Le Havre - Quel Surprise!

We travelled over the Pont de Normandie and through the extensive docklands to our hotel in Le Havre. Supposedly from a tourist icon to a ugly town, but the tables were turned. Le Havre turned out to be one of the most interesting places we have visited. It is true that some of the housing built after the city was damaged in the war is quite drab, but the city was resigned by one architect who had some real vision. The streets are very wide and there are no skyscrapers, so you get a feeling of being in lots of space. There are views of the sea and river from most streets and the largest town square in France. The main church resembles a large lighthouse and from inside the stained glass is superb. There is also a beach and some hills surrounding the town. High up on one peak an old fort has been turned into an array of hanging gardens with plants from all over the world. It is free to enter and we spent over two hours walking around. They are also carrying out research on newly discovered species to see now they adapt to the French climate in lots of greenhouses that you can walk through for just one euro. The cafe is also excellent and some special delicacies that are flavored with scents such as rose and geranium. At the corner where the docks meets the beach there is a modern art gallery that has the best collection of impressionist works outside Paris and a top floor restaurant that looks out over the river and sea. We were really impressed with the works on show and also visited a renovated five story merchants house that was furnished with period items. Le Havre is a real working town and seems to be thriving. They are currently building a tramline to connect the town with beach and renovating the town square. A new stadium is being built on the outskirts and cycle paths are present on most roads. The old docks are now filled with retail centres a cinema and water park, having already been restored. They are filled with modern art and temporary exhibition spaces. Give me Le Havre over Honfleur. The latter has now lost most of what made it interesting in the first place and is now just full of tourists, cafes and gift shops.

Pont de Normandie (I do not recommend cycling!)



Le Havre - Docks





Inside the church


The Beach



Town viewed from the Hanging Gardens


Path inside the gardens



Greenhouses - orchids



Art Gallery - Dufy


Art Gallery - me!


Ferry


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue de la Poissonnerie,Caudebec-en-Caux,France

Old resorts and rain!

Our next destination was Honfleur. We had heard that it was a pretty old town and the source of inspiration for many artists. As it was not too far away we took it easy at the start of the day and visited all the coastal towns, taking the roads that were closest to the sea. Houlgate had some 19th century houses by the sea as did the next town, Villers-sur-mer. Just as we entered the town we saw a large congregation next to the war memorial and a line of parked army vehicles. There was a drumbeat and a minutes silence, then the band played the Marseillaise and a group of soldiers marched down the road preceded by the band and followed by the cars. One of the veterans stayed behind and an ambulance came to his assistance. There was an exhibition of a tapestry in the local hall that was around 20 meters long and told the tale of a Northmanen (Viking) in the style of the Bayeux one. The town is also known for it's fossils which come from some 'black cliffs' nearby. We walked along the beach and found a few ourselves before making the acquaintance of an old French lady. She invited us back to her apartment for an aperitif and we had a chat. She did not marry but has over 100 nephews and nieces. The morning was soon afternoon and we had not gone very far before the rain came and did not stop the whole way to Honfleur. We cycled through Deauville and Trouville without stopping, and probably did not appreciate much about them as it was grey and the roads and town were very busy. Cycling along this part of the coast was not very pleasant with all the traffic. Some of the roads are very narrow, steep in sections and dangerous in the rain when cars pass close by at speed. We were glad to reach Honfleur, although soaking wet, and had an extra day in town to look around. It has not fulfilled our expectations and is jam-packed full of tourists. I have never seen so many cafes and restaurants in one town and the prices are all higher than everywhere else we have been. The Boudin museum was also closed on Tuesdays so we are going to visit tomorrow morning before setting off for Le Havre. Julie is not looking forward to going over the bridge across the Seine, but at least there is a dedicated cycle path.

