So, in October, Max Wernick and I went fishing in Normandy. Trip of discovery. First, I visited Normandy for the first time. Secondly, for the first time we drank brandy all the way. Brandy is like cognac, only from a neighboring village. And, thirdly, for the first time in my life I went somewhere to go fishing.
01. Before fishing, we walked around Paris a little. There was not much time, so we quickly joined the beautiful. The glass pyramid of the Louvre. 
02. Sculptures in the Tuileries Garden behind the Cop's fence 
03. From the park you can go to the embankment of the Seine. It is now pedestrian in many places. There used to be a road here. 
04. Max Wernick decided to go to a flea market and buy goods in a shop. But as it turned out, prices in Paris are higher than in Moscow... 
05. Parisian junk dealer 
Now let's get in the car and drive north! There, where the fish and the house on the lake.
06. On the way we pass simple French villages. 
07. Beautiful 
08. French cows 
09. Horses 
10. Sheep 
11. In the French countryside, time has stopped. Most houses do not change for centuries. Only satellite dishes and cars give out that it's the 21st century. 
12. Everything is very neat and clean. 
13. We arrived in Fécamp, a town in Upper Normandy. It is built around a small bay that serves as a trading and fishing port. This is how the entrance to this bay looks like. It is about 50 meters wide. 
14. That part of the city, which is located south of the bay, is flat, and Northern part The city was built on a rocky hill. 
15. Fécan is a city of fishermen. It became famous in the 10th century due to the fact that delicious salted and smoked herring was prepared here. And in the 16th century, they began to catch cod here. Now fishing has been limited - it is allowed to be carried out only in coastal waters. 
16. But there is also the Vermont River, and if you go upstream, you will reach a series of ponds in which you can also fish. That's where we went. 
17. Here is a house removed. It stands right on the water and you can fish from the bedroom) Or from the terrace. Great place. 
18. The Normans themselves do not hesitate to call their land a fishing paradise. Here you can be offered sea, freshwater and foot fishing (this is when people walk along the coast and collect crabs and shellfish). For freshwater fishing, which we stopped at, a lot of rivers, canals, ponds and swamps are adapted in Normandy. 
19. In the ponds you can catch carp, pike or trout. Wernick said that he would eat live fish ... But he was dissuaded in the end. 
20. We got trout for dinner. 
21. While dinner is being prepared, it's nice to have a glass or two. 
22. The rest of the evening passed over dinner, heartfelt conversations and brandy. And the next morning it was. 
23. Neighbor's house 
24.
25.
26.
27. We met the Norman dawn, looked at Fécamp for the last time and set off further! 
28. The next stop is another town on the coast of the English Channel, which is called Etretat. 
29. It is mainly known for its rocks that form beautiful natural arches. Thanks to them, Etretat has become one of the main tourist centers of Normandy. Only one and a half thousand people live in the city, but in the summer a large number of travelers. If people come to Fécamp to fish, then they go to Etretat to enjoy the Norman nature. 
30. city embankment. If you look to the north, you will see an arch called the "Upper Gate". 
31. At one time, many famous artists lived in Etretat, for example, Claude Monet. He has several paintings in which he captured the views from here. Here is one of them with the same view. 
32. And if you turn to the south, then in front of you will be the “Lower Gate”. Next to it is a pointed rock, which is called the Needle. The French writer Maurice Leblanc wrote a book about her called Hollow Needle. According to the plot, royal treasures were hidden in it. 
33. Also a painting by Claude Monet with the Lower Gate. 
34. In some places, the cliffs reach a height of 100 meters. A school of fish is visible in the water! 
35.
36. Lighthouse "Antifer". It was built in 1894, but it was completely destroyed during World War II. Previously, it was located closer to the cliff, but during the restoration it was decided to move it away from the collapsing edge of the cliff. 
37. Old bunker 
38. What struck me most of all was that in the 70 years since the end of the war, no one has vandalized the bunker and has not even left a single graffiti on the walls! The concrete is crumbling, the rebar is rusty, but the walls are clean! How is this possible? Just amazing. In our country, such objects are usually covered with numerous inscriptions and marks, who, where and when. 
39. In the end, I can say that there are two reasons to visit Normandy: the first is the beautiful sea coast with rocks, and the second is the amazing conditions for all kinds of fishing. This part of France is perfect for a man's holiday with friends and a good French brandy. In general, come and try for yourself. Good fishing! 
Public transport in Normandy is well developed, so it is also convenient for tourist travel. Almost every city has its own bus network, and the cities of Caen, Le Havre and Rouen also have a tram line.
Buses in Normandy
The city of Caen has 20 city bus lines that allow you to quickly and conveniently get anywhere in the city. The waiting time for the bus depends on the route, but on average it is about 15-30 minutes. The schedule of bus lines varies, so it is better to check it.
The NOCTIBUS bus also runs around the city at night. It runs every half hour on Thursday from 00:30 to 05:00 and every hour on Friday from 1 am to 05:00. On Saturday last departure night bus 06:00.
