The next morning, another surprise awaits me...sloshing through the icy lane of my rented house at rue des feuilles, a yellow van with the unmistakable logo of La Poste delivered a yellow packet to me. It was my Nikon camera that I had sent home for repair in Malaysia! I was extremely excited and glad that my camera arrived unscathed as I had already imagined the worst case scenario: like it will never arrive and some evil postman will be enjoying his ill gotten loot in some unknown scene...(heard of stories where people looses all sorts of things in the post). But came it did and all was well again.
The first thing I did, after having had to run out to the door in slippers and pyjamas in an icy cold morning to answer the postman's call, was to quickly get myself ready and head out to town and the campus to snap some photos of the city covered in snow...
The first thing I did, after having had to run out to the door in slippers and pyjamas in an icy cold morning to answer the postman's call, was to quickly get myself ready and head out to town and the campus to snap some photos of the city covered in snow...
Outside my room...the gazon (grass) covered in soft snow.
The park behind my house covered in snow...
The park behind Port Royale covered in snow. 
Port Royale - the land entrance point to the walled city of La Rochelle. This seemingly calm facade has a violent history: La Rochelle was a rich merchant city with liberal politics (the Rochelais were protestants in a predominant Catholic France). However, to unite France in religion and politics, Cardinal Richelieu, prime minister to King Louis XIII, burned down the city in 1628 after a final confrontation in the famous siege of La Rochelle where its ports were blocked from land and sea to slowly starve the people of La Rochelle into surrender but the city held on to the end. This history is still being retold to tourists visiting the city. This city was also the departure point to the New World where rich Rochelais merchants traded 'ebene' (ebony -meaning slaves from Africa) in the darker part of its infamous history as a principal actor in the triangular commerce: France-Africa-New world
A path well taken...one of the nondescript shops on the way to the market in town center from Port Royale
Farmers selling their produce (mostly seafood) outside the enclosed wet market. 
La grosse horloge -the big clock aptly describe the clock tower on the principal entrance to the walled city from the vieux port (old port).
Another view of the clock tower 
The calm after the storm - a view of the port
The campus is situated at the port on reclaimed land of a once marais (swamp) 
View of the vieux port
Sunny bright day after the snow at the vieux port, La Rochelle
A view from the vieux port 
Traces of yesterday's storm on the pedestrian walkway to the campus
La tour saint Nicholas, part of the three-tower complex (including la tour de la Chaine and la tour de la Lanterne) that forms the sea gateway to the city of La Rochelle. These monuments are UNESCO certified as world heritage.
View of the vieux port - La tour de Saint Nicholas on the left and la tour de la Chaine on the right.
A view of the vieux port
Ferry to Ile de Re and other islands in vicinity. To the left is la tour de la Lanterne, which of course served as a lighthouse
The modern lighthouse
The way back from town a pied: sunset over the leafless tree-lined street near Port Royale
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