France road trip with a puppy, Part 3: La Rochelle and Ile de Re

This post is about the third stop in our 2-week drive across France. With all our travel experience to more exotic and remote locations, this trip should be a piece of cake. But I am worried, as this is the first with our new dog, a 2.5 month old Golden Retriever puppy. Everything is suddenly so much more complicated. The reservations (hotels must accept dogs), the program (no museums and cool or fancy restaurants for us) and definitely the packing! We have gone through something similar when our daughter was a baby, except now, instead of a stroller we are lugging a crate and a dog carrier, instead of diapers it's packs of indoor potty pads, instead of baby food and bottles it's puppy food and bowls. With our daughter the trips went well. Let's see how we do with the puppy.


Date: late October / early November 2012
Days 3-5: La Rochelle and Ile de Re

We have driven from Tours in the Loire Valley today, with a stop in the charming town of Poitiers. The weather was unpleasant, grey and rainy all day, so we are pleased to find that in La Rochelle the sun is shining. Too late for me though. The bad weather has given me a massive migraine, and by the time we reach the Old Port region I am feeling absolutely horrible. But even with my bad headache I can't help but admire the surroundings. This place is lovely! I fall in love with La Rochelle at first sight.

We are staying in Hotel La Monnaie, a charming 17th century building just a stone-throw away from all the attractions.  The name of the hotel is fitting, as, according to the receptionist, the building is a former mint. I love the place, it has a lot of character. I am pleased to discover that there is a small fenced area in the back, intended for car parking, but perfectly suitable for puppy's early morning potty breaks as well. Just like in the previous hotel, our room is on the ground floor, close to the exit, so this is extremely convenient. To top it all off, this area is literally in the shadow of the pretty Tour de la Lanterne, one of the must see sights, so I get to enjoy it thoroughly during our stay.

Hotel La Monnaie, La Rochelle

Interior courtyard of Hotel La Monnaie, La Rochelle

Back lot of Hotel La Monnaie, La Rochelle

Windows of our room in Hotel La Monnaie, La Rochelle

View of Tour de la Lanterne from back lot of  Hotel La Monnaie, La Rochelle

I am still a bit stressed about staying in hotels with puppy. What if she destroys something? What is she bothers the other hotel guests? So I am relieved to see that the staff here is very pet-friendly. In fact the manager on duty explains that she has recently rescued 12 puppies and found them all good homes. And there is a cat who lives in the hotel's underground garage, being taken care of by the staff. How nice! And what a relief. If puppy by any chance causes a stain in the corridor I am sure they would be understanding.

No stains happen, but puppy is being a bit naughty this evening, barking much more than usual. Luckily this is an old building, hopefully the thick walls filter much of the noise. The barking does not help my migraine and by now I am feeling really bad.   So, even though there seem to be plenty of restaurants in the area, we order room-service for dinner.

The next day it's out at 5 am with puppy and I am horrified to discover that the temperature plunged overnight. I am freezing! I am also annoyed. We packed carefully, based on the weather forecast. How could the forecast be so off just a couple of days ago? We did not bring winter jackets and now I am worried that we will need them.

Even though it's cold it's sunny, and I can't wait to get out and discover the town. Unfortunately puppy, who has been acting out since yesterday evening, throws up. The upset tummy explains her behavior, but it also means that we need to postpone the sightseeing by a couple of hours, give her time to have a good rest. We have traveled a lot with our daughter when she was a baby, so we are quite used to having to adjust our plans this way.

We finally set out at noon. It's still very cold so we are wearing lots of layers. Even puppy is bundled up in a towel whenever she is not running around.  On the other hand it's beautiful sunny weather, with blue skies, which we haven't had in about a month. So, cold or no cold, we are very much enjoying being outside.

We pass by the 15th century Tour de la Lanterne, which, as it's name indicates, used to be a candle-lit lighthouse. It's also called the Tour des Quatre Sergents, in memory of some of the prisoners who were once held here.

Tour de la Lanterne, La Rochelle

Tour de la Lanterne, La Rochelle

We walk toward the Old Port and toward the two 14th century defensive towers on either side, Tour St. Nicolas and Tour de la Chaine. The name Tour de la Chaine refers to the times when a huge chain was raised between these two towers, for protection in war times. These towers seem so familiar. I realize that I have seen their pictures many times, as they are by far the most recognizable symbol of La Rochelle.