Trams in Normandy
The tram lines of Caen are divided into two branches A and B, they cover almost all large objects. Between Copernicus and Poincaré stations, lines A and B have the same route. Runs every 8 minutes on lines A and B, and every 4 minutes on the common line between Poincaré and Copernicus stations. The tram operates from 05:30 to 00:30 from Monday to Saturday and from 08:30 to 00:30 on Sundays. Routes can be viewed.
One of the most popular types public transport in Rouen is the tram. Now in Rouen, trains run on two route lines: Ligne Technopôle and Ligne Georges Braque. The first train starts at 04:30 am and the last one at 23:00. Intervals between trains on weekdays are about 4 minutes, reaching 10 minutes on weekends.
Tickets for the "metro" are valid the same as for other public transport in the city. A single trip ticket allows you to travel for one hour on all types of public transport, including 6 transfers.
Tickets
A ticket for one trip is 1.35 € in the city of Caen, 1.50 € in Rouen, in other cities the fare will cost about 1.20 €, valid for one hour from the first pass. A ticket for an unlimited number of trips, valid for 24 hours from the moment of the first pass, will cost 3.75 € in the city of Caen, 4.40 € in Rouen and other cities, the fare will cost about 3.40 €. Tickets can be purchased at tram and bus stops.
Normandy is well known to the average tourist. Excellent infrastructure, many hotels of different levels and excellent cuisine have long attracted the attention of potential travelers to these places in the north-east of France.
In LiveJournal, you can find a lot of reports about Normandy, but with close attention, you can see some of their uniformity. Professional top bloggers travel here for the annual cider and calvados tastings, while mere mortals usually visit only a few of the region's most hyped places. But it is enough just to delve a little into maps and guides to understand how much interesting things here remain aside from these standard routes.
Perhaps that is why, during the next promotion of low-cost airlines from Vilnius, I unexpectedly bought two tickets for myself to the French Beauvais airport. From here, most visitors go straight to Paris, which is only about a hundred kilometers away, but getting to the beaches of Normandy from Beauvais is also not at all difficult.
In planning this trip, I made a small strategic mistake. The fact is that our journey was supposed to take five days. At first I thought that it was not far from Beauvais interesting city Amiens, and from there it is not so far to the famous port of Calais. These cities already belong to the other French regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais, but visiting them was quite invested in my itinerary. The rest of the time I decided to devote exclusively to Normandy.
3.
On the day I usually plan to drive a route of 200-300 kilometers. I know from experience that such a distance is passed easily and without strain, and the constant change of impressions guarantees an unforgettable experience. Everything would have been fine if at some point in the preparation of the route I had not started reading about another French province neighboring Normandy - Brittany. This region seemed so interesting and original to me that I suddenly decided to change my principles and look here for a day.
4.
Unfortunately, I underestimated the scale of this region. Brittany for a day is just ridiculous! During that day we drove almost 600 kilometers and saw very little, but we were very tired. Do not repeat my mistakes, if you decide to go to Brittany, dedicate at least five days to this region. The rest of our trip went like clockwork.
5.
In Amiens we looked for traces of the great writer Jules Verne, and in Calais we visited the abandoned giant bunkers from the Second World War. There will be separate reports on this.
6.
From Calais we began to descend south along the coastline. Gradually, the marshy lowlands gave way to the rocks of the Alabaster Coast. These places have long been considered a resort by the French.
7.
It was a great pleasure to visit small coastal towns surrounded by white rocky cliffs. There are many of them here and not all of them are known to a wide range of tourists. Fécamp, Dieppe, Le Treport, Ault - one can write a separate story about each of these towns.
8.
We also visited more popular places, but I don’t feel much pleasure from walking by the sea with crowds of vacationers and long searches for a parking spot on streets clogged with cars, so we tried to slip through places like Etretat or Honfleur as quickly as possible.
9.
Of course, one of the main goals of my trip to Normandy was to visit the Allied landing sites during the Second World War. The legendary D-Day happened exactly 70 years ago, so this topic is now being raised very actively throughout the region.
10.
There are many memorials, museums and monuments open along the coast. Many hotels and restaurants hang American and English flags on their facades, either as a sign of memory, or to lure potential customers.
11.
Of the huge number of places that are open to the public this year, I have chosen only a few. Frankly, I could devote my entire trip to this topic, but do not forget about your other half. Of course, the end of July is a great time for beach holiday in Normandy.
12.
Some of the longest sea tides have created unique giant beaches here. Coupled with the summer sun, these are the perfect places to relax and sunbathe!
13.
With swimming in the sea, everything is not so simple here. By the way, locals don't like at all water procedures. The sea is said to be cold here! They were not with us in the Baltic!
14.
I would not climb out of the water on Normandy beaches, only here we ran into another problem. Here you can try to enter for a long time sea water, but even at a decent distance from the coast in many places the depth will still be knee-deep at most.
15.
Finding an acceptable beach with the opportunity to swim here was not so easy. We accidentally happened only on the third day of the trip. But this place seemed perfect to us. Fine sand next to picturesque rock with a lighthouse on top, the almost complete absence of people and the proximity of a parking lot - here we felt almost like in paradise. I will not give out the coordinates of this beach just like that.
