Pointe Saint-Clément

Here's a view of the road at the Pointe St.-Clément outside of Esnandes where we saw the fishing cabins (yesterday's post). The land rises up at this spot and there's a good view out over the bay and toward the ocean. We saw a few people up at the overlook and a camper parked down by the marsh. Otherwise we were alone with the birds.

Looking west out over the bay toward the Atlantic Ocean.

We walked around for a few minutes and took some photos and let Tahsa run off leash a little. She had been such a good dog in La Rochelle, she deserved a little freedom. But soon we were in the car again heading back to the rental house with a stop at a supermarket for a few things.

A view of the point, the marsh, and north into the bay toward the mouth of the Sèvre Niortaise River.

It was a long day and a lot of car-riding, but the beautiful weather made it worth it. When we got back to the house, Ken cooked the fish he found in the market that morning for our supper. We saved the oysters for the next day.

Pêcherie sur pilotis

After our lunch on the port in La Rochelle, we decided to get out of Dodge and head north along the coast. I saw a place on the map, about fifteen kilometers north, where the road went right down to the water. I thought it would be nice to see the ocean and maybe walk on a beach. We saw the ocean, but the beach was mostly mud flats.

Pêcheries with their big square nets poised to be lowered into the water, but not until the tide comes back in.

We got off the main road toward a town called Esnandes. The road lead us through town and toward the beach. As we got closer, a cliff rose up on our left and a large marsh extended off to our right. At the waterfront, the road wound up to the top of the cliff where there was a parking lot and an view point.

The mud flats were beautiful, and we saw a lot of different shore birds feeding on them.

To our surprise, we could see a few pêcheries in the form of big wooden piers built out into the flats. Each had small cabin at the end and the mechanisms for lowering big square nets called carrelets into the water at high tide. I've seen these on television many times, but I think it's the first time I've seen them in person. They're pretty typical along the Atlantic coast from this point south toward Bordeaux.

La Rochelle and Esnandes are not in the Vendée department where our rental house was located. This is the Charente-Maritime, but the border between the two is very close.

A couple more

Just a couple of random views of the old port at La Rochelle. We made our way back along the edge of the port looking for a place to eat lunch. We had scoped out a place earlier and it turned out to be where we ended up.

Part of the old port seen from the base of the Tour de la chaine.

We were a little early which gave us a chance to choose our table so that we'd be out of the way with the dog. Once installed, we each had a glass of pineau des Charentes. It's a fortified wine, like sherry or vermouth, that originated in that region, made by adding cognac (brandy) to grape juice and allowing it to mature. It's relatively sweet and is served chilled.

The marina and sailboats, looking east.

For lunch, we each ordered a pizza reine, my favorite pizza, with ham, mushrooms, and cheese. They were a little bigger than a typical French one-person pizza, but we both finished with no leftovers. Tasha got a little crust that just happened to "fall" to the ground.

The two towers

No, not Minas Morgul and Orthanc. A little "Lord of the Rings" humor there. These are the towers that guard the entrance to the old port at La Rochelle. The taller one is the Tour Saint-Nicolas (Saint Nicholas Tower), the shorter is the Tour de la chaine (Chain Tower). Both were built in the 14th century.

Walking along the city wall from the Lantern tower toward the Saint-Nicolas and Chain towers.

The Chain Tower gets it name from the iron chain that was stretched across the entrance to the port between the two towers to keep marauders out. Portions of the chain still exist and are on display outside the tower. I managed not to get a photo of that.

The two towers seen from outside the old port.

Again, both towers are open to the public with historical exhibits inside, but we stayed out with Tasha. Besides, lunch time was fast approaching. I posted a photo of these two towers seen from inside the port last Sunday.

Tour de la lanterne

I may have confused things yesterday when I wrote that the entrance to the port at La Rochelle is flanked by two towers. I showed two towers in the photo, but they aren't the ones I was referring to. I'll get back to those. This is the Tower of the Lantern, not far from the port entrance, on the ocean side and western extremity of the old city. A tower of one sort or another has stood on this site since the early thirteenth century, but the current configuration is more recent. Like the fifteenth century.

The ocean's to the left, the old city is behind the wall on the right.

This tower is connected to the others by a fortified rampart. We walked out on the ocean side and then back along the wall, on the city side. The interior of the tower is open to visitors, but we stayed outside since Tasha was with us.

Looking up. See the gargoyle, center left?

I read that the tower was renovated and cleaned a couple of years ago, explaining why the stone is such a brilliant white right now. The tower was part of the fortification of the old city and also served as a lighthouse, hence the name lanterne.

The old port

We visited La Rochelle on a Monday. The day was gorgeous, weather-wise, and it was the first day of a two-week school vacation. There were a lot of people out. A lot of kids. People with dogs. Bicyclists. The main streets around the port were closed off to traffic, except for buses. It felt like summer.

Looking west: the tower in the distance on the left is the Tour de la lanterne (the lantern tower), a vestige of the city's medieval fortifications. The tower on the right is the Porte de la grosse horloge (the clock tower gate) which leads into the old city.

Tasha was behaving very well, and she can be forgiven for the occasional bark at a passing dog. We walked around the west side of the port down to where it connects with a channel to the ocean. There, the entrance to the port is flanked by two towers. Cafés and restaurants facing the port were bustling with people having coffee and apéritifs. It was about an hour until lunch time and we were getting hungry. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

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.