Visiting La Rochelle on our way to Rochefort we found a couple of funny things. First of all, there was a disproportionately large number of old Citroën 2CVs in town. With the first 2CV we saw parked, we felt a kindred connection – although in absentia – to the owner of the older car. Walking around town, we discovered that there were indeed more of these connections to be found. On one street we saw two 2CVs parked next to each other, on another three. Wait a minute! Something’s going on. And yes, it was more than just a coincidence, there was some kind of 2CV gathering in town that weekend. It was quite an experience, and kind of surreal, to see the city overrun by these old cars. The car park where we left the VW for lunch was maybe 10% 2CVs. We fit in nicely.
Classic 2CV
They were everywhere
Our day in La Rochelle was apparently also one of the opening days of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (yes, apparently there is one of those). We found front row seats at the harbor and watched the divers jumping from the old fort tower. Kristina felt a weird sense of acrophobia on the divers’ behalf, and was nervous just watching them. A number of paramedic divers were ready to take action below in case of any mishaps (so Kristina’s fear was obviously not misplaced). Definitely for professionals only.
Diver’s silhouette
I mean, you have to be crazy right?
Seriously crazy
Arriving in Rochefort, we found that there wasn’t really much to do. Which was a great opportunity to relax, if only the weather had cooperated a bit more. We did find a funny museum of early twentieth century commerce where displays of different types of businesses were set up as well as pictures and newspaper clippings. The store fronts were presented as still lifes side-by-side on three floors of an old warehouse. It was a really fascinating window into France of the early 1900s and hopefully the first of many unusual museums to come on this trip. It reminded us of some other museum oddities such as the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia (definitely check it out if you ever go), and the Puppet Museum in Tallinn, Estonia (remember that one Martin and Sara?).
The dry goods store
The seed store
The bar, note the classic absinthe fountain on the right hand table