16.
For all my dislike of popular sights, sometimes I still can’t avoid them.
17.
At the risk of being banal, I still stopped by the famous island city of Mont Saint-Michel. Apparently, after Paris, this is the most visited place in France by tourists. Trying not to subject our psyche to additional tests, we visited it in the evening, at sunset. My impressions of that walk were a little chaotic and I will share them later.
18.
Despite the difficulties described above, in Brittany we still saw not so little. The old pirate port of Saint-Malo, medieval town Dinan and the mysterious complex of megaliths in Karnak became our goals on the penultimate day of our journey through France. There is something to remember and something to tell.
19.
The last day in France we were waiting for the return to Beauvais. On the way, we stopped at the capital of Normandy, the city of Rouen, and also swam on the ferry along the famous Seine.
20.
We saw this river, familiar to most of us from Paris, in an unusual frame of high chalk cliffs. These places, despite the high degree of population, have retained their original beauty and wildness.
21.
On this, our somewhat non-standard trip to Normandy ended. We never drank a drop of the local cider, nor did we try the vaunted Calvados.
22.
But sobriety and purity of mind allowed us to see this region in all its beauty and versatility. In addition, our pocket was not materially damaged either.
23.
It is worth saying a few words about the weather. In many souvenir shops here I saw magnets with the image of heavy rain drops and the inscription Normandy. The weather favored us and it was gloomy only on the first day. Then we fully managed to enjoy the bright sun and summer heat. So we did not buy those magnets in view of their fallacy in our particular case.
24.
For lovers of financial details, I will describe our expenses. Flights for two cost us 110 Euros. Rented car for five days - 200 euros, and for gasoline an additional 150 euros.
25.
We lived exclusively in small family hotels, where a separate room with all amenities for two with homemade breakfast cost us 50-60 Euros.
26.
Do not forget that now is the peak season here. In total, all the overnight stays cost us 270 Euros. I will write about these very unusual hotels for us separately. They are here - a separate attraction of Normandy!
27.
The rest of the expenses, with the exception of a few trips to local restaurants, were not great and amounted to only about 200 Euros.
28.
In total, the amount of 900 Euros for five days of vacation for two in France cannot be called large. This means that you can and should travel here. Knowledgeable people can compare this cost with the price level in Paris.
29.
Something tells me that a trip to Normandy can not only be worthy alternative the famous capital of France, but also significantly save money. The potential of the entire region as a whole is very high.
30.
I'll stop there for now. Those who are interested in Normandy and its surrounding regions, expect more detailed reports in the near future.
31.
One fine day in May, I was incredibly lucky: the management of our company sent me on a 5-day business trip to France. I was doubly lucky, because the business trip began on the first working day after the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, which means I managed to add 4 days to the trip May holidays. But my luck did not end there either: I found a companion, namely one of my colleagues, who was sent to France at the same time and who, like me, was not averse to walking for an extra 4 days. And then it’s a matter of technology: I got the idea that it’s not worth sitting in Paris for 4 days, but it’s best to take a rental car to the Atlantic to Normandy and Brittany. Did the colleague agree with the idea? and we began to make plans and make plans for the journeys.
As a result of three days of preparations, 12 hours before departure, we had the following:
1. Reservation of a car at AVIS (http://www.avis.fr/) for 4 days for 160 euros. We had to take a car at Charles de Gaulle airport and return it in one of the towns in central France (the place of our business trip) .
2. Booking a B&B hotel (http://www.hotel-bb.com/) in the suburbs of Le Havre, the town of Harfleur for 1 night (Normandy)
3. Booking a B&B hotel in St Malo for 2 nights (Brittany)
4. A very poor idea of how and where to go, but there must be Mont Saint - Michel (Le Mont St Michel), and Cancale (Cancale)
5. Printouts of routes to the proposed hotels, made using a special website http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Driving_directions. These printouts were not useful at all.
6. Detailed road atlas of France, borrowed from colleagues in the office. Turned out to be the most important thing.
7. An inexhaustible supply of optimism and a great desire to do something like that - we ourselves do not know what.
On May 7, 2005, we took off from Sheremetyevo 2 in the direction of Paris. Before departure, we decided not to break the good old Russian tradition and gladly drank a bottle of Baileys in the departure area. While drinking, they missed the start of boarding. We came to our senses about 15 minutes before the planned departure and, having become worried about the fact that we were not being imprisoned, rushed to the boarding gate. As a result, they were the last to board, which has never happened to me, since I always run ahead of the rest on the plane. Throughout the flight, my colleague strongly advised me to study maps, read guidebooks, decide on the route in more detail, and I lazily waved it off, deciding that we would not pass Mont Saint-Michel anyway, and everything else - as lucky. On the plane, I managed to sleep a little and have a decent breakfast. The flight, as always, was a pleasure, especially during takeoff and landing, when it is interesting to look out the window at the fleeing and vice versa approaching land. By the way, we flew on a plane named after Tchaikovsky, I was pleasantly surprised by this innovation to call the plane not just board 766, but the name of a good person. That's a trifle, but still an extra positive emotion on the trip.
