Today, I feel restless and decide to go and have a look at some of the sights. As I come into town, I decide to visit the Shell museum that seems famous. It turns out to be a very interesting display of 25000 shells from around the world collected by a passionate collector. Amazing to see the difference in size, colours and shapes.

After the museum, I take a detour to see the Quartier de l’Ile de Penotte and its wall art. Turns out to be a very nice spot hidden away a couple of blocks from the beach promenade. Beautiful paintings combined with seashells. With the bright colours of the houses – it gives a welcoming effect. Nice place to live!

As I come out on “Le Remblai” – the beach promenade – I stumble across a rental company renting bikes and scooters. I decide to take a Kymco 50cc scooter for a day and have a look at the surroundings. First I go southeast along the coast to have a look at the Bourgenay marina. Just as it said in the pilot book – it is a large modern but artificial marina so I skip the planned lunch here.

Instead, I continue on to Talmont-Saint-Hilaire that is most famous for its castle. Richard I of England (Lionhart) often used this castle as his base and owned the Château de Talmont from 1182 until his death. I walk up to the castle, pick up an audio guide and learn more.

Leaving Talmont, I decide to go north of Les Sables to see the coastal road towards Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. As I drive this nice road next to the ocean as the sun slowly sets – life really feels good. Being on a bike is always better than sitting caged up in a car even if I would have appreciated some extra horsepowers. A very nice day!