes down next to the tables of his domain, but soon changed his attitude when I asked for two large beers. We then had the bikes nearby and the beers in hand and everything was fine. 

We wanted to have a meal of fish and chips but it seemed that most of the restaurants were closing up shop as the time hit 6 p.m. so we had to forego that desire and head back to the Camper Van and a delicious meal of sausages purchased while we were in Bordeaux, onions and asparagus. Lee is certainly skillful when it comes to making meals but I am sure she would prefer to be eating out more often.

The Aires we are staying at is near the quays and we are in the designated bays but many camper vans are not in those designated bays at the risk of a 35 Euro fine. Tomorrow we are off towards Mont Saint-Michael but will not make it in one day. Oh the pressure of finding somewhere to stay tomorrow night.

More beer but with cheese this time. Pity it is from Belgium but could not find any local beer.

The sand and sea of La Rochelle.

Could not help but take a picture of a self reliant CamperVan with wind powered booster for the digital devices and a heated toilet seat as well.

The imposing mid-19th century battlement at the entrance to the city.

A much better picture of the sights of Port Louis.

The best way to view the sights is over the froth of a beer or two.

Port Louis is a haven for the not so famous with yachts.