With dreams of strolling along the sea, the vagabond was eager to adjust to a slower pace and explore the ports of La Rochelle.  Anticipation grew during the two hour train ride from Bordeaux, a route passing through woodlands, pastures and broad fields of wheat and sunflowers. The region, Charente Maritime, is wedged along France’s Atlantic coast above Bordeaux’s Médoc vineyards and below the flat fields of the Vendée. For centuries, the hub city of La Rochelle has been a crossroads  of commerce, culture and politics – all evident in the city’s diverse architecture, bearing traces of wars and conflict. The first destination was a long walk on La Rochelle’s ramparts, and though it was a very hot Sunday afternoon, a cool edge on the Atlantic breeze perked up a tired traveler.  It was not difficult to imagine schooners loaded with spices, cotton, and strange New World products approaching this deep-draught port. I could also picture carts hauling trunks to be loaded

onto immigrant ships carrying Huguenot Protestants, about to embark for North American shores.  I am sure that they tucked in an accordian or fiddle,  grandmother’s recipes, the family Bible – and dreams of a new life.

Towers still mark La Rochelle’s harbor on the Bay of Biscay, but pleasure boats of all sizes – cruising in to shop or to dine well – have replaced frigates and schooners of times past.  Plenty of boutiques line streets of the old town and choosing which café or restaurant offers the best Moules Marininières can be a confusing menu-study game. A steaming bowl of  Moules de Bouchot (mussels grown on a post) a dish of plump shellfish in a rich saffron sauce, was the vagabond’s choice of starter at Restaurant 4 Sergents.  The professional serving staff scurried between 90 places in this unusual setting, an early nineteenth century open-court building. The thick, leather bound winelist offered a good sampling of regional wines:  we chose a pleasant Orfeo, a 2005 merlot made less than an hour away from La Rochelle near the town of Vix.  To sum up the dining experience, it is on my list of  “must return in another season” destinations on the Atlantic coast.  In fact, the list of reasons for a repeat visit ranges beyond the restaurants, the spotless market hall packed with fish, cheese, chickens, meat and bread specialties, to museums and galleries worth a second look. There is much more to explore in the Charente..watch for market details and photos next week.

Traveler’s note: Reserve a table a day in advance at Restaurant 4 Sergents at 49, rue Saint-Jean, La Rochelle. Tel. 05 46 41 35 80.  Inviting menus change with the seasons.

Coming up in August:  Making fresh cheese, a recipe for Préfou from Arçais, and simmering cherry tomato chutney.