Off the coast of Madagascar, a very large African island, is the small island La Réunion, formerly Bourbon island from which vanilla beans take their name. It’s still a département of France, which means I just took an 11-hour domestic flight from Paris. There are no arrival formalities, everybody speaks French, and you pay in euros. Lots of euros, life here is not cheap.
I am in the capital, Saint-Denis, La Réunion’s small, quiet, and charming but not especially beautiful capital. It’s hot and sunny, almost 30 degrees C warmer than Berlin.
As always in France it’s not easy to find lunch because restaurants are strictly open 12-14:00 only, and La Réunion adds an extra complication by closing almost all restaurants on Sundays. It’s Sunday. But I got lucky. Walked about town all day; the corniche along the rocky coast is especially pleasant. Getting used to the slow pace here.