Upon arrival, we went to passport control, where a very unpleasant incident occurred. We were standing quietly and peacefully when a group of aggressive-minded Arabs approached and began to brazenly join in front of us. I don’t like it when they climb out of line, I have this aversion to freeloaders since Soviet times, but I also don’t like scandals and I was already in the mood to let citizens through, but their number began to increase rapidly. I had to restore the status quo and quickly run to the first counter. Then the Arabs began to quarrel and push me back, but suddenly a French customs officer came to the rescue, who reminded the citizens about exactly how to stand in line and generally sent this group to another checkpoint. We safely passed the control and went to look for the car, guided by the diagrams and signs. And now it happened: our beautiful Opel Corso waited for its temporary owners - Hooray! The journey begins!
And it begins with the question, where to go? In which direction is Rouen - the first city of our route? A French-speaking colleague decided to ask at the guard parking lot, but I didn’t like what they advised him at all, I would still like to go to the Paris Periphery, when, judging by the map, there are many shorter routes. It is only necessary to find these ways, and this is my business, if I am a navigator. And we went “over there, down that street and to the right,” and of course we went in the opposite direction first. The number of roads and junctions in the Charles de Gaulle airport area was horrific, and although I previously “worked” as a navigator on the roads of Croatia and Portugal, this past experience is nothing compared to the developed road infrastructure of France. I was completely confused, we flew through the necessary turns, due to the fact that we noticed the signs late, and when we drove slowly, we slowed down the traffic and caused displeasure in the flow. And if it were not for the skill of the driver, who manages to change lanes in time in the right direction, we would still be traveling around the Charles de Gaulle airport. However, on the third lap in the same place, I spotted a small turn to Saint-Denis, and although I was looking for a completely different road, I decided that I could also go through Saint-Denis. An endless series of villages, turning circles, streets began, where you really want to, but you can’t turn. We with honor overcame all these tests and finally soon found ourselves on the road leading to Rouen. Now it was possible to relax, turn on the radio with the inevitable French chanson and enjoy the road. Meanwhile, we drove through the beautiful French province, flowering apple and cherry orchards replaced yellow and green fields, picturesque hills alternated with flat terrain, ancient abbeys peacefully coexisted with modern shopping complexes. I wanted to stop everywhere and take pictures of everything, I had to restrain myself from everything, because if you stop at every yellow speck of a field of flowering mustard and at every chateau, then you might not reach the right place by morning, and we are only 50 kilometers from Paris and all the interesting things are ahead of us.
By three o'clock in the afternoon we arrived in the coveted Rouen, but in the first place we were interested, alas, not in the beauty of this ancient city but just a good French restaurant. We parked in a narrow street with difficulty squeezing into a small space between cars and went in search of food. But, and since there was a lot of time, all the restaurants naturally turned out to be closed. For information, restaurants in France usually open at 11:30 am and stay open until 1:30 pm, or 2:00 pm, offering a daily menu, and then close for a break until 7:00 pm. This rule does not apply to Paris, where in many places the daily menu is offered until 7 pm. However, back to the chronology of our misadventures, in one of the places, after long persuasion, they agreed to feed us. We sat down comfortably and only then I noticed the atmosphere of the restaurant: everything was done in an easily recognizable oriental style. We were in too much of a hurry when we entered here and did not even look where we were going, but it turned out that they kindly sheltered us in an Afghan restaurant, a place owned by a family couple who came from this once friendly country. And although if I knew the direction of the restaurant, then being in France I would never have gone there, nevertheless I liked the food: perfectly marinated meat, which you can’t find anywhere in Moscow, and for dessert - a wonderful carrot cake with whipped cream. The taste of food is completely unusual and original, who will be in Rouen - I recommend: Arcadia restaurant on Victor Hugo street.
After refreshing, we set off to see Rouen, a city known mainly for being here on old square burned the most famous girl in France - Joan of Arc. However, the legends associated with the execution of the Orleans warrior are only a small fraction of what is interesting in Rouen. This is the beautiful Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame, and the Gros-Horloge tower clock, and the Palace of Justice, and the Church of Saint Maclu, and much, much more. But even if all of the above were not there, the old part of Rouen would still attract tourists from all over the world with a large number of houses, beautifully decorated in the old style, when the wooden floors of the building are an element of its decoration. Although it is possible that the medieval citizens of Rouen, who created this beauty, did not suspect that they were creating works of building art, but were only guided by practical considerations - to create a comfortable, safe and reliable home. Unlike many other cities in France, with buildings in a similar style, Rouen uses not only black and brown wood, but also painted in all colors of the rainbow, including pink and blue. And if in other cities it turned out to be a black-white-brown collage, then in Rouen each building has not only its own unique line pattern of wooden floors, but also its own original shade. It looks very beautiful, as if a talented surrealist drew several chaotic lines on a white canvas, added a cheerful color, and now each house has become a separate picture.