Houses on the front at Houlgate



Old 2nd world war veterans at Villers-sur-mer








Honfleur
Showing the bridge we will cross tomorrow (Pont de Normandie)


Honfleur Port









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue des Vases,Honfleur,France

An easy day

We left Caen this morning and cycled back up the riverbank to Pegasus bridge to have a coffee in the famous Gondree cafe and then look at the museum on the other side. The site contains the original bridge, a reconstructed glider of the same design used in the raids and numerous other exhibits in the main building and outside in the grounds. There was also a film and a tour guide showed us around the site. We were there for well over an hour and really enjoyed the visit which was quite moving in parts. Many of the old soldiers have visited over the years, especially on 5/6 June, and have become like family to the local French residents. We will now have to watch 'The Longest Day' as we have been to so many of the places this week. The sequence about the bridge was shot on the original one and the veterans advised the filmmakers about the action. The only error in the film is that there were no explosives attached to the bridge. the Germans removed them each night so that the resistance would not blow up the bridge when they were asleep. The invasion was expected to be further north and they were taken by surprise.

The voie vert continued on the east bank of the canal and so we reached the coast without having to cycle on the roads or even near them, which made for a quiet, peaceful trip. It passed by a bird sanctuary at the head of the estuary so we ate our lunch there and watched the wildlife, including some large fish that surfaced nearby. Surprisingly the cycle path carried on through the dunes and then by the roadside so we had an easy day and arrived in the early afternoon at Dives-sur-mer. Whilst checking into our hotel we noticed several tents had been erected by the riverside and a medieval fair was in progress. The site looked like an ancient encampment as all the stallholders were in traditional costumes. Some wore chain mail and carried weapons. We purchased some flat scones cooked over an open fire and walked on towards the beach. The town is quite upmarket compared to others we have visited on this coast and we payed a few euros more for our beer and double for our tea and cakes! They were good though, and the outlook and atmosphere made it worthwhile. Our restaurant for the night was decorated in the art nouveau style and must have been very impressive before the war as there were old photos on the wall showing stylish ladies and gentlemen in the establishment. Tomorrow we head along the coast to Honfleur and plan to stay a few days if we can find some accommodation. It is nearing the end of the French holidays so we may be lucky.

Cafe Gondree



Jeeps were carried in some of the gliders (not in this operation). They got them out quickly on landing by blowing the back off the fuselage? It took 45 minutes to get them in before take off as they had to come through the cockpit, but this would take too long in a battle situation.



Original photos of the gliders that landed next to the bridge.




Grand Hotel, Cabourg


And from the back



Medieval banquet hall in Dives sur Mer (town over river from Cabourg)



William the conquerer having a beer!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue de la Libération,Dives-sur-Mer,France

Normandy Battlefields (pictures continued)

Bayeax






British & Commonwealth Cemetery






Canadian cemetery (on D35)


Pegasus Bridge


Cafe Gondree


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue du Clos Beaumois,Caen,France

Normandy Battlefields

For the past few days we have been exploring the battlefields, landing beaches and cemeteries of Normandy. We travelled across country from Granville to Coutances and then up to Isigny-sur-mer where we set out the following day to see the battery and trenches at Maisy, the Rangers museum and the cliff top site at Point du Hoc, where the bomb craters have been left intact as a reminder of the intense shelling that rained down on the German defences. It was too late in the day to visit the American cemetery, so we had a walk on the nearby hill and down onto the beach. That night we stayed at a chambre d'hôte just up the road and went back the following morning for an early visit. It is hard not to be affected by the site of thousands of identical white marble gravestones, particularly when most of the men died in their early twenties. The visits to the battle sites the previous day had given us some idea of the history of the landings and filled in many gaps from the knowledge we had before. I probably knew more about the Romans and Greeks than the 2nd World War before this week. We carried on along the coast to Arromanches where the British had constructed a port just after the landings that proved vital to the success of the invasion. Some of the pontoons are still in the water and the museum on the sea front has all the detail, plus some models and war time films. The day end at Bayeux and we gave the tapestry a miss. Although we did look in the extensive gift shop, which was probably just as good as it is full of pictures, cards and embroidery. Bayeux is also the location of the main British cemetery. The others are scattered around Normandy where the troops fell. And it was touching to see a section that contained German graves. All the cemeteries are maintained extremely well with manicured lawns, gardens and trees. Today we headed north east from Bayeux before coming down the river to Caen. We visited a prehistoric tumulus and the Canadian cemetery on the way to Pegasus Bridge. British paratroopers landed here on June 5th, 1944, the day before the main attack and liberated a French couple in a house by the bridge. It is now a cafe and full of memorabilia as it was the first place freed from German occupation. The whole of this part of Normandy is full of tourists of all nationalities, mainly looking at the wartime sites, and it is certainly an experience I will remember.

