Day Twelve, La Rochelle
Ray and Dona had picked up Oscar about eleven and set off for La Rochelle, about forty miles away. Luckily, Ray and Dona kept the conversation going and that saved Oscar having to think of anything to say, in fact, Oscar was really enjoying himself.
They got parked up in the big car park close to the Aquarium La Rochelle and set off towards the old centre of town. They crossed over the footbridge and walked passed the Musee Maritime to another footbridge, only this one Ray, Dona and Oscar all recognised.
"That bridge is the same as Pegasus Bridge" said Ray "I didn't know there were others."
"You are right" said Oscar "I did not know either, strange that, we think there is only the one and here is another, there are probably even more".
Pegasus Bridge is the famous World War Two bridge over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham, in Normandy. Famously on the night of 5th June 1944 (the night before D Day), a force of 181 men, took off from southern England, in six Horsa gliders to capture the bridge. The object of this action was to prevent German armour from crossing the bridges and attacking the eastern flank of the landings at D Day Sword Beach. They did their job magnificently.
They walked over the bridge and continued on to the Tour Saint-Nicolas at the entrance to the old harbour and from there over the next footbridge through to the end of the harbour.
Then from there, the end of the harbour into the shops, were Dona spent what seemed to be an age looking at everything. It was actually only about an hour but in the end Ray steered her back towards the harbour and Ray had what he wanted. He had popped into a shop with booze and got some new beers.
Back at the harbour Oscar asked if they fancied a sit down and maybe a drink or even some lunch. Ray said that that sounded like a good idea and that he could have one drink, only they would get their own. Oscar said it was him who was getting the lift, so he would pay and that he would put lunch it on the firms credit card anyway. Dona said ok but only something light and pointed at the Café Leffe, which seemed to suite all of them. Ray was especially pleased with the choice as he loved Leffe beers and decided there and then to have one.
Sat outside a restaurant, on the opposite side of the old harbour to were they came in, Oscar though it was time to start to quizzing Ray and Dona, but only ever so slightly. Before that could happen though, the waiter came over and they ordered their food and drinks. Ray and Dona still only wanted to order something small but Oscar reminded them it was on the company, Ray only had a small Leffe beer though while the other two had a bottle of wine between them.
While they waited for the food to arrive, Oscar asked them if they had done anything different during this trip to France (they had talked a lot about all their trips to France during the nights out they had in Le, Château, d'Oléron). Ray said that they had basically had a nice quiet holiday, just what they had wanted and that together with a few beers on the night with good company, had made it all a really good time away from home. As for something different, no nothing really different from the usual that they did, just sight seeing, shopping and drinking.
Their food then arrived and as they ate, Oscar mentioned that he had been to Pateley Bridge just before his trip to France. Ray and Dona where both stunned for a moment but Ray soon quietly caught his breath and said that they had been there just last year. Oscar said that he had stayed at the The Crown and asked if they knew it. Dona said that of course they knew it and that they drank in there for a drink whenever they visited Pateley Bridge. Oscar said that he could have sworn that he saw them in there but that was impossible, wasn't it. Ray said that was very strange, two other people that good looking was very strange indeed. Oscar laughed and said very funny and thought just how well Ray and Dona had taken this.
Oscar decided to let it drop for now, he knew what they did, he had seen it all happen and he had it on tape. He liked them a lot and he decided to enjoy himself here, just as if he were on holiday and ate the rest of his food in silence. In the end Ray asked what they were going to do next, as he fancied walking along the sea walls. The others thought that is sounded like a good idea and as soon as they finished in the Café Leffe, they headed towards the Tour de la Chaîne.
The Tour de la Chaîne is one of the impressive entry towers of La Rochelle, there they got up onto the wall and walked along to the next tower. Were they had to come back down from the wall, then walked on to the end following the wall to where it just, ended. So that was a very short walk. The wall had ended at a beach with restaurants, bars and faire ground attractions. They had a look around then, they headed back into the old part of town via the main road. La Rochelle was a great place to visit but it would be an even better place to stay for a while, maybe for a week, thought Ray.
Back in town, the rest of the afternoon was spent shopping and general sightseeing, Oscar was enjoying himself, he really liked Ray and Donas company. Two ordinary people on an ordinary visit to France, maybe he needed a partner and trips away from home. He realised that it was time to change his life, he had spent long enough being single and was glad he had met theses two. He made the decision that he was going to change things when he got back from France. He had a steady girlfriend June, back home that he saw fairly regularly, he now thought that this was just not enough, he was defiantly missing something.
On the drive back, Oscar sat quietly in the back of the car, he was contemplating just what he was going to say to June when he got back home.
Back on Île d'Oléron and Le, Château, d'Oléron, Ray asked Oscar if he had enjoyed himself and whether they were going to meet up later for a drink. Oscar thanked them for the wonderful day and said that he would love to meet up latter. Ray said that it as about six thirty now, how about they got changed and meet up for something to eat in about an hour or so. Oscar said that sounds good, he would see them at the usual place as soon as he had a shower and got changed.
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