La Rochelle 2

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Our first full day in la Rochelle was spent exploring the historic part of the city, that part around the harbour. We went to the three main medieval towers, the Tower of St Nicholas, the Chain Tower and the Lantern Tower. Each had a different function in the protection of the harbour in days past.

The Tower of St Nicholas was constructed in two stages in the 14th Century, the first developed a lean in the soft silt and had to be stabilised before the second was added. The structure is built around an amazing labyrinth of stone spiral staircases. One of these staircases is a "double helix", that is two staircases entwined so that two people could use it, one going up and the other down, and not cross paths. The second tower, the Chain Tower, is so named because it was the anchor point for a heavy chain which was drawn across the harbour entrance at night. It is a cylindrical structure, lower and simpler than its partner tower and today houses a museum dedicated to the settlement of Canada by French immigrants, especially the "King's Girls", orphan girls recruited to start families for France in the new world. The last tower, the Lantern Tower is some distance away, along an old sea wall and is the only medieval lighthouse surviving in Europe. It was used for many purposes including a store for the weapons of ships disarmed before they entered the harbour, and a prison. It has much old graffiti from the prisoners held over the years.

On our second day the weather was not kind to us so we decided to go and see a film. We discovered that films coded VF are "Version Francaise" (dubbed in French) and those coded VOST are "Version Original Sub-Titled" (original language with French subtitles). We saw the VOST version of "Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close". It was entertaining but the real bonus was the cinema manager. He was a character, giving his unabridged opinions on upcoming films as the trailers showed on a TV screen in the lobby of his small cinema. He was honestly critical of most, saying they were "no good". Strange for someone in the business of filling his cinema with patrons! Cinema tickets in France are half the price in Australia.

We had been told that Ile de re, an island off la Rochelle, was a must to visit. We took the number 3 bus outside the Gare (railway station) and enjoyed the journey through the newer parts of the city as it made its way to a massive bridge which crosses to the island. If you know the island of Rottnest, off Perth, then Ile de re is similar only about ten times larger. There is a strict building code enforced ensuring that buildings, with their surrounding walls, retain traditional whitewash exteriors and grey or green shutters. The buildings are all quite low. There are farms between the villages and small ports on the island. It is a kind of holiday destination but with a resident population of about 18000. We stopped at two settlements, both small ports. The first was Port de la Flotte, a picturesque rectangular harbour with high stone walls and a small community built around meandering narrow streets. The second, St Martin de Re, is the capital of the island and like Port de la Flotte only bigger. It's harbour is larger, with two rectangular sections. The town is enclosed by the most impressive bastion defence system. From the air it looks likes a half star, with 8 metre walls and smaller man-made triangular islands in the moat. It was designed so that defenders could shoot at attackers from multiple angles. If you're reading this, get a Google image or map of the town, you'll be amazed. Vauban, the engineer and designer, created at least 12 other such sites, all listed as World Heritage.

On our last day in la Rochelle I went for a long bike ride, exploring further afield in the new part of town. There are very pretty public gardens and a long gardened avenue ending in an impressive war memorial. Dianne walked the old town again, immersed in the atmosphere. We left on the 12:28 train for Bordeaux, sad to leave beautiful la Rochelle behind.

Some things we remember; the especially helpful staff of the Office d Tourisme (especially Florent, a New Caledonian studying in la Rochelle), the apartment with the sloping ceiling, the fabulous night views of the harbour, the amazing architecture and streetscapes and the journey to la Rochelle with Patricia and co, and much more...

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