Bomb craters at Point du Hoc. The Germans had placed several large guns on this cliff top with ranges that covered the two landing beaches. It was shelled heavily before the attack but the Germans had pulled their guns back beyond where the shells were hitting. The Americans had trained a special Ranger group in cliff top assaults in the UK and they attacked and put these guns out of action. They had several problems with the grappling hooks not reaching the cliff top as the ropes had got wet, some of the reinforcements were misdirected and they had to hold out on their own. They suffered heavy losses but it was critical operation in the scheme of things. I think the story is covered in the film 'The Longest Day'



Bomb damage


Cliff top scaled by the Rangers.


American Cemetery








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue du Clos Beaumois,Caen,France

A hill too far!

The morning cycle was one of the best so far. It was a bright and clear with hardly any cars as we rook the back roads from Fougeres to the bay of Mont St Michel. A few cycle groups passed us on their early morning rides and we met a lone cyclist near Avranches who took us on a back route around town that had great views of the bay. He was much older than us but very fit and had done over 100km the previous day. He was just returning from a 70km ride when he saw us looking at our map and came to offer us some assistance. Julie chatted to him in French as we cycled along. There was a long hill into town and Julie rode a bit faster than normal, so we were both a bit puffed when we reached the top and parted ways. There are some formal gardens there and we walked to the belvedere to take a couple of photos of Mont St Michel before cycling down into the town centre for a welcome cafe break. We still had quite a way to go to Granville and took the coastal route as we hoped to get good views of the bay and avoid the main road. This route was still quite busy and although there were not too many cars they came by very fast and we had to keep close to the kerb. As the day wore on we started to get a little tired and were happy to reach our hotel around 4pm. We had set off early as it was one of our longest days and we clocked up 85km in the end. After showering and having a drink at the bar we ate an early dinner and walked around the port and headland. The tides here as so large that there is a dam wall in the port. When the tide goes out the boats still float. When it comes back in again the boats queue outside the harbour until they have enough draught to get back in again. The headland walk is quite interesting as it contains the barracks of an old regiment, now turned into apartments, and the remains of the German gun emplacements that protected the bay. There are lots of seafood restaurants along the quay and their lights reflect in the water at night making a pretty scene with the backdrop of the steep cliff top houses above and the old city walls.

Mont St MIchel from the gardens in Avranches


And a bit closer


Goodbye Brittany - Hello Normandy



Low tide


Granville


Waiting for the tide



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Promenade du Docteur Paul Lavat,Granville,France

Rennes to Fougeres

Climbing out of Rennes this morning the roads were deathly quiet and hardly anyone was about. It was Sunday morning of a long weekend, but I do wonder where everyone is sometimes. We had the luxury of a cycle lane out of the city and headed off in a direct line to Fougeres. When we reached the freeway we took a VTT path through the forest of Rennes and were surprised when it turned into an immaculate Tarmac road just for cyclists and walkers. We made good time to Fougeres and walked down into town to see the castle. The main part of town is up an incredibly steep road so our legs got another work out to end the day. The castle is the best we have seen in France. It is not too prissy and has some unusual ramparts and towers. Most of it is intact and the location at the foot of the town in a wide valley is superb. At the lower end there are cliffs and some medieval buildings. You can also get to the top of the town by walking up the terraced gardens which offer splendid views. We took the tourist trail around town, had a few beers until the restaurants opened and continued back by the castle afterwards. Tomorrow we have a long day planned. We will be cycling to Granville on the Normandy coast and hope to get some good views on Mont St Michel on the way.

Some of the animals we met on the way!





Lower part of town below the castle



View from the gardens


Evening


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lécousse,France