Unfortunately, our walk around Rouen was limited in time - we had to arrive at the hotel before nightfall, so we had to leave the city, having previously bought seafood for dinner in one of the supermarkets. We're on the road again, this time playing classics from Rachmaninov to Bach in the car, and we drive to our first overnight stay, the B&B in Harfler. The B&B hotel chain was chosen by us back in Moscow due to the presence of many good reviews about it on the Internet and according to the optimal ratio of price - quality - 30 - 35 euros for a single room. One drawback: we could only spend the night in those places where there were hotels of this chain, and that is why we had to spend the night in the vicinity of Le Havre. And if B&B had not been on a stop-sale in Deauville, then we would not have gone to Le Havre, because it is a large port, modern city which is not of great interest to me. After checking in and having dinner at the hotel reception, we still went to Le Havre, looked at the yachts and cruise ships, took a picture on the embankment, admired the sunset and went home. The first day of our trip was over.
The second day, as agreed the day before, began early at 7-00, after a quick breakfast, we went to Honfleur. A short way there lay across the bridge, which turned out to be at the same time the beginning of the toll road to Deaville and Caen. The entry fee is 5 euros. I confess that we had a thought not to drive into Honfleur, but to drive straight along the highway, but fortunately we abandoned this bad idea in time and, having passed one of the most famous bridges in Normandy, turned onto Honfleur. We are in a medieval fairy tale. Honfleur turned out to be exactly the place that I always dreamed of going to, but did not know where it was. We parked near the cutest garden with stone fountains, flowerbeds and flowering trees that are completely simple in decor. After sitting on the benches and enjoying the fresh air of the Atlantic, we headed to the center. We examined the museum of the sea from the outside and a beautiful ascetic building of incomprehensible purpose, really old and very memorable. Just think, once this calm town, in which it is so comfortable and interesting, was the headquarters of gangs of counterfeiters and a mooring place for pirate ships. The criminal elements of Honfleur caused a lot of damage to the French treasury, and the locals still make up legends about their well-dressed adventures. However, back in our time, we continued to explore the city and turned to the Temple Square and the Bell Tower of St. Catherine. These church buildings date back to the 15th century, but are active. Our walk coincided in time with the church service, and the sound of a bell was heard all over the square, flooded with the spring sun, echoing the drum roll coming from afar (somewhere behind the houses there was preparation for the parade). Inside, the church turned out to be quite ascetic, but not without originality and really old. From church to different sides lead to small narrow streets where two people can hardly squeeze past each other. Then we watched boats sail out of the most picturesque ditch in the city center and how a worker, using smart automation, raises the bridge to release these boats into the open sea. I also inquired about the prices for hotels in this nice place, it seems that a room in a two-star hotel costs about 60 euros per day, and at the same time I looked at the window of a real estate agency. As expected, a modest house with all amenities can be purchased for an amount in the region of half a million euros. Luxurious cottages will cost those who wish even more.
From Honfleur we went towards a very popular among those who know a lot about good rest, resort town- Deauville. Now the road went along the hills along the sea, in some places along a small serpentine. Queen sang a song about champions, they were replaced by the Doors, and then the Scorpions with a song about a wild river, which is not very popular with us. Beautiful landscapes succeeded one another, and we passed Troville, crossed the bridge and ended up in Deauville. It was necessary to look for parking and, moreover, preferably free. Such in the areas adjacent to the center of Deauville was not in principle. After the second round of the city, we parked in the first available convenient location and began to figure out where and how to pay. Not understanding, they asked. We learned that today is Sunday and all parking is free. We breathed a sigh of relief and went to see Deauville.
From my point of view, this is exactly what an elite resort for rich and very rich Europeans should look like. Strict English style, without any touch of the usual French carelessness. Chic, elegant, modern villas, unlike one another, hotels - palaces, immersed in flowers, a magnificent wide sand beach with private locker rooms, next to which are attached signs with the names of world cinema stars. The stars really have nothing to do with the locker rooms, according to locals, these signs are symbols of the city and reminders of film festivals taking place here. In the area of the beach, of course, there are many tennis courts and areas for riding horses; practicing these sports is still considered a hallmark of belonging to the elite. Luxurious Ferraris, jaguars and Lomborghinis flash here and there, but there are not many people - the season has not yet begun and it is still cold to swim. Prices in Deauville match the surroundings - renting a sunbed and umbrella - for a day - 30 euros, and for the whole season - 500 euros (wholesale is cheaper here too), the cost of the simplest lunch starts from 25 euros per person, etc. We wanted to play roulette in Deauville, the atmosphere was very favorable, we found the most expensive and famous casino and prepared to win at least a million euros and buy a villa in Honfleur, which we liked so much, and at the same time a Ferrari, so that from time to time we were in the mood to ride in Deauville, but dreams were not destined to come true, because the entrance to the casino turned out to be 12 euros. For some reason, paying for entrance did not seem stylish to us, and besides, there are a lot of free casinos all over the world, and we left Deauville for the next point on the map - the city of Caen. In general, I liked Deauville, although there are many more picturesque places on the coast of the English Channel from which one could make an elite resort. Why the rich chose Deauville remains a mystery to me.
On the way to Caen, a popular French singer was saying goodbye to his lover, and I tried to photograph the landscapes, which was not possible due to the high speed of movement.
