Villa "Loulou" au Vieux Chapus

At the bend in the Place des Pilotes, there is a surprising house. As you walk through the narrow streets of Vieux Chapus, it is interesting to look at their names: rue des mousses, rue des pilotes, rue du port, rue des pêcheurs... There is no doubt that we are close to the old fishing port - now moved to the tip of the Chapus, opposite Fort Louvois. Like Chartres and its "Picassiette" house, the old Chapus has its "Loulou" villa. Originally, this early 20th century house was called "Blanche". When Mr. Palin, its current owner, bought it, he renamed it "Loulou" villa, after his wife. Having travelled through Portugal many times, Mr. Palin was probably influenced by the local architecture and its famous azulejos. So he began to cover the house, inside and out, with pieces of earthenware found here and there. This work took him more than twenty years. In these real mosaics of tiles, one can recognize the seagulls (green and blue), logo of the department of Charente-Maritime and the pictogram of the Marennes-Oléron oysters. Mr. Palin, a retired oyster farmer, had his own hut at the Pointe du Chapus, a hut that he named, not without humour: the Rabbit Hut. Private house, not to be visited.