Moving and Digging in La Rochelle

La Rochelle is a very old city. The streets are narrow, the living space small. We have often wondered how people move large items in and out of the apartments of La Rochelle. The stairs are most often winding, sometimes preceded by long, narrow corridors. We found one answer recently. This little piece of street theatre took place on a main street close to our home. We were the only ones watching the performance!

1. Large flower pot, secured by a rope

              

2. Neighbour watches nervously

                    

3. Pot wrapped, neighbour 's idea?

4. The neighbour has nervously disappeared.

                                                                         

5. Young man takes control. 

6. "Hup--ca y'est!"

                                                                  

I left our apartment one morning and almost fell into this:

 Enquiring, I discovered that they were digging out a new basement next door. There is no parking on our narrow one way street, no dumpsters allowed so here is how they solved the problem of where to put all the dirt. The three large canvas bags you see above were filled by two young men who carried out the dirt in wheelbarrows. When they were full,  a truck with a small crane magically appeared. Problem solved!

                                                                       

                                                                                    

                                                    

We are certainly living in a city with creative responses to everyday problems.