Day 12 August 27, 2008
I love apples. There's no decent way for me to express my love for anything that tastes remotely like apples or sounds like it involves apples. I'm nutz for apples. And here we were, headed to the Land Of Apples: Normandy.
This was the one part of the entire six-week trip that I had actually planned out...at all, mostly because we needed hotel, car and train reservations. There was a lot that we wanted to see so everything had to be planned down to the last second which almost defeats the purpose of a country getaway. We had a wonderful experience all the same, but next time, we'll take it slower.
We did spend four days in this beautiful region of France so we didn't exactly tour bus our way through. Day One of 2008 Normandy Apple Invasion started with an early train to Le Havre, a completely forgettable city. It's convenient to pick up a rental car and drive to Honfleur from there so it has that going for it.
Much like our experience in Nice last year, getting a rental car in France is jarringly easy because there's no upsell of car models or insurance or gas tank fill-ups. They just hand over keys and say bye.
Honfleur is easily accessed from Le Havre because of the Pont de Normandie. I'm not really a bridge-lover, but this is a pretty great bridge. Have a look yourself, if you're into civil engineering or pretend to be.
It crosses over the mouth of the Seine before it joins the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, THAT Seine that rambles through Paris. It does cost 5 euros each way, but beauty doesn't come cheap, I guess. I should know, I'm expensive as hell. HA HA.
Anyway, Honfleur is a pretty little town, but a little too touristy for me. I did get drunk on cider and crepes with calvados and apples within an hour of arriving in Normandy. No matter what else happened, this trip was already a success.
So Honfleur was pretty for a few hours, but Cylinda and I just wanted to check into our B&B (La Petite Folie: friendly owners and close to the port). We killed time by visiting the Naturospace, a butterfly zoo. Don't get me wrong, I think a butterfly flapping around it a beautiful thing, but like anything in excess, a bunch of them was kinda creepy. Cylinda was all, this is so zen and peaceful and I was, this is scaring the bejeezus outta me. I was afraid of stepping on one because she had to go and nonchalantly tell me, "Careful not to KILL any," before we went inside. I also didn't want any to land on me or do anything else untoward. Anyway, see for yourself the butterfly frenzy:
Moderation, people, moderation. That's all I ask.
After checking in and meeting the cats at the B&B that made us miss our boys, we headed to Etretat and got lost many (many) times along the way. It was all fine in the end, though, because the falaises are so worth it. Cylinda did a fine job with the photos, but I don't think the essence of the place can be captured in still photos. There is a real calmness and serenity in seeing something so beautiful made by nature. Maybe a video would help. Yes, maybe it would. We'll never know because I left my flip camera back at the B&B. Idiot me. You'll just have to go there to see if I'm right or wrong. I'm usually right.
They are truly majestic, grand and beautiful. The light during sunset bouncing off the cliffs is one of those pictures that your brain takes and never ever forgets. Well, my brain won't.