Best to hold phone horizontally!
La Rochelle 2007
La Rochelle has an interesting history. It is a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean, and during the Renaissance, it was the centre of French protastantism. This raised the ire of the Catholic king and Cardinal Richelieu led the forces that attacked and subdued the population of La Rochelle. Richelieu was not popular in La Rochelle.
The Ile d'Aix lies off La Rochelle, and it was the last place in France that Napoleon saw as he was transported to exile in Saint Helena.
La Rochelle, France
La Rochelle was fascinating to visit. I got there on the TGV, the high speed train, that left Paris at speed but had to slow down as it got further away where the railbed was not good enough.
Museums
I loved the Musée des Automates et des Modèles Réduits in La Rochelle. It had a large collection of automatons and scale models of ships and railroads and I enthusiasticly photographed many of them.
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Automatons Automaton drinks his coffee
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Automatons Automaton plague doctor
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Automatons Automaton pours the tea and drinks it
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Automatons Automaton: The Pierrot rings his bell and turns his head
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Automatons Automaton - another magician
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Automatons Automaton crazy high kicker
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Automatons Automatons roll the pastry and feed the oven
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Automatons Automaton primps in front of the mirror
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Automatons Automaton feeds his customer a string of sausages
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Automatons Ship model in the maritime museum
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Automatons Automaton plays the saw
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Automatons Automaton magician
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Automatons Automaton: she milks the cow
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Automatons Automaton showing his mechanism
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Automatons Automaton plays the gramophone
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Automatons Automaton repairs another automaton
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Automatons Automaton monkey card sharp
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Automatons Very complex model railway
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Automatons Automaton fills the mug and drinks
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Automatons Automaton: this one fills his glass and drinks from it
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Other Sights Towers guarding the old port
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Other Sights Statue of Admiral Duperre
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Other Sights No shortage of street musicians
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Other Sights Great graffiti in La Rochelle
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Other Sights La Grosse Horloge
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Other Sights Street singer and organ grinder accompianist
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Other Sights Good ice cream cone for a kid
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Other Sights Tour de la Lanterne
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Other Sights Towers at the old harbour entrance
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Other Sights Many street musicians
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Other Sights
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Other Sights Always the carousel
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Other Sights How to mock an old enemy.
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Other Sights The artist at work
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Other Sights Potter demonstrating his skill
Other Sights
Just wandering the streets was entertaining. Some bold graffiti, many street musicians, and a potter demonstrating his art to the crowd. A statue to a Napoleonic admiral stands in one square, and outside the harbour a tongue-in-cheek tribute to an old enemy of La Rochelle - Cardinal Richelieu.
Ile d'Aix
Off La Rochelle is something of a marine playground, with yachs racing and sea-doos blasting through the waves alongside the somewhat daunting Fort Boyard, built during the Napoleonic wars to defend La Rochelle from the English, who had historically attacked there more than once.
Ile d'Aix wasn't all that exciting although it does have a very curious twin-towered lighthouse. I could not discover the purpose of the second tower. The island also has the distinction of being the last place in France for Napoleon, before his final exile.
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Aix Fun and games
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Aix Sailing near Fort Boyard
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Aix Sea-doos at the Boyard Bank
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Aix Aix island lighthouses
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Aix Aix island lighthouses
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Aix Sea-doos at the Boyard Bank
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Aix The sea off La Rochelle is a marine playground
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Aix Fun and games
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Aix Le Fort Boyard
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Aix Sailing near Fort Boyard