La Rochelle

We drove about an hour to the historic port city of La Rochelle. The weather was spectacularly sunny and warm. Our first stop was at the old central market hall where we hoped to buy some fresh fish for dinner. The cooler and ice blocks were in the trunk. As we got into the center of town, the streets narrowed down considerably, as they do.

The old fishing port at La Rochelle, now home to mostly pleasure boats, ferries, and cruisers. We arrived at low tide.

We found a parking spot about a block from the market. The parking meter was of a kind I hadn't seen before. It required me to type in our license plate number before paying. There was no ticket to display on the car's dashboard. The parking patrol scans the license plates on the street and their computer tells them who has paid and who has not.

The dog and I wandered around the market stands outside the hall while Ken went inside to find a fish monger. Tasha was very excited to be in a place bustling with people and dogs and activity all around. Ken found a fish stand and got a couple of beautiful dorades royales (sea bream) that the vendor scaled and filleted for him. When he came out, we stopped at an oyster stand for a couple dozen oysters. Into the cooler it all went and we headed down to the waterfront for a walk around the old port.