View from the water: when you reach La Rochelle, the first thing you notice are the two towers. On the left, the Chain Tower. On the right: Saint-Nicholas Tower. In the Middle Ages a chain was drawn up between those two towers to prevent ships (pirates) from entering the old port.
The ramp you see sticking out Tour Saint-Nicholas was used for the World Championship Cliff Diving, which took place last weekend. Some of the divers stayed in our hotel, btw. The drop from tower to water was 27 meter.
And this is the third tower which landmarks the town. It's called Tour de la Lanterne (Lantern Tower) and used to be a lighthouse.
La Rochelle is a medieval town, and thus had town walls and gates which gave entrance to the inner town. Here you see the old gate with the watch, which was used to keep time.
These mules with pants on are typical for the island of Ré (close to the French mainland of La Rochelle). During the past century, a farmer's wife came to the clever idea of protecting the legs of the mules (which they used to carry off the salt or oysters) against insect bites by using an old shirt of her husband as a 'culotte' (= pants).
No comments:
Post a Comment