Tag Archives: la rochelle

December Travel Chaos: Part One

Posted on by Richard
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December was a time of great highs and great lows, mainly involving travel, or the lack thereof.

It all started the week after Joe’s 10th birthday, a cold and wintry time throughout Europe….

It was time for my monthly visit to see the TweetDeck team in London. I set off from home around 3.30pm for a steady trip across to La Rochelle airport. Arriving in plenty of time, I breezed through the usual queue-passports-security routine without a hitch.  There was a brief rain shower while I waited in the departure lounge, but hardly conditions befitting what was to come.

The expected landing time came and went. No plane. Soon after, rumour rippled round the room that the plane had in fact tried to land, but pulled up at the last minute. Not very encouraging. The truth behind this report was lost in the mists of time, but, true or not, there was ultimately no plane. After a while there was still no plane, but there was an announcement. The incoming flight from Stansted had been diverted due to bad weather (errrr, which bad weather is that…?), and we would now be flying out of……Nantes!

So, rather peeved to say the least, we waited maybe two hours for coaches to arrive and take us to Nantes. Then followed two hours of cold, boring coach travel, during which I figured that this was as bad as things could possibly get. Oh ho ho ho, how wrong I was.

Coaches for a long trip to nantes

We arrived at Nantes and the weather was really not great. La Rochelle had been damp and cold, but Nantes had snow on the ground and more was hanging in the air. Nevertheless, we were ushered through the airport, through the queue-passports-security routine again, and down to the departure lounge. We didn’t have more than a few minutes to wait before the flight was called and we were allowed to leave the comfort of the nice chairs at the gate and forced to stand in The Glass Corridor Of Death. So there we waited. And waited. And then we waited some more. Eventually they let us out onto the tarmac, and onto the mysteriously diverted (or not) plane.

Things being what they were, this was of course not the end. By now it was around 10pm. We waited on the plane for what felt like an eternity, but was actually about two hours. We missed our “slot” and waited some more. Fog started rolling in, surrounding the plane like the Atlantic breakers on our favourite beach. The pilot kept apologising, but insisted that we would still try to leave. If only the weather would improve, or the temperature would rise, or the de-icer would start working, or pigs would start flying… As the temperature dropped, so did our chances of ever leaving Nantes. Finally the pilot’s voice broke through the groans of despair. “Sorry folks,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to take off.”  Well, quelle surprise.

So, we all dragged our weary selves off the plane again and back into the terminal building, there to await yet more coaches. This time we were whisked away (well, after an hour’s wait) to a hotel on the other side of Nantes where we would spend the night, before returning to the airport in the morning.  Cue more waiting, travelling and shivering as we crossed the city to find a bed for the night.

In all fairness, it was a nice hotel, and the girl on reception was very efficient while checking us all in, so we couldn’t complain about that. It was just rather depressing to be settling down for the night in completely the wrong country. But no matter, there was nothing to be done but  go with the flow, so I checked in and crashed out.

Morning came, but the fog was still covering everything. This was not a good sign.
Fog at nantes

Turns out I was right. The coaches swung by at about 9am to take us back to the airport, only for us to find that the flight, previously due to leave at 10:30, was now not departing until 13:00. Marvellous.

Luckily, there were no further delays and we eventually got on the plane and departed for Stansted without any further ado. I arrived in the TweetDeck office almost exactly 24 hours after leaving the house the day before.

So all’s well that ends well, you might think. Well, hold on a cotton-pickin’ minute, as I haven’t finished yet…

After a great time in London at our first ever TweetDeck event, I embarked on the return leg of the journey.

Being totally paranoid that everything would go wrong (how could I be so silly…..?) , I arrived very early at the airport and waited. No problems arose, so I was feeling confident. Until, that is, I bumped into a fellow traveller from our ill-fated outward journey. He had apparently just spoken to La Rochelle airport and heard that they were closed! It seems that all flights had been diverted to Bordeaux. All the evidence at that point (airport screens, Ryanair website etc…) pointed to everything being just fine and dandy. Maybe my flying companion had misunderstood. Yeah, maybe.

