While Bruges and Honfleur were basically villages, Brest and La Rochelle are actually cities.
The quaintness is gone. However, unlike Brest, the downtown area was busy on Sunday morning. There is a huge farmers market—and I mean huge.

One of things I love about Europe is that many, many people shop at specialty stores. Not like we consider specialty stores. For us it has a different connotation, I think. But folks here go to the butcher for meat, the cheese shop for cheese, the open market for vegetables, the bakery for
bread, etc. It is so unlike America because we go to large stores to buy everything. But these small shops are still very common in Europe.

It was Sunday, so we went to Mass at Church of Notre-Dame of Cougnes church. Then we wandered around the market and people watched. People
are odd; guess that’s why we like to watch them. We discovered a restaurant called The French Café. There are so many cafes in France. Guess this one is THE French café.

So, we took the bus back to the ship and got into the hot tub.

I don’t think I mentioned it formally, but we are on an Oceania cruise from Southampton, England, and Bilbao, Spain. We met two Jamaican ladies, one who works in the lounge (Shanak), and one in the restaurant (Kerry Ann). Both like Bob Marley and have been on this ship awhile. They were so polite,
friendly, helpful, etc. I don’t know how they do it, work so hard every day for
six months straight. I had the opportunity to listen to their stories about where they came from and why they’re on cruise ships. Much has to do with money, the situation at home, and the opportunity to see the world. Kerry Ann invited us to Montego Bay to show us around. Might take her up on it!

We also chatted with the four main singers for the production shows. Lisa, Floor, David and Azaniah, from South Africa, the Netherlands, Britain, and South Africa, respectively. Their voices were amazingly good. They told us that they went through six weeks of auditions before being selected out of 80 people by the entertainment scouts for Oceania. The entertainment on this ship—singers, dancers, bands, orchestra, etc.—were top-notch.

The ships hold around 1200. There is one pool and two hot tubs. Hardly anyone was in them. I know people rave about the food on Oceania,
but I thought it was about the same as Holland America.

Watching the 75+ seniors party and dance is so much fun, andnot in a disrespectful or negative way. The smiles on their faces. They have such a great time. I realized that one of the reasons this age group loves cruises
is because they can enjoy themselves like they (probably) did when they were young. Where else can they go in our society to have fun like this? I doubt they are out “clubbing” or partying on the local dance floors.

As I mentioned before, I attended an art class. Rebecca went to about three of them. Also, I attended a couple of photography classes; learned a few things about taking photos on the iPhone that I never knew before. The internet has generally been good but occasionally spotty. This time in Europe I bought the Holafly eSims for our phones. So worth it. We don’t
have to deal with data limitations.

A little La Rochelle history:

Like Brest, La Rochelle became a significant shipbuilding port in the 13th century. England and France battled for control during the Hundred
Years War. The city came under French control in 1375.

La Rochelle became a major center of Protestantism during the French Wars of Religion (1562 – 1598). It withstood the Siege of La Rochelle by Catholic forces in 1573. Most of its population converted to Calvinism.

Catholics attacked again 1627 in The Great Siege of La Rochelle during the reign of Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu. The city resisted fiercely hoping for support from England, but it never came. Catholic forces constructed a massive seawall to block the harbor, starving the city. After 14 months, with over 20,000 of its 28,000 inhabitants dead from starvation or disease, La Rochelle surrendered on October 28, 1628.

During World War II, La Rochelle was occupied by the Nazi’s in 1940. The Germans built one of the largest U-boat bases. Then, of course, the city was bombed extensively by the allies. La Rochelle was one of the last German-held pockets in France, surrendering only on May 8, 1945, after prolonged negotiations to avoid destruction.

Incidentally, La Rochelle was the film location for the 1981 movieDas Boot. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a German U-boat crew during World War II. Great cinematography and suspense.