Those who know us, know as well that we use every opportunity to jump on a bike. And île de Ré is a true paradise for cycling. My hands are itching with desire to compare it to Amsterdam or Copenhagen but even if a small touristic island in France can’t really be put in the same line with large European capitals, I felt almost as happy and acknowledged as a cyclist as I did in Denmark. Anyway, I’m not really sure that there is a better way to explore the island than by bicycle. It’s flat, small, it has an awesome cycling infrastructure and definitely wouldn’t have a capacity for a big car flow. Thank God.

The thing I loved the most is that just like in countries with highly developed cycling culture, on the île de Ré you see all kinds of bicycles! Tandems, cross-country, e-bikes, folding bikes and even tricycles – it felt like Zootopia. Just for bikes.

Ile de Ré fully met my expectations – little white houses, as if someone smashed them in order to achieve similar height all over the island, doors and windows of very specific shades of green and a disturbingly distinct smell of money. Sorry for breaking the conversational taboos but there are places that are inaccessible for regular wallets and you know it. Last time I had this feeling in Arcachon.

Sometimes, at moments like that one, I realize how like we were to live several years so close to the sea. I hope Cherbourg wouldn’t be our last time with a seaside life.

Salt is another specialty of île de Ré, and across the island close to the salt farms one can find many small self-service shops. Naturally, we couldn’t leave the island without our own salt from île de Ré (even if it can be bought in every supermarket everywhere in the country), but our enthusiasm was hard to stop, so we ended up with four cans of salt with pepper, herbs and whatnot, salty sweets, salty sauces and a pack of algae pasta. Best food shopping ever.

We spent two nights in a lovely camping Huttopia – they definitely have a style. A big stylish safari tent for four at the foothill of a dune, it was our first time in something like that even if we are quite  experienced campers! Everything would have been perfect had it not been for a quarrel with a neighboring tent who claimed we had damaged their car (which we hadn’t), but that’s a different story.

This whole trip took place in the middle of September, however, it was still very hot. By very hot I mean +33C and up to +36C. Yes, the global warming and the climate disaster are yet to hit in their fullest, but it was already enough to melt us completely. This is why a stop on the beach was mandatory. Years go by, but I still think that jumping into the sea is one of the greatest joys of being alive.

Here comes the last stop of this four-day trip. Angoulême. The star of the recent Wes Anderson’s movie “The French Dispatch”, as well as of the book I use to teach French, I never actually thought I’d have an occasion to go there. Still, here we are, my second time in Angoulême this year. A very beautiful city and the capital of the Charente department. The social contrast with the seaside towns is strong, still Angoulême was my love from the first sight and the second visit did nothing but confirm it. Even if the main attraction of Angoulême is its Graphic Novel Festival, I personally loved it first of all for its très français vibe and a postcard harmony of the architecture. No wonder Wes Anderson chose it for his movie!

I wish the light had been better for photos though. Maybe next time!

It’s all for now. I do hope to be back in the region to explore more of Charente and Charente-Maritime, visit the worldwide famous Fort Boyard (is there a person in the world who wasn’t traumatized by the spiders in Fort Boyard?!), eat more oysters on the île d’Oléron and drink some Cognac in Cognac for that matter. Stay tuned!