Also it can be driven without a valid driver’s license. These « sans permits «  are limited to 50kph and have tiny engins. They smoke and buzz all over France except on the autoroutes. People who have lost their license can use them, which means a disproportionate number of alcoholics drive them.

Hi,
I should have guessed that télégraphes would come before téléphones, French logic demanding clear chronological order of the operations!
Cheers

Charlie Brown is obviously a disgruntled Giants fan..( me too..)

We took the pont transbordeur in 2006. A great experience.
https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/2006france/day-36-soulac-la-rochelle-times-up/

Hi,
La Rochelle is a great town. I found it really bike friendly, as you have, although the staff at the hotel BordO did not ride my bike down the hall!
Many of Sue’s Quebecois ancestors came from La Rochelle, although many did not go to Quebec by choice!
Cheers

Hi,
The transbordeur was hors service the last time I was there, so I had to use the bridge. There is a bike lane on the bridge, though, so it wasn’t too bad.
Cheers

Nice to see Dodie at the head of the pack!

Great sundial!

Government at work! Keith is most accurate in his comment ;)

Or, as in Disneyland, they used to say “please disembark from the ride”!

It was really great fun. We were the first passage of the week (they do their regular maintenance checks Monday morning) so we were as safe as we could be. Last time we were through, 2017, it was not running either.

I'm envious! The Pont Transbordeur was closed for a major restoration when I was in Rochefort in 2019. I had managed to see the one near Bilbao in 2016 and it's very different--and it was open to vehicles. It looks like this one was restored for bikes and pedestrians. How wonderful!

They look very similar to the Trabuccos you see on the Adriatic coast in southern Italy.

It made me think of the big storm we had here a couple of years ago--and English Bay is very sheltered compared to France's Atlantic coast. There was a lot of damage to the seaside paths in West Vancouver and around Stanley Park, including a lot of sand moved inshore from Ambleside beach.

The photo doesn't quite show it, but there was a significant part of the path that just flowed down on to the beach. There are also a few spots where there is obvious sand overflow on to the path. It must be an impressive (and dangerous) place to be in a big winter storm.