La Rochelle by Land

I’ve taken so many photos in the last two days that I must divide them. If they all went into one blog post the internet would break. I’m going to start with La Rochelle by land, ie non-sea photos. They’re not in any particular order – I’ve been running around snapping here and there, and have overwhelmed myself.

It’s a beautiful city and there seems to be serious intention to stay that way. They are working hard everywhere and it’s very clean. This area is pedestrians and bikes only, with exceptions for delivery vehicles and buses, though I might be wrong because that looks like a car.

I went for a walk early this morning and found a pigeon admiring this tree, so I admired it too. If I’d waited one more second we would have a flying pigeon shot.

This is a shopping area beside a large square called Place de Verdun. There are yummy things here.

Like macarons!a beautiful desserts!And lots of chocolate. I thought the red shoe in the window seemed very French.I must have really liked this guy because I took several pictures of him and his horse, but I didn’t make a note of his name. This is the Grosse Horloge (really big clock) on one of the original city gates. It rings and tells people what time it is. It’s also a great way to figure out where you are when you’re lost.I just liked this house. Don’t know what it is.

Early in the morning the pedestrian only area is really quiet. It feels very safe here.My room looked out onto this building. The words in stone at the top say Marche au Poisson but it’s really La Coursive (National Stage) where they present top calibre entertainment from around the world. I was inside when I didn’t have a camera and then when I came back it was locked. Sorry.There are many, many restaurants in the Vieux Port area. It appears they’re all doing pretty well too. I had to go in off hours to get a photo without people. This is the market. They have one every day! Each morning you can get anything you need here.I took this photo just because it’s beautiful. It’s a notary office. This bicycle belongs to a mail courier. I don’t think there’s any crime here! She leaves it to make her deliveries and when she comes back it’s still there. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a place where you could sit outside most of the year and enjoy a nice glass of wine while the world walked by? Okay – it’s early in the morning and they’re probably drinking coffee, but you get the idea.

Tomorrow I’ll share Atlantic Ocean pics! I can’t wait.

Hugs all ’round today.