La Rochelle, July 6, 2024

We visited La Rochelle on Saturday, July 6th. The weather looked somewhat questionable and it was blowing up a gale at the pier. We took a 15 to 20 minute shuttle bus from the dock into Place de Verdun, a central square in town. It was as if we were in the center of everything and there, right on the square, was the Cathedrale Saint-Louis. Never pass up a church or cathedral. Construction began in 1742 and, 120 years later, it was completed. The inside is relatively plain and unadorned but some of the stained glass was interesting, especially the windows that focused on men at sea.

I’m always amazed at the beauty that can be found in stained glass. What artistry.

Then, we were off for a stroll through the town. The first place we came to was the town market. It was overflowing with people all waiting to purchase vegetables, cheese, meat and fish, not to mention flowers, herbs and spices

Ultimately, the weather was pleasant and the streets around the harbor were busy with folks walking in all directions, some shopping and others just spending a Saturday having a coffee and watching others coming and going.

We decided on a little place along the water for lunch. Definitely, we wanted oysters fresh from the sea and a simple shrimp, scallop and salmon salad to follow.

Here is a photo of JoAnn at La Grand Rive. The restaurant did not disappoint.

Once again, following lunch, we continued our stroll through the streets of La Rochelle. What follows is a sampling of what we saw.

We begin at the corner of Rue du Palais and Rue du Temple where we discovered a statue dedicated to Eugene Fromentin. He was a painter and writer from La Rochelle who lived in the mid 1800s who spent a great deal of his time studying and painting about Algeria. I really like the composition of this photo.

And now, let’s amble along taking in the buildings, the harbor and the people of La Rochelle.

Amazon world wide. I was tempted to layout the 3 1/2 Euros just to see what treasure might be inside one of her boxes.

Rooftops and doorways always intrigue me.

And, as we say goodbye to La Rochelle, one last colorful door and one last tower.