We spent May 6 through 11 along the coast in Normandy stopping in the towns of Dieppe, Étretat, Merville-Franceville, Cabourg, Houlgate and Mont Saint Michel. The countryside was idyllic, the towns charming and the natural beauty stunning. We had the opportunity to sample local products including a variety of apple and pear ciders, fresh cheeses and excellent seafood. In addition, we found the WWII history and sites of the D-Day landing especially moving.
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It rained on and off during our time in Normandy
Looking down the harbor at Dieppe
Friday market where we sampled local beer, cider and cheese
Our hotel – Hotel de la Plage
The view from the beach at Dieppe
Relaxing in front of an old cafe. Many famous impressionists drank here
Bar-O-Metre. Not much else to say
The white cliffs at low tide
Dieppe cat, weird perch
Saturday market in Dieppe
Meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and charcuterie were on offer
Roast chicken man
Alex with Étretat cliffs
Kristina with Étretat cliffs
Some other guy with Étretat cliffs
A seagull hanging out at an Étretat cafe
Lady doing canned fish inventory
Canned fish with beer, what’s not to like?
An old house
Selfie at little market
The Tour de France has its route through Étretat
Crazy tall bridge by Le Havre; the car made it over fine
The Grand Hotel Cabourg
Looking back down the main walking street
So French
Quick stop for a coffee in Cabourg
La Batterie de Merville, site of an early morning D-Day raid
Douglas C-47
Known as the Skytrain in the US and Dakota in the UK
The 6th Airborne Division with paradog (yes, a parachuting dog)
Alex made some new friends at the Batterie
Beach in Houlgate
The main street in Houlgate (one street town)
Magical Mont Saint Michel in the distance
Approaching Mont Saint Michel
Selfie
It’s an actual town with its own post office
Views at low tide
More views at low tide
Kristina and the car
Alex with the car and Mont Saint Michel in the background
Did the paradog speak French?? (Love the updates)
Haha, maybe. We did learn a couple of other interesting tidbits about paradogs: the Allies used them to run messages between positions because they were really hard for German snipers to hit, and they “jumped” from the planes strapped into bicycle parachutes since they were about the same size/weight.
Ha ha, GREAT pic’s – I love that you put in the word ‘selfie’ 🙂 Thank you also for showing your lovely car in relation to all the others – and my tall sister. Take Care. I’m following. XXXX
This is what I remember from visiting Mont St. Michel as a kid – looks awesome from a distance, pretty lame town/village once you are actually in there. Accurate?
Yeah, as you say, the most amazing thing is when you see it pop up from the fields in the distance. Once you’re there it’s mostly just a few hotels, small restaurants and a lot of souvenir shops. But the buildings and views were still pretty impressive.
Great seeing your pictures and reading about your trip. Looks wonderful 🙂
Seen that island many times and never knew where it was. Are you two settled into the nomadic lifestyle yet?
Yeah, we are really enjoying it. No deadlines, no schedule and only planning 2-3 days in the future (not always knowing exactly where our next stop will be). It’s freeing.
Lovely pics
SMILE Alex! Seen one picture where you are really smiling but I’m pretty sure it’s because the sun in you eyes leaves you no choice, haha. No really – It looks amazing!
Haha, thanks, that pretty much is me smiling 🙂