Well…. what a day! It’s four o’clock in the afternoon and we just got back from our day out and it’s so warm we are lying on the bed in our pjs with the balcony doors wide open, looking out on the glassy harbour of Le Havre. Which is not an attractive place at all. In fact, it’s hideous. Apparently it was beautiful in the 19th century -a rival to Paris, but then we bombed it a lot in 1945 and ruined it. Now the hole in this logic is that we might have bombed it as part of the Liberation of Occupied France but there was then no need for the French to rebuild it in the most hideous tribute to concrete ever seen. Ugly ugly ugly is the only word.
Interestingly, and to diverge from topic, there is an inflatable just alongside us with some divers practising man overboard and retrieval. Brought back some memories.
Luckily, we were not spending a moment longer than necessary in Le Havre. We had booked on a day excursion around coastal Normandy visiting the white cliffs of Etretat and then the beautiful old harbour of Honfleur.
Etretat is about 45 minutes north of Le Havre, a quaint little seaside resort with a lot of cafes, old hotels and small shops. You were free to wander on your own so we walked the 10 minutes from the coach park, through the town and to the beach. The beach was large flinty pebbles and Bob didn’t quite trust his knee on them so he stayed on the boardwalk. I walked down and to the cliffs on one side of the bay which were obscured from, the main beach.
The cliffs are not as white as Dover and Sussex but they are chalk and the remnants of underwater cliffs from 80,000 years ago and full of fossils. Like the area around the Jurassic coast of Dorset. There are 3 arches (only 2 visible from the beach) and a needle. Very interesting to see. Probably much better on a bluer day but having said that we have been blessed with the weather today. The forecast was for rain and we had none and indeed patchy sun.
We had coffee in a little cafe and bought some cheese in a small Carrefour. There was a bit of a market on which we looked around. Lots of goodies.
Left Etretat at 12 and headed south to Honfleur, a journey that involved crossing the estuary of the Seine which was huge. It has silted so much that the coastline has moved and Honfleur is now on an estuary, not on the sea.
There’s a lot of history around Honfleur for the British. We held it for a long time and we fought over it too. The siege is even chronicled by Shakespeare in Henry V. It also became a beloved setting for artists. Claude Monet and Turner are amongst the many who have painted here. The silting in fact saved the town from the fate of Le Havre. Because it was not on the sea, it was of no interest to the Nazis as a fortified harbour and so it did not get bombed. Today it is just exquisitely charming. The picture perfect little harbour.
We have long wanted to visit Honfleur having been made envious by the tales of friends who have done so, and even more jealous of friends who have sailed in “for a few days”. It did not disappoint. Our coach dropped us about 2 minutes walk from the beautiful old harbour and we spent some time exploring that and the lovely historic buildings that surround it. There was a lot to see – too much for a day. Especially too much because we wanted to enjoy a lunch there and sample the divine Normandy cooking which makes so much of seafood, cheese, butter, apples and calvados… And we only had 2 hours!!!!!!
There were lots of restaurants all around the harbour itself and they looked fabulous but we’d been recommended to try one just back one street in a tiny square. L’Escale https://lescalehonfleur.wordpress.com/ What a great recommendation. It was totally fabulous.
We chose the Capitan’s Menu which gave 3 courses for 31 euro, about 6 choices per course. We started with a plate of 6 fresh oysters and a seafood plate which contained 2 oysters, large shrimps, welks marinaded in fennel, and winkles. We shared them together so we each got 4 oysters and some of each of the rest. The welks were the best I have ever had. The fennel marinade was inspired.
There was very friendly service from the waiter who asked if we wanted water with our bottle of cold Sauvignon blanc and without prompting offered tap water and said something about “I have a sexy fish”. Well… obviously a bit baffled by that but put it doubtfully down to schoolgirl French. All became clear when he returned with the most amazing water bottle, heavy glass and shaped ……. like a fish!
For main, I had a really decent rump steak cooked just as I wanted with a Normandy cheese sauce, a stack of dauphinoise potatoes, mixed veg and a smear of artichoke puree. Bob had sea bream which was so perfect with mashed potatoes, a Normandy cream sauce and mixed vegetables. Just all incredibly delicious.
Dessert….. well… we were struggling a bit….. there had also been some apero bits and bobs and a bread basket…. but it had to be done. Bob had local ice cream and sorbet and I had a cheese selection chosen from a chariot. All super creamy Normandy cheeses. The waiter even told me what order to eat them in.
Just a lovely lovely visit and now we will have to come back for longer. Got back to the ship about 345 and we are lying here relaxing… well….. Bob is so relaxed, he’s asleep. Later we have to pack and catch a last show. I can’t imagine we’ll want dinner tonight.
We disembark in Southampton tomorrow after breakfast and return home fatter and well rested. I’ll post once more to just reflect and summarise my thoughts on this very surprising, very enjoyable MSC cruise.
And just to prove a balcony view of some fuel tanks can be gorgeous given the right sunset….