After the coastal cities, Caen did not look, besides it was cloudy and drizzling rain. We walked around the city center with what was already perceived as another Gothic cathedral, examined the fortress, walked along the fortress wall, photographed the city from above, and caught a glimpse of the abbey from the car window. In addition, lunch time fell on Caen and we had a bite to eat in an excellent French restaurant. When leaving Caen, unexpected difficulties arose, I could not figure out how to get to the local transport ring. The situation was saved by a colleague who asked passers-by where to go in time. The direction was found and we rushed to Mont - Saint - Michel - a monastery carved into a rock in the middle of the sea.
Mont Saint Michel is one of the most visited attractions in France. This is a man-made monument to human labor. To carve such beauty out of stone on a steep cliff is only possible for people who are either obsessed with an idea or who find themselves in a state of emergency as a result of a constant struggle with the elements or foreign invaders. Be that as it may, but the power of this architectural structure is obvious even at a great distance - as soon as this mountain emerges from the horizon. The space is felt especially acutely, because the mountain on which the monastery is built is located on an absolutely flat terrain. In fact, Mont-Saint-Michel is the only hill around which meadows with grazing lambs stretch for many kilometers. Idyllic picture. At 500 - 800 meters from the monastery there is a stop for transport. Here, traditionally, everyone gets out of the car to take a picture of Mont Saint-Michel from afar and (or) themselves against its background. Directly near the monastery, paid (4 euros) parking is organized, at the entrance to which there is a warning sign that zones 1, 2, 6 are flooded at 19-30. We arrived at low tide, when it was possible to walk freely around the mountain on the sand. It was impossible even to imagine that someday water would come to this sandy kingdom, which now can hardly be seen. However, we have already got used to believing in France all the warning signs and inscriptions and realized that we have only three hours to inspect. In the parking lot was at least 10 sightseeing buses, later in Paris, I learned that there are day trips to Mont - Saint - Michel from the glorious French capital, and such trips cost 90 - 100 euros.
We approach the mountain and find ourselves in a continuous stream of people. True, not everyone goes to the monastery itself: maybe because of the rather high entrance price of 8 euros, or maybe simply because they prefer to hang out in the fresh air in many gardens or walk on the sand around the island. We examined everything, climbed to the very top, walked around the austere stone halls, sat in the monastery courtyard, descended the narrow winding stairs, studied the gigantic weight-lifting device. Everything was very beautiful and interesting, but the feeling that I was walking along a popular tourist attraction, and not in a living place, did not leave me. Either I was just tired that day, or there were too many tourists, or we ran too fast, but something was missing for me in this walk around the monastery. However, now, after the passage of time, nothing is remembered as often as this particular place.
Having admired Mont - Saint - Michel at low tide, we decided to go for lunch, and then return and see how the waves play around the walls of the ancient monastery. I wanted to eat in a real village restaurant, which still had to be found. Spinning along the highway, we found what we wanted - a real tavern, where you can dine at Mont-Saint-Michel from afar. While waiting for the order, we watched a thousand sheep cross the track, returning from the meadows to their native stalls. A continuous stream of sheep that blocked the way for cars, if you are not driving in this car, there is a very bewitching sight. For dinner, not surprisingly, we were served a lamb dish made in accordance with the culinary traditions of this region. Having a tasty snack, we returned to Mont-Saint-Michel and were amazed at the changes that had taken place with him, from afar it seemed that the mountain was growing straight out of the water, there were waves around the monastery, and where our car stood, the sea spread.
We had to go further. The situation was complicated by the fact that at dinner we tasted not only lamb, but also wine. Here you want to sing an ode to the French laws that allow you to drive a car after drinking a little wonderful red wine. However, a slight intoxication made it difficult to navigate the area, although in the end we found both Saint-Malo and our hotel. By the way, they were on time - before the closing of the administration. Otherwise, one would have to check in through a machine, and communication with a pile of iron, albeit smart, is a less pleasant procedure for a Russian tourist than a personal acquaintance with the girls who check in guests. The room received was exactly the same as in the previous hotel. Probably the rooms in all B&B hotels are exactly the same. Before going to bed, I was drawn to good deeds, namely, to feed a hungry cat from nowhere with the remnants of yesterday's dinner. My colleague did not share my impulse, and I had to watch the cat gobble up expensive seafood on both cheeks in splendid isolation. When the cat's meal came to an end, I went to my room to sleep. Day two was over.
The third day was the most relaxed as there were no long journeys. The first place we went to was Dinard. From an architectural point of view, the city is nice, but without any frills. In Dinara, the coastal zone is good when you look at the apparent turquoise water from the observation deck - through the branches of fir and cypress trees. Oddly enough, the closer you go down to the water, the more its color changes, and on the embankment itself, the sea is no longer blue, but dark blue. This is such an interesting optical illusion. From Dinard, on the advice of one of the backpackers we met at the hotel, we headed to Cap Frehel. They chose a highly poetic road, bypassing the peninsula, along the sea past the fishing villages of St Lunaire, ST Briac and others. Now imagine: the blue expanse of water, on which green islands are scattered, small bays with beautiful yellow sand, parking of small boats and boats, the absence of people, small houses and luxurious cottages, and all this is skillfully inscribed in the natural landscape. An ideal place to relax, but I hope no one will ever think of making a resort here, because otherwise all the charm will be lost.
