First we drove to the Ile de Re. The kids were not excited about going. They didn't want to hear about an hour car ride. Then I told Gabi that Johnny Depp owns or owned a house on the Ile de Re. She could look for him. Helloo Mad Hatter. Gabi was ready to find Johnny Depp.
First we had to drive over a tall bridge. While everyone else was oohing and aaahhhing about seeing the Atlantic Ocean, my knuckles were changing color from gripping the steering wheel. I do not like heights and that was a tall bridge to drive over.
Found the tourism office. Got our free map. Ile de Re is much larger than I thought. It has quite a few towns. We heard that St. Martin was a nice town so we drove there. If you want a quaint French town on the water with lots of outdoor cafes and cute boutique shopping, then this is the place. It was adorable. We had a long lunch at an outdoor cafe.
The kids were entertained at lunch when a gust of wind toppled over an umbrella on some customers.
After lunch we wandered up some of the cobblestone side streets.
This is where Joey wanted to shop.
This is where I wanted to shop.
Ellie found a carousel.
Then we found a church with a narrow stairway up to the top. As we were walking up the rickety stairs, the church bell rang. Right next to us. Yes, it was loud. The kids thought it was the best thing ever.
The reward was a great view from the top.
Oh yeah, once we got to Ile de Re, the kids forgot to look for Johnny Depp.
Then we went back to the mainland and drove over to La Rochelle to go to the Aquarium. It was Saturday afternoon around 4pm. I didn't expect the aquarium to be so crowded. But there were lots of French families. On the Ile de Re we heard English being spoken several times. At the Aquarium I did not hear English one time.
The kids loved the Aquarium. Sharks, seahorses, jellyfish, eels and piranhas. We were there for several hours.
I'll stick with you for shopping, Joey can find something else to do.
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