Ile de Ré

Postmarked Ste Marie de Ré, dated 27 September 2001.

Ile de Ré (Charente Maritime)
Ruelle fleurie de roses trémières

The Ile de Ré is an island off the coast of France, near La Rochelle. Until 1987 the only access was by ferry, but in that year a 2 kilometre bridge was built and tourism has developed hugely. The narrow roads (ruelles) of the old parts typically have hollyhocks (roses trémières) growing along them almost wild. The houses are white with green or blue woodwork.

I wrote this postcard myself, during our first visit there. By the end of two weeks (end of September, beginning of October) I had counted car number plates from every single département in France, apart from one - south Corsica. I have never seen it in the height of summer. It must be incredibly busy then, and I believe that at times they close the bridge.