Across Normandy - Rainy Brittany- 2
Across Normandy
We wake up relatively early the next morning. Suddenly Jürgen starts to push. "Make sure we are at breakfast before the 8:00 rush ...". Unfortunately he didn't count on the group from Lippe. The breakfast room is buzzing and humming, the bread is gone, the orange juice too. The poor waitresses are completely surprised by the rush.
We drive through the beautiful countryside of the Departement Seine-Maritime to our first destination today, the Jardin d'Étretat [↗]. This is a Freya destination with a mixture of art and garden. We park our car downhill at the station and walk up the narrow road. The garden is located high above the village of Étretat on the steep cliffs.
Before entering the garden, we walk along the cliff and take pictures. On the way to the entrance we make a short stop at the monument of Nungesser et Coli [↗].
But then we enter and start to enjoy walking around the whole park. Narrow paths wind through the garden. Every bush has been trimmed. The little hidden café where we have an espresso is also nice. But the garden is best known for the oversized heads embedded in the boxwood hedges.
Our next stop is Le Havre [↗]. Freya had been there once in the early 80s and would never have thought of putting this city on a travel list again. But Jürgen found a modern church and we are there conveniently at lunchtime. So one thing fits in with the other.
The beach promenade along which we drive to St. Joseph's Church [↗] is quite attractive and yes, we see some restaurants.
But first we go to the church. It was built after the destruction of Le Havre in memory of those who died during the liberation of the city. The most striking feature is the central tower. Its shape resembles an octagon. Everything is made of exposed concrete and you might think that it looks sober and cold. The opposite is true. Countless pieces of glass have been incorporated and these bathe the interior in a soft light. Gentle choral music played during our stay. Beautiful.
At some point we leave and walk to the nearby city beach. It is surprisingly large. We walk along the promenade for a while until we find two restaurants and decide for the one with the terrace upstairs. We both have fish & chips and are anything but disappointed.
Then we drive on to our overnight stay in Bayeux [↗]. Despite the time of year it is very touristy here. The D-Day beaches are very close and many Americans are following in the footsteps of their ancestors.
It is too late to see the famous carpet [↗], so we just walk through the old town and visit Notre Dame de Bayeux [↗].
We end the day in a brasserie with onion soup and cider. A beautiful day.
