When Jo said she wanted to visit the Normandy region of France, I figured that all there was to see was the D-Day beaches and the American cemetery. Boy, was I wrong!
Located along the English Channel coast in Northern France, the Normandy area is famous for its' beautiful scenery, delicious cheeses and apple cider. And of course, it was the locale where the Allied forces landed in WWII, signaling the turning point of the war in Europe.
The white alabaster cliffs of Etretat was our first stop. A charming coastal village, Etretat's cliffs are famous for resembling the trunk of an elephant.
If you look real hard at the cliffs in the background, you can see the elephant trunk...
We arrived early and were greeted by some beautiful weather and calm seas. We hiked up the cliff to get a better view and found a charming lookout, just adjacent to an old church.
We bought some take away (to-go) pizzas and paninis at a small snack shop and had a "picnic" lunch on the boardwalk. There are so many great places here where you can just sit on a bench and get treated to some nice scenery as you enjoy your lunch.
After lunch, we jumped back into the car and headed a little further south to Honfleur, a charming fishing port and harbor town.
After driving through some REALLY narrow streets in town, we found our home for the evening, the Hotel Monet.
From here, we parked the car and were able to walk into town to do some exploring. We checked out the harbor, the church and some of the local shops.
And of course, to take some more pictures...
For dinner, La Commanderie was a highly recommended restaurant, but wasn't quite open yet. As the Europeans typically eat dinner much later than we are accustomed to, we usually have to do a bit of waiting outside...
Our next stop will be to visit the American cemetery at Omaha beach, as we make our way to see Mont St Michel. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw Normandy. But nothing could have prepared me for the jaw-dropping beauty of Mont St Michel!
More to come...
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