So, our flight was called – on time – and I trundled down to the gate. No word of any changes in destination. Then the same chap came walking down to the front of the queue to speak to the Ryanair rep who was checking boarding passes. “Are we flying to La Rochelle or Bordeaux?” was his rather leading question. “The information I have is that we’re flying to La Rochelle sir,” was her somewhat-forced reply. “Well perhaps you should tell the staff on the Ryanair desk, because they have just said that we are flying to Bordeaux,” he countered.  ”The information I have is that we’re flying to La Rochelle sir.”  I was to hear that reply quite a lot during the next hour….

All went well. We boarded on time. This was good. The chap in front asked one of the air crew if we were actually flying to La Rochelle. “The information I have…” – yeah, you know the rest. Even though this chap then rang La Rochelle airport from his seat on the plane, and they confirmed that yes, they were indeed closed and had been all day, neither the air crew nor the pilot would admit that we were actually not flying to La Rochelle. So we took off, on time. Even once in the air, there was still no indication of any change of plan. Perhaps things had changed? Perhaps they knew more than we did?

Perhaps not.

Just 30 minutes before we were due to land in La Rochelle, just as we should have started our descent, the pilot came over the tannoy. Apparently there was suddenly very bad weather in La Rochelle and they were unable to clear the runway in time for us. We would unfortunately have to make an unscheduled diversion to Nantes. Ohhhh really?

Cries of “we knew it!” broke out and the mood in the plane became one of great frustration. Lots of people had family and friends waiting to meet them at La Rochelle, who would now be waiting for a flight that wasn’t arriving. If only they had admitted from the start that we were diverting to Bordeaux, then arrangements could have been made and friends notified. But presumably this would have meant Ryanair incurring some kind of extra charges, something they are always desperate to avoid.

Something we didn’t realise at this point was that the Ryanair website was actually showing that our flight was diverted to Shannon. Yes, Shannon in Ireland! “Diverted to Shannon due to snow in La Rochelle, so bus to Bordeaux” apparently. Quite how they thought that was going to work, goodness only knows. Amphibious busses anybody?

So, instead, we landed in Bordeaux (not Shannon). Amazingly, coaches were already waiting there for us. It’s almost as if they had known for a long time that we would be diverted…

We eventually arrived back in La Rochelle around midnight, tired, hungry and more than a little annoyed after having been blatantly lied to by Ryanair. But at least the end was in sight. After an uneventful car journey home, I was very pleased to finally reach my own bed. It had been one heck of a few days’ travelling and not something I wanted to repeat for a long time.

If only I knew what else was in store…

Fishy fun on Friday 13th

Posted on by Richard
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Today was supposed to be the day for us to visit the Vendee Globe village. This is the “exhibition” that is built up at Les Sables d’Olonne during the Vendee Globe round-the-world boat race. As the boats are now starting to return, there is a big buzz around the village.

Anyway, we were going to head over there to meet up with Nathalie and Thierry as they are on holiday near there. But just as we were about to leave we received a call from Nathalie saying the village was closed! The curse of Friday 13th! However, not to be put off, one quick family discussion later and we were instead heading over to the aquarium at La Rochelle


And what a great idea it was. We took the plunge and bought a season ticket there and then,  as we knew we would be coming back with all our visitors this year and we’d make our money back after 3 trips. So we are now card-carrying “Grand Amis de l’Aquarium La Rochelle” and can visit any time we like – good stuff.

Luckily, the aquarium is great. Some amazing fish, with huge tanks and plenty of space to move around. As we are currently on half-term, but the schools around La Rochelle are not, it was really quiet as well. After a couple of hours we were all getting hungry, so we skipped forward and went out to the restaurant at the top of the building. We were slightly surprised by the menu – rather more posh than we had thought, having anticipated more of a cafe than a restaurant. But it was beautiful food – the kids all had roast chicken and chips, while Lisa and I had 2 lovely fish dishes: monk-fish and sea-bass. Delicious! And with our new “Grand Ami” cards, we got 5% off.  Result :)

So, fully refuelled, we returned back downstairs to continue our tour of the aquarium. It was then that the curse of Friday 13th nearly struck again. Our tickets, that we had assumed would let us back in again after our meal, would do no such thing. Only valid for one-time entry, said the security chap. Oops, said me. It’s a good job we have our season tickets and we can come and go as much as we please. Otherwise we’d have had a rather short day…

Luckily then we got ourselves some more tickets and continued our tour. Some of the fish we saw were amazing – and with the place so empty we could get incredibly close to them – lots of photo opportunities!