Tour de la Chaine (foreground) and Tour St. Nicolas (background), La Rochelle

Tour St. Nicolas, La Rochelle

Tour de la Chaine  and Tour St. Nicolas, La Rochelle

I love the view of the old port. So pretty! If the weather would be just a bit warmer we would definitely linger for a while. But we are freezing, so we need to walk.

Old Port, La Rochelle

To reach the old town, we pass through the 12th century Tour de la Grosse Horloge, a Gothic style clock tower. We stroll through the arcades of rue du Palais, buying our postcards in one of the many shops here. Even the arcades have a dog-poo-bag-dispenser, but it's empty, which might explain why we see so much dog poo on the sidewalks (still less than in Paris though).

La Grosse Horloge, La Rochelle

La Grosse Horloge, La Rochelle

Rue du Palais, La Rochelle

Dog-poo-bag-dispenser in the arcades of Rue du Palais, La Rochelle

We reach the Hotel de Ville (townhall) which, with it's misleadingly simple outside walls does not impress at first sight.  The simplicity is misleading because beyond these walls lies possibly the most ornate townhall courtyard I have ever seen. We spend quite a long time in this courtyard as there seem to be an unusually high number of dog-loving tourists here. By now we are used to people stopping us all the time, wanting to pet our puppy (who could resist a 2.5 month old Golden Retriever?). But here we simply can't get away.

Hotel de Ville, La Rochelle

Hotel de Ville, La Rochelle

Hotel de Ville, La Rochelle

We walk around a bit more in the charming old town, passing the 17th century Temple Protestant and Eglise St Sauveur, the sailors' parish church. Both of them are closed though.

Temple Protestant, La Rochelle

Old town, La Rochelle

Eglise St Sauveur, La Rochelle

Time for lunch, so we look around for a dog-friendly restaurant. While most restaurants (at least the non-fancy ones) seem to allow dogs in France, we don't like to take our active, untrained puppy to crowded ones, because we don't want to bother the other diners too much. We also always ask if it's OK to come in with a dog. An Italian restaurant called Via Roma looks good and my husband is just about to walk in to ask about the dog, when we notice a large "dogs welcome" sign on the door. That's nice! Yes, the restaurant is definitely dog-friendly. The owner's huge (but very well behaved) Labrador is cruising between the tables and there is a photo of a second dog in the corner. Another thing I like about this restaurant: a poster titled "Molto calorie! Les anti-lights" displaying what I assume are the least healthy choices on the menu.  In case you care: pizza is really good, dessert not that much.

Dogs welcome sign, restaurant Via Roma, La Rochelle

Dog picture and high-calorie choices in restaurant Via Roma, La Rochelle

On the way back to the hotel puppy discovers a new way of catching a ride when she gets tired. Instead of riding in the carrier, she rides on it. While I am sure this sort of use is not in the user manual, and it's probably not very good for the bag, she loves it. We get a lot of smiles from passerby.

Old town, La Rochelle

It's still early, so we pick up the car in the hotel and set out to one of the most popular holiday destinations in France, the island of Ile de Re. There are several islands around La Rochelle, including the famous Fort Boyard (yes, the one from the TV show). But we don't feel like getting on a boat in this cold. Ile de Re is the only one accessible by car, via a 3-km (2-mile) bridge.

Map of Ile de Re on a wall in St Martin de Re

We also don't feel like taking the highway, and opt for the "scenic" route instead. By scenic I simply mean the smaller road following the water front. Which means that the "scenery" ends up being the industrial part of town, the real, non-touristy ports. We don't mind, as this is fun to see too. What I do mind though is that the road ends in a dead end (not indicated on the map), so at the end it takes us much longer than planned to get to the bridge.

Port, La Rochelle

Ile de Re welcomes us with the impressive sight of what I assume is a kite surfing competition.  While the weather is beautifully sunny, the wind is incredibly strong and the water looks horribly choppy to me, so I can't imagine who in their right mind would go out on the water today.

Bridge of  Ile de Re

Ile de Re

Kite surfers, Ile de Re

Visiting this island was a last minute decision. So we have no map and no plan, we just drive. We pass some pretty houses, a fort, the ruins of an abbey, a bunch of donkeys (more about them later), and end up in the island's main town, St Martin de Re.

