Isle de Re & La Rochelle, France

Oh la la..where to begin...France was incredible! I have never thought that France is a place I would really like to go, but I am so glad this opportunity arose. So Mathilde and her family live in La Rochelle which is on the west coast and they have a summer home on the island right off the coast of La Rochelle called Isle de Re which is where we spent the majority of our time. So here we go...I'll just go day by day.

Saturday
I arrived in La Rochelle in the afternoon and Mathilde picked me up and took me to their house in La Couarde. I loved it because it was so...French!

The bathroom "door" for the shower and sink was blinds

The back garden was beautiful!

Cinnamon, the garden cat

After stopping at the house and meeting her mom and sister, we all went to the beach where her dad and brother were surfing. Mathilde and her sister went surfing for a bit while her mom and I just sat on the beach, relaxing and talking.

We then went to prepare the sail boat to go sailing the next day. Right near the boating area there were "le marais salants"...salt marshes. This is where sea salt (used for cooking) is collected from the water and then prepared to be exported to places like the U.S. Mathilde's family knows the people who work there so they let us try collecting salt. It is quite a process...There are three water chambers and over time they move the water from each chamber depending on the weather and the saltiness of the water. I don't quite understand it because it was explained in French and Mat tried to translate, but it was cool. The technique is quite precise for collecting the salt. Using the tool you have to gentle push the salt towards one side, being careful not to push the dirt and mud along with it.

Sunday

After a nice breakfast of tea and toast on Sunday morning the family took me on a bike ride along the coast to the biggest town on the island, St. Martin. Cycling is very popular on the island so this was a perfect way to see it! In St. Martin there is a very old church, which was actually in service when we went, but you can go up to the very top and see the view of the island all around. It was incredible. 

The town is built in an old fort 

I will say that this town was pretty stereotypical France...people riding their bikes around with baguettes in their baskets. It was great. On the way back to La Couarde we rode through the grape vineyards which was so peaceful. 

After lunch we went sailing for a bit, so I learned how to work a sail boat. There wasn't a lot of wind, though, so it was pretty easy going... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRzgqnt81EI

(That was for you mom and dad) 

Afterwards we went out for drinks before dinner. In the picture is (left-right) Mathilde, her sister Caroline, Caroline's friend, me, Caroline's other friend, Mathilde's dad Dennis, and brother Martin. (Her mom was taking the pic)

Monday
The morning was a bit cloudy and rainy so we stayed inside for a bit until it cleared up. Once it did, Mathilde, Dennis and I rode our bikes to the local market place. It was so cool to go there because it was just so different from a regular grocery store. I enjoyed walking around looking at all of the crazy fresh seafood and the different wines, cheeses, and sweets!

So Mathilde's dad bought some seafood and we went home for lunch...we had normal seafood like shrimp and then I tried some sort of shell fish called Bulot which was pretty good. Mathilde taught me how to make homemade mayonnaise which is what they dip their seafood in which was interesting. Then the fun part of lunch came....oysters! When in France, do as the French do and eat fresh oysters right off the shell...

I was really nervous to try them, but honestly they were not as bad as I expected. You squeeze lemon juice on them to help the taste, but really they just taste like salty sea water...and you don't chew them so I guess that's the weird part is just swallowing a creature that hasn't been cooked...I took a second one though which was a huge compliment to the family!

After lunch there were super strong winds which were perfect for sailing. Mathilde and I went out again, but this time it was serious! I had to wear a special vest that you can hook onto the side of the boat so you can lean out over the water and keep all of your weight on that side to keep the boat balanced. It was pretty scary at first but it was really fun to be hanging out over the water...it felt like flying over the water! So Mat and I were all alone on the sail boat and in the middle of the ocean between two beaches when all of sudden the rudder completely broke. We had no way of steering the boat. Thankfully the wind was blowing us towards the shore so we just kind of drifted along until we got to shore. Unfortunately, it was right where a couple of guys had a bunch of fishing lines, so I'm sure they weren't too happy but they helped us get the boat out of the water before Mathilde's dad came to help us. So that was our adventure for the day! After dinner that night we played Yahtzee...or YAMS as it's called in France...I lost but it was fun.

Tuesday
On Tuesday we went to the mudflats and went shellfishing for palourde and coque. We didn't have the best luck but we still ended up with about 2kg which we took home to cook for lunch. They were really good...tasted like mussels, but better I think. After lunch we went to the beach called Trousse-Chemise where there is a current called mao that you can swim out to and then just let it carry you along the beach. It was a relaxing way to end the day because by Tuesday I was so exhausted. With dinner that night I tried Pineau de Charentes which is wine mixed with cognac. It was so strong...I didn't know what to think of it. It's definitely not something you have a full glass of...but it was interesting.

Wednesday

Wednesday was my last day and my flight was at 4pm so Mathilde took me into La Rochelle in the early afternoon and showed me around a bit before I had to go to the airport. La Rochelle is so stunning! I don't really have much else to say about it expect that it is so beautiful and I wish I could have spent more time there so I will just pile on the pics now! (which will also be on my facebook)

Buildings like this with the wood are from the middle ages

The mayor's house-caught on fire end of June so there are renovations

Overall, the trip was incredible! I had so many new experiences and tried many different foods that I really enjoyed. I think meal times were my favorite because I never quite knew what to expect but everything was always so great! I am so thankful to Mathilde and her family for taking me in and providing the ultimate French experience for me!