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2276 - La Rochelle, France

Sandrine sent her card in an envelope. I'm usually not a big fan of getting cards in envelopes, but sometimes people put something like a coin in the envelope (not this time). Instead, Sandrine coloured a picture on the envelope. The stamp she used was also a sports related stamp of a pole vaulter.

Sandrine's city, La Rochelle, was hit hard by a big storm, named Xynthia. For three days the streets were flooded and Sandrine reports she was terrified.

La Rochelle has about 75 000 people and more than 1000 years of history. The Latin form of the name of La Rochelle was first used in 961, however, Gauls and Romans both lived in the areas centuries before that.

The Germans used La Rochelle as a submarine base during the Second World War. It was also the last French city to be liberated from the Germans on 7 May 1945. French soldiers entered the city the next day. The U-boat pens still exist and were used in the movie Das Boot and in Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

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