Ile de Re

Abbaye Notre Dame de Re, Ile de Re

The advantage of not being prepared for an outing is that a place can really surprise us. And that's definitely true for this town. I didn't expect much, but was I wrong! The place is lovely. I wish I would be here in better weather, at the same time I realize that in summer it must be unbearably crowded. Even now, on this cold, windy day, there are plenty of people strolling around. The town is overflowing with charm!

St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

I think it's impossible to visit Ile de Re without asking yourself the question: What's up with the donkeys? They are EVERYWHERE! Donkey key chains, donkey salt and pepper shakers, donkey postcards, donkey ... everything. And let's not forget the horde of live donkeys we passed on the way. Of course these are no just any donkeys, they are donkeys wearing trousers. Apparently in the old days, when these animals were frequently used around here for work, their owners protected them from the flies and mosquitoes by making them wear donkey-trousers. For some reason the entire souvenir industry of the island seems to be built on this fact.

Donkey with trousers, St Martin de Re

Donkeys with trousers for sale, St Martin de Re

To fight the cold weather we have tea and hot chocolate in one of the cafes by the port (and, in my daughter's case also an outrageous strawberry macaroon, so gigantic that even a sugar-loving 9 year old can't finish it). 

That's what I call a macaroon!, St Martin de Re

St Martin de Re

Back in the hotel we finally manage to see the cat living in the garage. My daughter is delighted, the cat not so much.

We choose a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner and, while at first they are not thrilled about our dog, they agree to us eating there because puppy is in a carrier. We are getting it down to a science now how to tire her out before meals so that she is tired enough to sleep through it, but not too tired to be restless. And this time we were successful again, she sleeps through the entire dinner without a sound.

Like usually, my husband takes the evening shift with puppy, and I sleep nice and early. Tonight we will be changing the clocks, one hour ahead, but doubt that puppy's biological clock will care, so I am sure it will be an early morning. Then it's off to our next stop, Bordeaux.

France road trip with a puppy, Part 2: Poitiers

This post is about the second stop in our 2-week drive across France. With all our travel experience to more exotic and remote locations, this trip should be a piece of cake. But I am worried, as this is the first with our new dog, a 2.5 month old Golden Retriever puppy. Everything is suddenly so much more complicated. The reservations (hotels must accept dogs), the program (no museums and cool or fancy restaurants for us) and definitely the packing! We have gone through something similar when our daughter was a baby, except now, instead of a stroller we are lugging a crate and a dog carrier, instead of diapers it's packs of indoor potty pads, instead of baby food and bottles it's puppy food and bowls. With our daughter the trips went well. Let's see how we do with the puppy.

Date: late October / early November 2012
Day 3: Poitiers (en route from Tours to La Rochelle)

Woken up at our Tours hotel at 6 am by puppy, who by now seems to have forgotten everything there is to know about potty training. After cleaning up a couple of messes and alternating at breakfast (no dogs there), we set out for La Rochelle, with a stop in Poitiers.

The weather is grey and foggy, I guess the scientific designation for it would be "yucky". So the drive through the countryside is not as enjoyable as it should be. By the time we get to Poitiers it's raining. Three historic battles were fought around this town, but we are not sure exactly where, and we are not about to drive around looking for them. So we focus on the town itself instead.

We park in an under ground garage next to Eglise Notre Dame la Grande, a relatively small but interesting church on place Charles de Gaulle. After seeing the elaborate facade, the interior is surprisingly somber and (by church standards) simple. The main decoration are the painted columns, which I find very pretty. Their colorful geometric patterns are such a cheerful contrast to the otherwise somber feel of the place. I like it in here.

Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Interior of Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Interior of Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Interior of Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Place Charles de Gaulle, Poitiers

We stop by the tourist office nearby to get postcards, and to ask for directions to the next site on our list, Cathedrale St. Pierre. The cathedral is much bigger than Notre Dame la Grande, but in my opinion is much less interesting. It's quite cold and impersonal. There are a couple of historically significant components to look at though, like the 13th century carved choir stalls, which are the oldest in France, the beautiful organ, and of course the 12th century stained glass window picturing the Crucifixion.