In the meantime, we drove onto the highway, found the turnoff to Cape Freel and drove along a narrow country road. In one of the places we came across a sign “Calvados, Cider – 500 meters” and we decided to stick to this direction, we already really wanted real Breton spirits. And we got them in full: we took as many as 6 bottles of Cider, because this drink was not sold in smaller quantities. Honestly divided into three bottles, and I began to think what to do with my part, not to drag it to Moscow. Subsequently, when I drank a bottle with colleagues, it turned out that this is an excellent cider that cannot be bought in a supermarket, which is made in very limited quantities and according to a special technique.
The peasant farm where we bought alcohol was very original: a small garden, with cut grass, low trees, decorative gnomes and ducks standing on the ground, everything is very clean and smells of freshly cut grass, which is arranged in small decorative haystacks. I liked the outbuilding in the form of a windmill and a tiny toy well in a flower bed with daisies.
After tasting, sightseeing and shopping, our journey continued and soon we arrived at Cape Freel. Once I was at Cape Roca in Portugal and it struck me with its power and majesty. Cape Freel is completely different in atmosphere and has nothing to do with Cape Roca. Still, Cape Roca is a recognized tourist place, with parking for large buses, souvenir shops, etc., Cape Freel is somewhat wilder, although wild in the French sense, it is not in the Russian sense. There is also a small restaurant and toilets, and spaces separated by a rope so that tourists do not trample the grass, in general, all the benefits of civilization. Wild is more of a feeling than a reality. Cape Freel is really beautiful, high cliffs covered with pink and white flowers, small stone islands, I was especially impressed by the place with a rock in the form of a high stone tower, where hundreds of gulls found their refuge. The weather was great, sunny, windless, and sitting on the rocks, watching boats swim, listening to the chirping of seagulls was a real pleasure.
However, even in this heavenly place not everything turned out to be as cloudless as we would like, when we returned from a walk and approached the car, we found a crying woman. As it turned out, money, documents, cards, a camera and something else were stolen from a car parked next to us, belonging to an elderly couple. I immediately rushed to check if our passports and tickets, hidden in the trunk, were still there. Fortunately, everything was safe and sound, but this episode quickly brought me out of the state of serenity that arose at Cape Freel. In human society, one cannot relax, and valuables must be kept in a safe, although this is not a guarantee. And people were sincerely sorry, now they had to wait for the police, draw up protocols, the day would be hopelessly ruined.
It was time for lunch, and in the morning we decided to eat not just anywhere, but in the oyster capital of Brittany - the city of Cancale. By one o'clock we arrived at the desired place, and did not go to the center, but immediately to the port - a kind of mecca for oyster lovers. By the way, we never visited the center of Cancale. A unique atmosphere of gluttony reigns in the port, which I have never met before, an endless string of restaurants stretches along the entire embankment, where there are practically no empty seats. Even for parking, finding places on the embankment and in the adjacent nooks and crannies turned out to be unrealistic, despite the fact that all these parking lots are paid. We stopped far enough away, but, naturally, we didn’t pay near a non-working parking payment machine, we were in a hurry to join this world of eating oysters. By the way, to eat oysters it is not at all necessary to go to a restaurant, you can buy them for a penny in a small market and sit right on the parapet of the embankment. Upon purchase, they will open an oyster for you, give you a plate and half a lemon, and then eat to your health.
We decided to eat in a restaurant, this is for starters, and then catch up with oysters on the embankment. My stomach feast began as soon as the waitress put a dish with 9 pieces of the fourth size. Oysters of the big size proudly wear number 0 and they are not specially bred, they are all wild specimens. We managed to get to Cancale just in time, because another week and the breeding season will begin for the oysters, and then their taste will noticeably change and not for the better. In the meantime, oysters are great, flavored with lemon juice or vinegar, they pleasantly burn the tongue. Now in Moscow, I think that it would be better if I never tried them at all, because now I am simply irresistibly drawn back to Cancale to eat more oysters. I ate these nine things for a very long time, stretching the pleasure and, of course, washing it down with white wine. After the oysters, there was delicious fish, with a side dish of sauerkraut and excellent pistachio ice cream, and then we, full and satisfied, wandered to the oyster market. I no longer had the strength to eat anything else, and leaving my colleague to continue tasting, I went to photograph oyster fields.
The landscapes near the port of Cancale are simply unimaginable: boats are lying around on the sand, obviously in the morning, there was a sea here, and now it has left the coastal zone and is turning blue somewhere in the distance. If you go to the end of the bridge, you can see a barely noticeable, but definitely recognizable mound in the distance - This is Mont - Saint - Michel. But back to oysters, I walked for a long time through the fields where they are grown. Small reservoirs filled with water are built there and oysters live in them. Moreover, if the oysters are not sold in one day on the market, then they are returned back to the tanks and lie there until the next day. In general, the oyster is stored for no more than 5-6 days, after which it becomes rotten and becomes dangerous for a potential eater.
