Road Tripping - 1

Already a month in France. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. It seems just yesterday that my visa hadn't arrived and I was mourning with my vodka-tang and suddenly I'm sitting here in this semi-cold room, with my toes freezing. And I have almost forgotten that I came here to study, thanks to the two week break we just had after just two weeks of college. I think I like the French, so generous with the holidays.

So after Paris, we recuperated in Nantes for a few days. Laundry, groceries etc were done and then another trip was planned. A road trip - a first in France. First stop at La Rochelle and then 2 days in Bordeaux.

5 girls, 1 Mitsubishi car and a lot of bags :)

La Rochelle is about 2.5 hours from Nantes. The journey was really nice, great roads and a wonderful view. It rained for a long, long time and then it was clear for a few hours. Thank goodness for my umbrella. 

Among all the grey stone buildings, we came across a little open air market. It was a pop of color - green, red, yellow. We looked all around, fascinated by all the interesting fruits and veggies that I don't find in India.

And then, right in the middle of it all, was a little stall selling Indian food. Oh, I almost jumped with joy. Chicken tikka, Kofta and Naan. Oh, what happiness. We got talking to the chefs who were Kashmiris and living in France for the last 20 years. They were so glad to talk to someone in Hindi. It was fun and they didn't let us pay for the Naans :) So sweet. And the food was yummy. 

We just walked around town after that, taking in the sights. It's a really small town and we could walk all around in under three hours. It has a few tall towers and a dock, filled with boats. Very Dexter-ish.  

It rained and then it was all sunny suddenly. We even saw a rainbow. Actually the first of many on that trip. We looked around, and finally headed to an island to go look at the beaches. It was sunny but freezing cold. And super-duper windy. The coldest day of the month I think. 

It was a lot done in half a day. And then we headed off to Bordeaux. Part two coming up soon.