La Rochelle

The first thing we did on our way out of town was to drop a finished book off 

 These fishermen were catching little fresh water crayfish

Nope !

The second thing was coffee and croissants 

Then the third thing was to get hopelessly lost on the way out of town. When I asked this lady where the Velo route to La Rochelle was she turned her bike around and took us 2kms out of her way to show us

Smith opologises for his comments about women and directions

 It was all farm lanes at the beginning

Back on the coast at Chatelaillon-Plage. La Rochelle looked close but was still 15kms away

We pretty well follow the beach from here on. Touristy area, even had a canine train driver

I don't think schools are on holiday yet as we haven't seen a lot of children. Just a school class I think

The first part of La Rochelle we enter is its MASSIVE marina. 4800 boats roughly

Then some famous landmarks like the medieval lantern tower. A light house that used a fire on it for light

And next to it, the towers protecting the harbour. The one on the left is the chain tower. It housed a mechanism that lowered and raised a chain to stop unwanted ships

The one on the right was a fortress. It's a lovely old town with lots of seafood restaurants 

Tonight we're in an Ibis budget hotel. Very nice too and great for a train nerd like me. Christine wasn't as keen on them though