Feeling utterly exhausted after 3 days spent provisioning our boat! We have traveled all across La Rochelle, visiting Hyper U (Walmart/Target/Kmart equiv), Leroy Merlin (Home Depot/Bunnings equiv), Bouchara (beautiful linens), and local markets. English isn’t so prevalent in this city, so we’ve become quite skilled at playing a game of charades when making our purchases. We’re slowly picking up some limited French and, fortunately, enjoying the novelty of the challenges the language barrier presents us.
There are still many more purchases to go, including foul weather gear and boat-specific items we need to get from local chandlery stores. A huge shout out to Steve and Debbie, two fellow Aussies, who walked this path several years ago with an ex-factory pickup in La Rochelle and whose website has provided us with invaluable information in getting set up ourselves!
Link to Steve & Debbie’s site: https://www.multihullsolutions.com.au/top-tips/la-rochelle-shopping-aid
