Île de Ré to Rochefort: the BIG bridge!



This was the day we crossed the 3 km long, and very high bridge from Île de Ré to La Rochelle.  Some had crossed earlier in gale force winds and so a concerted effort was made to avoid another crossing. The ferry had stopped for the season 🙁.  The bus didn’t take bikes ☹️.  Swimming didn’t seem like a good plan. We therefore set off in the cool morning mist with some trepidation. We found the trail easily for once and before we knew it we were OVER the bridge and everyone agreed that it wasn’t that bad, and boy, did we deserve a café crème!

We stopped in the beautiful old town after traversing the Saturday marché for a little rest and tasty coffee.  




We traveled along the old port and then towards the coast for some more beautiful views.  The route continued to wind through suburbs, small towns and fields. 

We stopped for a lunch on the beach in the sand just before the town of Châtelaillon-Plage. We chatted with a young man who was curious about our rear view mirrors (as many in France are) and read Sartre at a nearby table. We watched a nun in full habit frolicking in the surf!  John seemed fascinated by the fact that she had ankles! Cindy loved her first encounter with the Atlantic Ocean from the right side. 




In Rohan we had some difficulty finding our night’s lodging but got a brief tour of the city because of it. 

That night we celebrated Cindy’s birthday at the port-side restaurant Cap Nell.  Wonderful food and atmosphere. Lauran spent 10 minutes figuring out whether it was culturally acceptable to ask to take her leftovers home and then practicing how to ask in French.  The waiter said, “normally we just say doggy bag”.  😝. 

Another excellent day!  Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Big French people:


Cute sign:




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