After the oyster feast, we went to see the city where we had a hotel - Saint-Malo. There is a part of it, surrounded by a wall. Like many cities, Saint-Malo was built on the principles of a military fortress, it is clear that the pirates were actively malicious in this part of the coast. However, now Old city turned into the most touristic place, with a huge number of boutiques, public gardens and restaurants. You can climb the fortress wall and you will be rewarded with a view of the sea, an excellent sandy beach, stones and a very pretty old fort. We thought for a long time where we should have dinner: on the one hand, we irresistibly wanted to go to Cancale for oysters, but on the other hand, we still wanted to walk around Saint-Malo. This time, culinary preferences won over culinary ones, we had a quick meal in one of the restaurants in the old part and also walked around the city and its embankment. At some point during the walk, we came across a casino, reviving the dream of a million euros and a villa in Honfleur. We rushed to play, but the roulette did not work, and there was no particular desire to dump money to one-armed bandits.
Since the next day promised to be the hardest, we still had to overcome 500 kilometers, we decided not to go to the previously planned Dinan, a cute medieval town nearby, but to go to bed. By the way, in the morning we also did not stop by Dinan for various reasons, which I now regret terribly.
Our last day before work was on the road. Driving in France is easy and pleasant, the road surfaces are good. The only thing I didn't like was the hourly traffic jam near Rennes. At first, we peacefully stood in it like all law-abiding French citizens, but at some point, “Russian energy without a vector” made itself felt, and we drove around the traffic jam along the very extreme lane intended for the police and ambulance. The French watched our maneuvers from the windows in surprise, and we, ashamed and telling ourselves that this was the first and last violation, drove forward. Fortunately, our turn quickly appeared, and we pulled off this car-packed track. This time we did not stop anywhere for sightseeing, but only ate at a roadside cafe for truckers. The food in this cafe turned out to be quite tasty, like almost everywhere in France, and the staff is friendly. True, in this place, I was the only girl and everyone looked at me with undisguised surprise.
We drove the last kilometers to the place of our business trip with the fear that gasoline could run out right on the road. We didn’t get a gas station on time and we pulled with all our might, hoping for a “maybe”. Perhaps this time we did not disappoint, we arrived, filled the car with gasoline and prepared to return it to AVIS. As a result, in 4 days we drove 1184 kilometers and refueled for exactly 100 euros. Upon arrival, we said goodbye and dispersed each to our already working affairs and meetings. On Saturday, Paris was waiting for me, but this city, as you know, is “worth a mass” and a separate story. In general, traveling around France is easy, pleasant, interesting, and there are practically no problems with orientation and safety, and if I still have a chance to repeat such a trip in my life, I will not miss it.
,
Day 6 - ,
Day 7 -
Day 8 - Mont Saint Michel
Day 9 -
Arrived in Paris, rented a car at the airport. We drove north and stopped at the small town of Les Andelys, where we saw the castle of Chateau Gaillard.
In the morning we went to Deauville and Trouville, walked for 4 hours.
After lunch we returned to Honfleur, had lunch and rested. Toward evening we went to Etretat, on the way we crossed the Normandie bridge. Immediately behind it is a payment point, where you can stop and climb observation deck.
Walked in Etretat until sunset
Overnight in Otfleur.
Day 3 - ,
In the morning we left towards Saint-Malo, several stops were planned along the way. First we walked on Omaha Beach and visited the American Cemetery.
And then we drove into one little known place- cape overlooking Mont Saint Michel.
We spent two nights in Saint-Malo.
In the morning we went to Dinant
On the way back we stopped at the city park.
During the day we walked around the city, rested on the beach and took time-lapses of the tide.
Toward evening we went to Mont Saint Michel, where we walked outside the abbey.
Day 5 - ,
In the morning we watched the sunrise from the pier in Saint Malo.
We drove in the direction of Saint Guirec, on the way we stopped at Fort-la-Latte and Cape Frehel.
We arrived at Saint Guirec beach, where we booked a hotel for one night. We walked a little around the hotel.
Day 6 - ,
It was foggy in the morning. We saw the main attraction of the region - the red boulders on Ploumanak beach.
Then we went in the direction of Nantes. Nantes is in the Pays de Loire region, but we wanted to visit one of major cities in northern France and chose him. As it turned out, they did not fail. On the way we stopped at Vannes.
We settled in Nantes and walked around the city.
We spent two nights in Nantes.
Day 7 -
In the morning we saw the sunrise on the embankment near the hotel.
And then we spent the whole day walking around the city.
Day 8- , Mont Saint Michel
In the morning we saw a mechanical elephant and rode a carousel.
In Mont Saint Michel, we booked a hotel on the grounds of the abbey. Therefore, we settled in and went for a walk around the walls until the tide began to rise.
And in the evening we looked at our main goal in northern France - the high tide at Mont Saint Michel.
When it got dark, we went to the observation deck on the dam.
Day 9 -