Cathedrale St Pierre, Poitiers

A football stuck on one of the gargoyles of  Cathedrale St Pierre, Poitiers

Interior of  Cathedrale St Pierre, Poitiers

Interior of  Cathedrale St Pierre, Poitiers

12th century stained glass window of Crucifixion, Cathedrale St Pierre, Poitiers

We take a short walk to the 4th century Baptistere St Jean. It is closed, but even standing outside of the polygonal building, one feels like we have just touched history. It is one of the oldest Christian buildings in France, the venue of some of the earliest baptisms in the country. Even our 9 year old daughter is impressed by how old it is. For the rest of the trip, every time we see an old structure (which is quite often), she will pose the question: "Is this even older than the really old one we saw?" (meaning the Baptistere St Jean). And most of the time the answer will be "no".

Baptistere St Jean, Poitiers

It's back to place Charles de Gaulle for lunch in a simple but friendly couscous place. We have tired puppy out, so she sleeps through our entire meal, which is nice. Business is slow, so the restaurant owner sits by one of the tables, organizing her stamp collection. My husband collects stamps as well, so soon a lively discussion develops on the topic. We leave with an envelope filled with the lady's doubles, and with her address so that we can mail her some of ours.

We walk over to the grand looking Palais de Justice, which is said to be the scene of Joan of Arc's interrogation in the 15th century. We have already seen a commemorative plaque for this event on our way to the cathedral, and I assume it was on the back side of the Palais de Justice, though my sense of direction is not good enough to be certain.

Palais de Justice, Poitiers

Plaque commemorating Joan of Arc's interrogation in Poitiers

Then it's back to the car, as we still have a way to go to La Rochelle.

France road trip with a puppy, Part 1: Tours

This post is about the first stop in our 2-week drive across France. With all our travel experience to more exotic and remote locations, this trip should be a piece of cake. But I am worried, as this is the first with our new dog, a 2.5 month old Golden Retriever puppy. Everything is suddenly so much more complicated. The reservations (hotels must accept dogs), the program (no museums and cool or fancy restaurants for us) and definitely the packing! We have gone through something similar when our daughter was a baby, except now, instead of a stroller we are lugging a crate and a dog carrier, instead of diapers it's packs of indoor potty pads, instead of baby food and bottles it's puppy food and bowls. With our daughter the trips went well. Let's see how we do with the puppy.

Date: late October / early November 2012
Days 1 and 2: Tours

After loading the car (full trunk!) with mostly puppy-stuff, we set out from our Paris home to Tours about 2.5 hours away. As our own car is too small for this trip, we rented at AVIS and, even though we paid for it, they don't have a GPS to give us. So I am navigating from paper printouts, like in the good old times.

We pass a whole load of various "chateau" signs on the way, which is not surprising, as Tours is situated in the Loire Valley known for it's numerous chateaux. Because of puppy we are not visiting any of them on this trip, but focusing on town's instead, where a lot can be seen by simply strolling around.

According to Eyewitness Travel, Tours "is the most appealing of the major Loire cities". We shall see.  Even though for a period the town was France's capital,  it was never exactly on my sightseeing radar, and we are only visiting because my husband has a work meeting here.

We are staying in the charming Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, on a hill above town. To my relief the hotel has pleasant gated grounds. That should make it easier for puppy. She has not completed all her vaccinations yet, and is not supposed to be exposed to excrement from other dogs or rats, both of which are impossible to avoid in Paris. The grounds here look so clean compared to our Paris street!

Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, Tours

Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, Tours

Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, Tours

The main hotel building is charming inside and out, though for some reason the two side extensions are completely modern looking, which is a bit bizarre. Also, there seem to be a lot of elderly strolling on the grounds, so I wonder if one of these buildings is actually a retirement home. Don't have much time to ponder this though as puppy falls asleep and we jump on the opportunity to have a nice quiet afternoon tea in the pretty hotel bar.

Bar of  Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, Tours

Bar of Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, Tours

Bar of  Clarion Hotel Chateau Belmont, Tours

My daughter and husband head for the indoor hotel pool, while puppy and I take a walk on the grounds. We have to stay on the paved paths though. I have read that walking a Golden Retriever puppy is like walking a vacuum cleaner, and it's definitely true for our little one. So we have to stay off any gravel paths to make sure puppy doesn't have gravel for dinner.