It was a tiring day, but a very enjoyable one, and we’re looking forward to going back with all the visitors who are heading our way over the next 12 months.

Looks like our Friday 13th didn’t turn out too badly after all :)

A grand day out

Posted on by Richard
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Today started as another dull, damp, grey day, something we have seen rather too many of just recently. However, having been stuck inside for most of the week we all felt the need to get out and about, so we took a trip over to La Rochelle.

Although we never managed to meet up with the Dixies this time (which made us very sad)…

…we did get to do some exploring and took some nice photos.



A simply spectacular soirée at La Rochelle

Posted on by Richard
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Each year in the port at La Rochelle there is a huge boat show called Le Grand Pavois [website], which lasts all week and culminates in a spectacular show combining boats, fireworks and music. As you probably know by now, we love anything like that, so when Kevin and Sylvie suggested we go over and watch it with them, we jumped at the chance.

Crocodiles?…in France?

We started the evening with a stroll through the park near their house. La Rochelle is somewhere we have passed around and through in the car, but have never had chance to explore, so it was really good to see some of the parts of the city that attract thousands of people here every week. It was a very picturesque park, with the path leading us through the trees, alongside a river, over bridges, and finally delivering us to the beach. All very nice indeed – we can certainly see the benefits of living here.

On the beach there was an amazing sand-sculpture of a crocodile (dragon?) which even had real fire in his nose! Apparently it was made by a guy who sleeps on the beach in a tent. He is certainly very talented.
Grand Pavois - La Rochelle Sept 2008

Having walked along the walls of the old port, we spotted some empty places on the other side, our intended viewing position for the night’s entertainment. So we hopped on the little boat-bus that whizzed us across the water to the other side, where we found a good place to sit, right on the edge of the wall. No-one was going to come and stand in front of us!

Its Pineau time!

So we were settled in our spot with about 3 hours before the show was due to start, so what were we to do? Eat and drink of course! Out came the Pineau (naturally) and the snacks and we kept ourselves entertained by trying to pour the drink into the tiniest of glasses in a strong wind :) and watching the boys demonstrating their jedi skills to the passing french…

Grand Pavois - La Rochelle Sept 2008

While we waited, the boats that were going to take part in the show drifted past us into the port, and shortly after we were entertained (slightly) by some waveriders (like water-skiers but on a single ski) going up and down down the odd trick.  Rather strangely there was also a barge going up and down the water containing some Irish dancers, although there didn’t seem to be much dancing going on which was a bit disappointing.

Anyway, as the sun slowly dipped down behind the La Rochelle skyline, the time for the start of the show approached.

Grand Pavois - La Rochelle Sept 2008

Into the west

As darkness finally enveloped the port-side, it began. Firstly, all the boats, lit by simple torches, floated slowly from the port and out to sea accompanied by some beautifully haunting music and some lovely “gentle” fireworks. It was a really moving start and reminded me (geek that I am) of the ending of “The Return of the King” when the elves sail off into the west… anyway, don’t get me started on that!

Grand Pavois - La Rochelle Sept 2008

After the parade of  boats, the fireworks started in earnest, with an incredible display. The walls of the port and the buildings facing us were all lit in a variety of colours to tie in with the fireworks and there was music piped across the port. I know we say it every time we have been to a fireworks display, but we all thought that this one was simply the best one yet. I think the combination of the location, the music, the lights, the fireworks, and sharing it with great friends, made it such a breathtaking end to the day.

We were all very numb after sitting on the port-side for so long, but the wine and the pineau helped out there, and it was all worth it in the end.

