Life in La Rochelle While We Wait for Everything We Shipped from the U.S.

Well, we arrived four weeks ago, and we are still here in La Rochelle! Our items from the U.S. have not arrived, but they are finally through customs, and we are just waiting on delivery. It is frustrating, but out of our control. The good news is that this is a charming place to be stuck for a while!

Daily life while we wait

We’ve completed some boat projects and upgrades and have a few more that will need to be completed after our things arrive. We have been making the most of things in the meantime and enjoying the local scene. We spent a day sightseeing at the Towers of the Old Harbor and found a beautiful local park that stretches into the city. There is also a great farmers market in the center of town, which is only about a 30 min walk from the marina. We walk to the small city market every other day or so to get food (since we can only buy what we can carry – part of our new cruising life), and a larger grocery store nearby is easy to get to on rented bikes. We have also taken the local city bus to get to a larger shopping area with stores where we were able to pick up some kitchen and home necessities to help tide us over until our things arrive.

Bonjour! Merci!

While my French is coming along well, I am far from proficient. Many people here know a little English, but even those who don’t have been very patient with me. I’ve usually opened with, “Je suis désolé. Je parle petite peu Francais.” Which translates to, “I’m sorry, I only speak a little French.” So far, this has been met with a lot of warmth and a willingness to help me to do everything from shopping to finding things in a pharmacy, to boat work, and of course – ordering food when dining out at restaurants!

Plat du jour

Which brings us to food. Oh my, the food here is amazing! John and I have found that you really can’t go wrong ordering the plate of the day (Plat du Jour). We are both adventurous and will eat just about anything, so we usually find something to order on the menu that is new for us, or we just order the daily special and let ourselves be surprised. Most restaurants offer a menu special that includes an appetizer (entrees), main dish (plat), and dessert. Because the portions are smaller compared to the U.S., you can easily enjoy all of the courses in one meal! There is also lots of seafood to enjoy, which we both love. The fish of the day (Poisson du Jour) has become my favorite thing to order. It is different at every restaurant and never disappoints! I could do an entire post on the food we’ve fallen in love with here, but here is a sample!

La Rochelle is a sailor’s dream

One of the other things that is really fun about living here in La Rochelle is that it is a true sailor’s paradise. There are several large boatyards in the region, and La Rochelle is one of the launching locations for many catamaran manufacturers, including Lagoon, Fontaine Pajot, Neel, Nautitech, and Bali. This means that everywhere you go boats and catamarans are being hauled out and worked on, or even transported down the center of the street! There are also large chandleries right off the main marina drive that have made it easy to stop for extra things we need as we get the boat ready.

And finally… sailing!

The best part of the last few weeks is that we finally were able to get Coronado out on the water for some sailing time! We spent a few days with a local French Captain, Damien. He was awesome and has a lot of experience on the Lagoon 450s. He is a cruiser as well and spent 3 years sailing from France to the Caribbean and then over the Pacific to French Polynesia all the way to Fiji with his wife and two children a few years ago. He was a great guy and very knowledgeable. We loved sailing with him, and it was amazing to finally get Coronado out on the water! We are really impressed with the boat and her sailing performance has exceeded our expectations!

Enjoying each day

While we are ready to get going and eager to start sailing, we also know this is just part of our new lifestyle. There are delays. There are unexpected changes to plans. Life on the water and sailing brings with it many opportunities to be more present in the moments of each day, so we are doing our best to just enjoy being exactly where we are. The sunset view helps, too.