La Rochelle - Part 2

Saturday morning we rose after adequate amounts of sleep. We checked out and were lucky enough to keep our stuff at Kyriad for the day. We set out to rent bikes and ride them all the way to Ile de Re where there are beaches and clear, blue skies. We explained our plan to the guys at the bike shop, they looked at the clock, and chuckled. They told us we had to ride quickly and gave us the bus schedule. It was 13h00 then. With an 11 km ride to and bus ride back from the island ahead of us we were going to have to bust our butts to get back by 18h00.

Now let me explain to you all how much of a life changing experience this was setting itself out to be. I have only ridden a bicycle a handful of times before (most of that handful was with training wheels). Growing up in NYC I spent most of my childhood cooped up in an apartment. So an 11km ride in traffic, down busy streets, over bridges, along curvy, narrow paths was either going to take or change my life. It took some time to get use to the bike (crashed into stationary things like rocks and fences about 3 times) but my own hesitation was the biggest obstacle. It was great, feeling air rush past me as I pedaled and watched the scenery fly by. I'm definitely getting a bike once I'm back home.
We stopped at the first sign of beach. It was pristine. There were very few beach goers, mostly older women and young men flying kites or wake boarding. It was nice to take a deep breath and then plop ourselves on the sand and finish strawberries we picked up at the farmers' market earlier. The water I will admit was cold and fun trying to get into. After walking on the sand picking up neat seashells and taking in the view we decided to hydrate and get back to town. Unfortunately the bus was late. We hopped off quickly and decided to follow the signs as we biked the last bit back. I can't imagine what possessed us to think the signs would take us back in the most straightforward and efficient way. It was a mad dash to get back and when we did it was 18h32. But as we continued to notice during our stay in La Rochelle, its inhabitants are as nice as the scenery beautiful. The bike shop was still open and they took our bikes back with no questions asked except for if we enjoyed our ride. We had to get back to the hotel, get our bags, and make our 19h52 train. No sweat, Michelle and I had plenty of time. Or so we thought. What happened after this I can't divulge fully but let's just say we went through great feats and arrived at the train station literally two minutes too late. Covered in sweat and disappointment we went from ticket machine to ticket machine with no way of purchasing another ticket. Michelle thought we should ask a security guard for help. I was a bit hesitant- the guy had a shaved head, a long goatee, and was beefy. He motioned for us to walk with him and all of these scenarios in which I get punched in the face kept playing in my head. It must sound paranoid to you.. Well maybe it was. The guard turned out to be a considerate person and explained to SNCF employees, hidden in a dimly lit room, our situation. These SNCF employees were not like the ones in Paris. Oh no. They signed the back of our tickets requesting permission for us to get on the next train to Paris.. Which happened to be 12 hours later. I must have made a sick face because they were all very concerned if it was all right with me. La Rochelle is populated by angels I tell you. After expressing our many thanks we hurried back to Kyriad. Unfortunately they were booked and Michelle and I were looking to experience homelessness. It would just be another addition to the list of firsts I had racked up since Friday. But we managed to reserve a place even cheaper than Kyriad. We almost didn't because the only form of communication was my Skype and the concierge giggled for most of our broken conversation. We got to Hotel Savary by 23h. The concierge was very impressed that we understood him fully in French and gave us a discount to boot. We slept and rested our aching feet and butts. No more being late for us.

Early morning as few groups of friends walked around with unfinished bottles from the night before, some musicians stirred I'm their tents, and couples snuggled in their cars we said our goodbyes. What a wonderful place and time.
We were able to get seats for the train ride back and had little quarrel about our tickets. The ride was nice with giant sunflower fields and wind turbines outside our window. Minus the child behind us playing Michelle's seat like a bongo and repeating the words 'Pokemon gooulld ou seelver' it was very soothing.
We did it. We made it to the coast and back feeling good and accomplished. We explored a small town with a whole lot of character. Michelle said she'll live in that town someday. I hope I get to visit.

Adieu La Rochelle! Oh how we'll miss you.