Parades, ports and pools

Posted on by Richard
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Another packed weekend behind me…

Thanks to the very handy collection of public holidays in France, I had a nice break from work for the last few days. As this coincided with a visit from my parents, it was doubly-nice.

09052008862On Friday we paid a visit to Coulon, on the edge of the Marais Poitevin. This is an area of marshes and canals that criss-cross their way through the woodland, stretching from Coulon to pretty much the coast. Its somewhere we’ve been meaning to visit for a long time and so we finally got round to it. What a beautiful place it is. We only saw a very little portion of it as we had to get back in the afternoon for Molly to go to a party, but what we saw was lovely. Definitely somewhere to explore further.

Then on Saturday we took Mum and Dad to La Rochelle. We took a rather scenic route to get there, but arrive we did. Once within spitting distance of the city we began playing the “lets try to find somewhere to park” game. After circling round and round the city for what seemed like half an hour, we finally stumbled upon the park and ride car park. What a little gem that is! €2 to park for about 4 hours, with a free shuttle bus into the old port and back again. Thinking back to similar schemes in the UK I recall having to pay extortionate amounts for this DSCF0542kind of thing. The weather was lovely and we had fun exploring the city (although I fear the shops were more of a draw for some members of the family than others…).

We had lunch on the dock-side and ate an ice-cream as we watched the boats coming and going – all very civilised. We promised ourselves we would come back another time and see the aquarium – a bit more interesting for the kids than shopping methinks :)

Sunday was the day of the Fontenay Biennial festival. After a lazy morning (much-needed after lots of walking the previous 2 days) we lathered ourselves in suncream (the summer came in force this week) and headed off into Fontenay. Our worries about parking were unfounded as the town had opened up the car park at the Stade Municipal – lots of room and well placed for a short walk into the centre. We positioned ourselves at the mi-point of the main street and waited…and waited…and waited. The advertised start time was 2pm, but the parade was so steady, it didn’t reach our position until about 3.30! But it was certainly worth the wait. About 30 different groups filed past representing the different villages around Fontenay, as well as the different countries where the town is twinned with another.

DSCF0590

There were flamenco dancers, line dancers, polynesian dancers, marching bands a-plenty. And the floats were amazing, all decorated with thousands of paper flowers. Mister Fontenay was there (as promised), as well as the countess and her predecessors. All the participants did incredibly well to keep going as the heat was so intense. It was a great atmosphere and there was no trouble (compared with similar events in the UK, where there would always be some elements of the crowd up to no good).

There were no police guarding the parade, nor barriers to hold people back. It was just a very friendly event with everyone having a good time. Just what we wanted.

DSCF0599

So eventually the parade passed us by and we headed home for some much needed refreshment, before venturing back out for the night-time parade at 10pm. This was a smaller-scale affair, with pretty much the same floats as had been in the earlier one, but this time they were illuminated in various fashions. This was quite effective, but without the music is lacked a bit of the atmosphere. This didn’t matter to a lot of the participants though, as I think they had all kept themselves entertained in the local bars in between sessions!

The culmination of the night was supposed to be a firework display – the thing we had really come out for and the reason we allowed the kids to be out so late. DSCF0680

It was due to start at midnight, which, of course, normally means at least 20 past. But when it got to half past midnight and still there was no sign of anyone lighting even a match, never mind a blue touch-paper, we just had to give in and go home. What a shame, but everyone was dead on their feet and we just couldn’t wait any longer. Still, it had been a great day and we’re really glad we went.

Unsurprisingly Monday morning was a quiet affair – big lay-ins all round. Then at lunchtime we went for a walk in the woods at Mervent – one of our favourite places. It’s so beautiful there and so peaceful. We took a picnic and joined the other like-minded folks in enjoying it in the dappled shade of the trees. The afternoon was wet, though not with rain to begin with. Peter and Judith had invited the kids round to play in their pool and the adults for aperitifs. A very pleasant afternoon, although it was spoiled after a couple of hours by the rain. Still, we can’t grumble. It had been another lovely day.