Rochefort and Ile de Re

After checking in to the hotel, small but nice rooms in a quiet setting, we met for a walk into town. We met two British cyclists who had just taken a bike trip in the Pyrenees. They were fun to talk with. They directed us down a path near the river past a ship into town. We set off and came upon an old wrecked ship. Further along the path was a much larger ship complete with tall masts and a mermaid-type figure on the front. We turned into the town through an arch and noted it’s not as picturesque as Saint-Emilion. We found one of Maria’s recommended restaurants but it was full and couldn’t take us. We ended up wandering a bit in a somewhat seedy area, but finally found the La Route des Epices, which turned out to be delightful. It was staffed by Vietnamese who spoke very little English. Sue didn’t like the eggplant appetizer as much as Julie did, but Mary’s shrimp spring rolls were great. Julie had steak frite, Sue and Mary had roast chicken over mashed potatoes with delicious honey sauce, and Nick had chicken curry. The portions were generous and tasty. We left talking about returning tomorrow. 

We walked back along the same route and noted the extremely long building running parallel to the river near our hotel. The English guys suggested it is a barracks but Wikipedia suggests it is the “Rope Factory (corderie), at over 370 metres long for centuries the longest manufacturing building in the world.” Rochefort was established as a place of refuge, defense and supply for the French navy in 1665 and served as a naval base until 1926. Napoleon surrendered from a ship near here where he had hoped to escape to America. We enjoyed a nightcap and again met up with our English friends before heading to bed. 

Thursday morning we had breakfast (pancakes on the buffet!) and boarded the bus for the 50-minute ride to Ile de Re. To get there we crossed a 3-kilometer bridge that Maria said had the priciest toll in France to keep the riff-raff out. We passed two smaller villages and came to the capital, Saint Martin, an old fortified city with lots of walls and fortifications still standing. It has lots of interesting history as a port where prisoners were shipped to French Guinea in exchange for spices. Now it is a resort town where wealthy French take holidays. On the outskirts of town were several herds of apparently wild donkeys, some of them were so mangy they looked like they had dreadlocks. When we arrived, the tide was out and the many boats were sitting on a mudflat. By the time we left, they were able to sail out of the harbor into the sea. It was a beautiful blue sea topped by an even bluer sky. The weather was a warm 73 degrees with little breeze. Sue regretted her choice of heavy jeans, and Julie was glad she left her jacket on the bus. 

We picked up an unhelpful map at the tourist office and set out exploring. We went to a lighthouse, church and medieval gate. We read many interesting signs scattered through the town. We saw the fortified walls on both sides of town. We did some shopping in the narrow cobbled streets and ate lunch in a lovely cafe. Sue and Julie had very large hamburgers that were made up of minced, not ground, beef. They were topped with loads of cheddar and Roquefort cheese. We were joined by Helen and David from our tour and enjoyed swapping stories with them. Then we set off walking, shopping and exploring again. We picked up some Fleur de Sel that they are famous for and some seasoned Fleur de Sel that Maria recommended. She explained how they make the flaky salt that they get from the area salt marshes. We had ice cream and Sue had a delicious caramel with Fleur de Sel. We watched several sailboats heading out and stopped for cold beers. After a very memorable day in a beautiful setting, we boarded the bus at 4 pm and headed back to Rochefort. 

For dinner we walked to L’Art Doise, recommended by Helen and David. We had to translate the menu off a chalkboard. The place was filled with art and funky sculptures. The food was unexpected from what we pictured but delicious. We had a Julie favorite dessert - profiterole - to top it all off. We got bitten by mosquitoes on our walk home so enjoyed a nightcap in Sue and Nick’s room rather than out on the terrace. Tomorrow we head for Nantes after a stop in La Rochelle.