Honfleur

Thursday, May 2, 2013, Honfleur, France

This is a picture-perfect small harbor town in lower Normandy, built in the 17^th century, and was a favorite painting spot of a number of old masters.  There are loads of half-timber houses and narrow cobbled streets, along with art galleries and shops.

The ship docked here at 5 AM and the people who were leaving for Paris and early flights left at 5:30.  We were able to leave at 9:00, and took a cab to our lovely hotel just a few steps from the center of town.  We spent the day wandering the city, visiting the art galleries and shops, and taking in the ambience of this town.

As we left our hotel we passed a “lavoir”, a public clothes-washing place:

 

Joyce bought a beret, and now everyone first speaks to us in French.  Note the very tall narrow houses along the harbor front which date from the 1600’s:

 

The one specific attraction in town is the wooden Ste-Catherine church, built in 1453 to commemorate the end of the Hundred Years Was and the departure of the English:

 

 

The belfry is a separate building across a small square:

 

We had a spectacular dinner last night.  Finally!  The food aboard the ship was only good, not very good or great, but now we’re on our own and have decided to treat ourselves to some dinners in special restaurants, and Honfleur has a couple.  Paired with a lovely bottle of Alsacian Pinot Gris, it was just great.

Tomorrow we’ll pick up our car and wind our way to Rouen stopping along the way at the little town of Etretat on the coast north of Le Havre which is supposed to be lovely.