Travel Day

I did a lot more than travel today, but that’s all I’m blogging about for now.

My bus to Tours left after 7am so I was up early and looked outside. Nothing there! So I checked the local forecast, and it assured me there would be sun. Somebody messed up.

Bundled up in three layers plus two coats, I headed to the train station. You can see in this photo that the chateau and tower are gone.

It surprised me how the fog accentuated all the bird nests in the trees. The birds were singing like crazy, trying to get the sun to appear. I was on their side. You can see a couple of birds sitting and singing in the right hand side of the tree.

It was cool watching the headlights coming out of the fog. This trip took a different route from my last bus ride to Tours. It was probably what we would refer to as the milk run. It went off the main road and through interesting towns, making many stops along the way. Quite a few young people (students?) got on, and when we stopped at the hospital in Tours many people got off. Maybe this was a commuter run, because of the time of day.

By the time we got to Tours the sun had burned through the fog. I am still impressed by the train station in Tours and I took several photos to prove it. Look at that blue sky!

Check out the gold decoration.

In the train station I saw the proverbial puppy in a handbag, and I asked the woman if I could take a photo of her puppy. She agreed. Here he is. he doesn’t look thrilled. Whether it’s because he’s in a handbag or because I’m taking his picture, we’ll never know.

And then my train came up so I boogied quickly. I wanted a photo before it filled with people.

This is a regional train with no reserved seats. This particular one goes from Tours to St. Pierre des Corps, a trip of about 4 minutes. There I changed trains for the approximately 2 hour trip to La Rochelle. That train was crowded, had reserved seats, and I didn’t get a picture. I was in the very last car and had to go under the rail line to get to the right track.

We arrived in La Rochelle without incident and it gave me a warm welcome.

I had looked at La Rochelle on Google Maps beforehand so knew where to go to get to the hotel.

Here’s my room at the Hotel Saint Jean d’Acre.

I was in the bathroom for ten minutes before I realized there was no toilet. It’s in another room. I’ll never get used to that.

Here’s the lobby and where I wait to get into the breakfast room.

And the lobby.

I don’t understand the decor but it’s interesting. You’ll never feel alone here. Okay, I can’t help myself. Here are my first impressions pictures of La Rochelle. It is take-your-breath-away beautiful! I was clicking pictures here, there and everywhere. La Rochelle is the kind of city where you could break your ankle on a cobble stone because you feel like you have to look in every direction (except where you’re walking) at once.

Well maybe one more picture. My fabulous salad at an outdoor cafe.

And my view of the person scaling a stone wall. The waitress said it was for repairs.

Love to you all.