La Rochelle.... Love La Rochelle!

So, the results are in. If we ever buy a place in France, I reckon it will be in this area, or somewhere around Narbonne/Bordeaux. Just beautiful. We had picture postcard weather. It was a very cute little town, full of shabby little seaside houses, a nice marina lined with restaurants and cafes and some areas of gorgeous Victorian townhouses.

Our lovely hotel...

This was the chandelier in the bar:

And this was the guest lounge. Chairs not so lovely, but the rest was amazing.

A sign on a cottage:

A beautiful townhouse:

And lastly, a cafe with the cutest table decorations of boats:

La Rochelle had a great atmosphere and some interesting history. We visited three towers on the waterfront that had graffiti dating as far back as the 1700s! The stone walls inside the towers had been carved by sailors and criminals - ships, people, names and dates.

Then on to St Malo!

Bordeaux

Having trouble uploading to my blog on my iPad, so now trying a third blogging app in an attempt to post something! Although we are nearly home!

Bordeaux was lovely, although it rained most of the time we were there, and many of the monuments either weren't ever open to the public or were only open during the high season. I really don't think I captured the charm of the place, and it is made especially difficult with the narrow streets common throughout France.

Old Theatre in Bordeaux.

They love chocolate in France. This was in a shop window.

We went on a winery tour to Saint Emilion, one of the best wine regions of Bordeaux (or all of France). The landscape was just amazing.

Next stop, La Rochelle!