If ever you are looking for a comfortable vehicle to transport five adults (at least three of whom don't travel lightly) and luggage, look no further than the Citroen Grand Picasso! We have leased a Grand Picasso ( Pablo, for obvious reasons) about five times now in France and they are truly a great vehicle for our needs.
With excellent pushing, shoving and manoeuvring of luggage from Russell and Zoe, we successfully closed the rear hatch and the five of us headed off from Arcachon Sunday morning, initially toward the ferry at Pointe de Grave which would transport us over the Gironde estuary to Royan.
According to Google, going by road inland was quicker but the allure of the coast and a more adventurous method of transportation appealed. Without too much incident ( except for a dearth of public toilets en route) and more by good luck than good management, we arrived in time to be almost the last vehicle loaded onto the ferry. We had roughly half an hour to stretch our legs and take in the sea air before disembarking with amazing efficiency at Royan where we continued north toward La Rochelle, our intended lunch spot.
La Rochelle was founded in the 10th century and is architecturally and historically stunning. It has variously been under English and French rule and was in fact the last French city to be liberated from the Germans after WWII.
On this Sunday in June it was a very warm 33C and after parking Pablo we quickly sought shade and lunch – more seafood for most of us!
After lunch and a wander around quiet Sunday streets and the harbour which was buzzing with some sort of jet ski exposition, we were back in the car for our final destination, the village of St.-Martin-de-Ré on the Ile de Ré.
The island (of Ré) lies just off the coast of La Rochelle and has been connected to the mainland by a 2.9km bridge since 1988. They are obviously still recovering the cost via the 8 euro toll to cross. I had discovered this island whilst reading a blog and it was variously described as a “French Hamptons” and a “cute island known for it's salt and oysters” – sounded like a place worth visiting I thought.
Our first view as we came off the bridge didn't disappoint as a sandy beach studded with colourful kites came into view and I had to stop for a quick pic.
A few kilometres further on we were meeting our host Phillipe to receive instruction on how to access the 'pedestrian only' area where our apartment in St-Martin-de-Ré was situated. With Phillipe's handy little remote the bollards disappeared and we followed him toward the spot where we could stop short term to unload our luggage. We had time to quickly take in the stunning harbour and some interesting looking shops before trotting after Phillipe to find our accommodation for the next three nights.
Rosey was staying at a nearby hotel and she left to check in whilst Zoe followed Phillipe to the slightly out of town car park. He assured us we wouldn't need it as he pointed out the four pushbikes that were supplied with the apartment and we did utilise them later!
St-Martin-de-Ré is the capital of the island and its star shaped ramparts (designed by Vauban) are steeped in history as the island was in the firing line for many assaults by the English navy. The citadel was later used as a prison, housing prisoners that were en route to New Caledonia and French Guyana, its most famous prisoner being Henri Charrière, who later wrote his life story as Papillon.
Thanks Le Phare
We reconvened for dinner at Phillipe's restaurant Le Tout du Cru (“all raw”) where there were five grades of oysters and three different varieties! Following that with ice cream from La Martinière, the island's famous artisan glacier which boasts 66 flavours, it took some time to choose…
Luckily we had several more opportunities to try alternatives during the remainder of our stay on the island!
This harbour was to be our focal point for the next three days – by day a maze of narrow shopping streets, by night a stunning harbour illuminated by the countless restaurants arranged around its periphery. Looking back on my photographs I think it is easy to see that this was one of my favourite spots, I have the feeling this won't be our last trip to Ile de Ré.