France May to Jul 17 - week 4 - 17 to 23 Jun 17

The relaxing on the Ile de Re continued as the weather got hotter. On Saturday we went  shopping in the market, bought fish, relaxed,  then had a long walk along the beautifully flat beach. It was great to see a huge Salsa event taking place on the town beach. As we progressed further along we found ourselves slightly overdressed in our swimwear so we turned back towards the site. 

On the Sunday I got up early before the heat of the day and rode 8 miles or so to the big supermarket between St Martin and La Flotte to get some supplies. It was too hot to do much else that day apart from swim and laze about.

Monday was even hotter with not much sleep to be had.  In our madness we decided to cycle to the bottom of the island (the opposite end to Ars??). It was a long ride and, to be honest, the towns there are pretty uninspiring. We lost lots of fluid in the searing heat and also enjoyed a puncture. Not our best day but still beats working! 

Blending in - the sign forbids cycling, swimming or fishing. When in France.....

On Tues we walked along the beach again, noting the large numbers of jellyfish being washed up. Finally the weather started to cool down a bit and there was some moisture in the air.

Every midsummer the French have a tradition of celebrating world music day with a Fete de la Musique. The Ile de Re is no exception to this wonderful tradition and we cycled across to St Martin to watch a couple of bands then back to Bois Plage to watch an excellent Irish style band called the Green Duck, who really managed to get this quiet old village rocking until the early hours. It was great! 

St Martin de Re

On Thursday we reluctantly left the Ile de Re and parked up in La Rochelle, where, once again, we caught up with the washing and cleaning.

On Friday we caught the very reasonably priced bus into La Rochelle where we went on a mission to find suitable bars and restaurants for our trip there later in the year when Harlequins play Stade Rochelais. There are plenty of both and it is a very nice town. What it would be like when it is freezing cold and chucking it down with rain is a different matter.

La Rochelle

Madame Bet Lynch