I tire her out then feed her well, to make sure she behaves during our dinner. Yes, we are brave! Encouraged by her good behavior in the afternoon (she slept quietly in her carrying case during our entire tea), we made reservations for dinner in the hotel restaurant. While normally they don't allow dogs, they made an exception as puppy is small and in a carrying case. It almost turns out to be a disaster, as she barks like crazy for about a minute as soon as we sit at the table. Very embarrassing and we are contemplating leaving. But then she quiets down and we are actually able to have a nice and relaxing dinner after all.

I am a bit stressed about the night, as puppy is still not very enthusiastic about sleeping in her crate, and I don't want her barking to bother the other hotel guests. But she must be tired, as she falls asleep without a sound. How nice!

In the morning puppy wakes me, like usual, at 5:30. It's dark and foggy outside, and this time of the day I find it a bit spooky. Now I wish I would have a fully grown large dog to protect me from whatever might be lurking behind the trees. The temperature dropped drastically since yesterday, it really feels like winter now.

We alternate at breakfast (no need to subject puppy to the carrying case again), then my husband goes to work and my daughter and I relax all morning. Whenever puppy is awake we go out on the grounds to play.

When my husband gets back in the afternoon we set out to see the town. I don't feel guilty at all that we haven't done any sightseeing yet.  The old town of Tours is small, and a couple of hours should be enough to see everything we wanted to see.

Old Town, Tours

Old Town, Tours

Old Town, Tours

Old Town, Tours

We park in an underground garage just off Place du Grand Marche, at the edge of old town. This square is not as charming as I expected, so we just pass through and walk straight to Place Plumereau, the most picturesque square in Tours. It is surrounded by pretty 15th century houses and, with it's cafes and restaurants, must be quite lively on a warmer day.

Place Plumereau, Tours

Sweets shop in the Old Town of Tours

We continue walking on Rue du Commerce toward the cathedral, and to my surprise it seems to be taking us out of the old town. It's a more modern, busy shopping street. We do pass by some sights though, like the ornate 15th century Hotel Gouin (under renovation unfortunately) and the bit falling-apart looking Eglise St. Julien.

Hotel Gouin under renovation, Tours

Eglise St. Julien, Tours

Rue du Commerce becomes Rue Colbert, which is semi-pedestrianized. What this means is that pedestrians walk on the street with a false sense of security, while cars zoom through just the same. That makes it almost impossible for me (with a small child and small dog) to enjoy the pretty buildings and the really cool Halloween decorations.

On rue Colbert, Tours

Halloween decorations on rue Colbert, Tours

On rue Colbert, Tours

The purpose of this walk was of course to get to the 16th century Cathedrale St. Gatien. Puppy gets some running-around time on the plaza in front, while we alternate visiting the inside. It's majestic, with beautiful stained glass windows.

St. Gatien Cathedral, Tours

Interior of St. Gatien Cathedral, Tours

Interior of St. Gatien Cathedral, Tours

Interior of St. Gatien Cathedral, Tours

We head to Musee des Beaux-Arts next door. Though we have no intention of visiting the museum itself, we are intrigued by the 200 years old Lebanese cedar in it's courtyard. It's an impressive sight, and the grounds and building (a former archbishop's palace) are pretty.

Musee des Beaux Arts, Tours

Grounds of  Musee des Beaux Arts, Tours

Two hundred year old Lebanese Cedar at Musee des Beaux Arts, Tours

We circle back toward the old town, passing by the neo-Byzantine Basilica of St Martin. Across the street is Tour Charlemagne, what is left of an earlier Romanesque church of St. Martin,  the 4th century bishop of Tours.

Tour Charlemagne, Tours

Basilique St. Martin, Tours

We are getting a bit cold and hungry at this point, so we are looking for a cafe where we could have some cake and hot drinks. But it seems that by now (6 pm) people moved on to alcohol rather than tea. We don't find any place we like, and head back to the hotel. On the way we stop for a minute to admire the view of Pont Wilson across La Loire.

Building in Tours

Pont Wilson, with Tours in the background

Dinner is room-service because we don't think puppy should spend more time in the carrying case today. Then we call it a day. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us, driving to La Rochelle, stopping in Poitiers along the way.