Here are some of the last photos I plan to post from our October morning visit to La Rochelle. I took this photo of a map in a glass case on the street near the Tour de la Chaîne. It shows the layout of what is called the Quartier de la Chaîne and the location of some of the city's towers — there are actually five of them around the Vieux Port, if you include the Tour de l'Horloge.
I snapped this photo of a detail on the wall of the Tour de la Lanterne. I've been examining it for a couple of days, but I can't figure out what it represents or represented. I guess the salt air has caused it to deteriorate badly.
Finally, here are two views of the channel that leads into La Rochelle's old port and harbor. The tide was very low when I took the photos. I wonder how deep the channel actually is. Some fairly big ferries and tour boats call in at the port, as you can see. They ply the waters between La Rochelle and places like the Île d'Oléron and the Île d'Aix.
This reminds me of home, of course. The town where I was born and grew up, in North Carolina, is also a port city. The style of the buildings and the history of the place is very different from La Rochelle's, but the natural landscape is similar. I've posted photos I've taken on trips back there on many occasions, so you might know what I'm talking about.
I figure I'll go back to La Rochelle one day. We didn't go out to the Île de Ré this time, and we didn't go to nearby Rochefort. Those are places I'd like to see. And smell, and taste.
La corderie de Rochefort is an interesting place to visit. And l'Hermione!
ReplyDeleteI know, it must be interesting. I've tried for years to get myself there.
DeleteSeahorse?
ReplyDeleteI thought about that. It does look like a horse, I think. But it's hard to tell.
DeleteMy exchange student from Belgium last year told me that Île de Ré is a place that his family, and lots of Belgians, like to go :)
ReplyDeleteThe Île de Ré is a place where celebrities, called les people in French, like to spend summers and own résidences secondaires. Politicians, actors, pop stars... Ré is a little like the Luberon in Provence or places on the Côte d'Azur in that way.
DeleteYes, ocean smell is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of the ocean and salt air. We used to especially like the smell at low tide in Morehead.
DeleteJust read a mystery with a reference to the submarine pens at La Rochelle.
ReplyDelete