Le Phare des Baleines

The Minx suggested that we have a trip out today, to visit the lighthouse that we can see across the water from La Tranche-sur-Mer. 

Although it doesn't look that far if you were travelling there as a crow, it was about two hours by car, which suited us just fine, enjoying the countryside and the glorious sunshine, not to mention the bridge from La Rochelle to Île de Ré.

Once you've parked up, there's a small village of shops, cafés, and bars between the visitor and the lighthouse, and that is where we stopped for a light lunch, enjoying the shade, after which we walked along to admire the lighthouse and its attendant buildings. 

It was a splendid sight, but not a time-consuming one, and we returned to the car to fulfil the Minx's desire to visit Saint-Martin-de-Ré, which we had passed on the way.

This turned out to be a lovely if somewhat bougie town, and we wandered through old streets to the harbour. God knows what it's like in the height of summer, as it was still very busy, today, but I very much enjoyed wandering around, although I was bemused by the flying figures that you can see in my Extra.