Easter madness in west              of France

• It was quick decision, but long time coming. Been wanting to visit France for some time now, Easter was coming, my beautiful eldest daughter was on half term holiday and I was planning. But we all know how it happens with perfect planning. Plane tickets suddenly went sky high, hotels seemed out of this world.  And I left it for a while, thinking some other day. Keep it there, do not forget it. And so I followed my advice. One week before our holidays were supposed to start, I took bull by its horns and started my mission. Tickets were for the price of two bread loaves, hotels were still bit on expensive side, but worth it. I had 6 days to book plane, hotels, pack for 4 people, two of whom are fireballs and non stop movers. To tell you honestly it felt like the hardest mission I ever taken on. But it turned out beautiful.  We got to see nearly half of west coast France - Bordeaux, Saintes, Rochefort, La Rochelle or Las Vegas for french and of course Nantes. It had its ups and downs and even though the last two days felt like catching the next plane home,  my mission was accomplished. The public transport is great, trains (we took 5 of them) are comfortable and relatively cheap. Food is ....French. So if not sure grab a delicious north African kebab, that tastes so good after long hours spent exploring the city.  Plenty to visit and see - Bordeaux -  Pont du Pier, Grosse Cloche, Place de la Bourse, Rue Sainte - Catherine -longest shopping street in Bordeaux 1.2 km - anything from Kenzo, Gucci and Prada to delicious canele pasties (traditional to Bordeaux),  Saintes - beautiful french town with amazing market (anything from tarte tatin and snails) as well as Arch of Germanicus and Basilique Saint Eutrope, Vegas of France - La Rochelle - Vieux Port, beautiful churches and basilics, and of course city of Nantes - amazing castle Chateau des ducs de Bretagne that takes you back in time, Jardin des plantes and never ending buzz. Busy as a beehive. Try it, it is worth it.