La Rochelle

On the train to La Rochelle, I sat next to a French man who I think was around 60 years old. He was very nice and gave me lots of tips for La Rochelle and the number of an acquaintance in La Rochelle who does something with boats. Unfortunately, my French is not yet that great, so I don't necessarily understand everything. But somehow I always make the right impression and my answers are not completely off the mark 😂

I was very well accommodated and had a perfect tour guide, so I didn't need anything, but it was so important to him and actually very sweet and accommodating.

At the train station, Elisabeth picked me up and greeted me with joy. Oh, that felt good after the time in Toulouse. We sat comfortably on the balcony with coffee and cake and updated each other. Later, we went to a bar at the harbor, where Elisabeth's band had a performance. Wow, I didn't expect that 🥰. 3 women with beautiful voices and a guitarist sweetened the evening for me, it was incredible. 

On Sunday, we made a short detour through La Rochelle and stocked up on delicacies at the market. Then we went to Île de Ré, a small neighboring island. I had my personal tour guide there and learned a lot about the island. We had a picnic by the sea in beautiful weather. To finish off, we went to a café at the small harbor. Shortly afterwards, we randomly met some of Elisabeth's friends, who joined us for a while before leaving the island by boat. It's crazy, there's always a surprise waiting for me here. 

With all the experiences, I completely forgot the phone number that I still had in my pocket. Since La Rochelle is not that big, I thought maybe Elisabeth knows him. Yes, she knows him, but not just her, but the whole of La Rochelle: he is the mayor of La Rochelle, and he also has something to do with boats (the family has a shipyard). Yes, I would have loved to see my face after this realization. 

Thank you for the wonderful time in La Rochelle and the amazing and hospitable people I met there and on the way there. I'm still completely amazed and impressed.