Eyes, islands and elephants

The next three days were spent in fairly leisurely fashion punctuated by a couple of doctors visits for me, firstly with Phillipe's (movie star looking) GP and then the next day with the island's visiting opthalmologist. I had been experiencing some minor visual disturbances since my fall and Russell was keen to make sure there wasn't anything precluding our flight home.

Our appointment with the specialist was in nearby Le Bois Plage and luckily it was market day so the others had plenty to keep them occupied whilst we waited to see the doctor. Everything checked out ok and we were told we didn't have to extend our time in France (damn it!) and to follow up with a check at home.

We rejoined the others for a wander through quite a good market which sold everything from oysters to clothing, handbags to hats and the gourmet salt that Ile de Ré is apparently known for amongst culinary types.

Ile de Ré's main economic activity from the 12th until the 19th century, salt harvesting has waned since the draining of the salt marshes with industrialisation but around 40 artisans salt makers or sauniers continue the traditional practice.

“The Fleur de Sel de l’Île de Ré is refined and subtle in taste with a faint rose tint and almost imperceptible scent of violets.”

It is harvested in a labor-intensive way in which seawater is passed through a network of dikes and ponds. Sauniers wait for warm, windy days to harvest the salt by raking the purest, whitest layer off the top to make what many consider to be the finest salt in the world. I popped some of that in the suitcase, a much more convenient reminder of the island than the many other varieties originating from the sea!

Over the next two days we included a visit to an oyster shack where we indulged in more shellfish grown literally within view…

….. and ventured out on two wheels to the nearby swimming beach. Rosey, Yvie and Zoe got the best of the tides, Russell and I turning up as the water rapidly receded and having to settle for a drink at the beachside bar instead.

Dinners were at different restaurants each night ( recommended by Phillipe and kindly booked for us) and ranged from good to excellent.

The weather remained hot and we set an appropriate pace – slow strolls through the many and varied shops for us women, reading in the armchair for Russell interspersed with croissants and ice cream. A common site in souvenir shops and on post cards was the famous Poitou donkey, a breed unique to the region and previously an integral part of the salt harvesting.

No longer used for this purpose they can still be seen at the height of the season giving rides to children and wearing their striped pantalons – originally designed to protect their legs from mosquito bites! We only saw them grazing amongst the ramparts but their replicas were everywhere…

The streets of St-Martin were postcard perfect themselves. Hollyhocks growing amongst the cobble stones, tiny shops and galleries around every narrow corner and tempting delicacies in artisan windows.

On our last night a final stroll around the harbour to soak up the ambience concluded our short stay. We loved this village and at this stage really wished our three days was a week.

 

All good things must come to an end though and Wednesday morning saw us loading Pablo once again, seemingly more efficiently this time?

Our destination today was the city of Nantes, situated on the banks of the Loire river about 50kms from the Atlantic coast and France's sixth largest city.We were spending our last night here, in a hotel next to the railway station, in preparation for a direct TGV ride to Charles de Gaulle airport tomorrow.
It was very warm when Zoe and I rejoined the others after dropping Pablo off but we were on a mission this afternoon, to visit one of Nantes' most unique attractions – Les Machines.

“Les Machines de l’île” is a totally unprecedented artistic project. Born from the François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice’s imagination, it is at crossroads of Jules Verne’s “invented worlds”, of the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and of Nantes’ industrial history, on the exceptional site of the former shipyards.

I had seen a photo of Le Grand Elephant whilst researching the trip and was hoping that we would have time to see it. After arriving slightly ruffled by mid thirties heat and being evicted from our tram due to an 'emergency' on the street, I was thrilled to see that the elephant was beginning his wander.

We purchased tickets for the giant carousel. It is almost 25 m (82 ft.) high and 22 m (72 ft.) in diameter and consists of three carousels stacked in concrete lacework, crowned by a Big Top and guarded by 16 fishermen from all the world’s oceans. It is at the same time a work of art, an engineering marvel and great fun to ride. Most of the rides have levers and wheels that riders can operate to move heads or tails or fins as you go around, thereby enhancing the experience for the spectators on the sidelines.

It was a nice way to finish our French experience for 2017 and was followed by that most onerous of tasks, the final pack.

The next morning we boarded the TGV without incident. Clutching our Paul's bags full of breakfast supplies, we found our seats and settled back for the roughly three hour trip into CDG. We arrived at the airport in time to make great use of the Emirates lounge and then received an added bonus for Zoe with an upgrade on the first leg.

And of course you know what I was doing as the drinks were served…. yep, planning 2018!

 

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