Day Three - Flexing our Mussels as We Pass Through Fatcamp Again

I Guess The French Still Use the Guillotine

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These semi-mannequins were rather disturbing when we rounded the next corner. I'm not sure what they were supposed to be advertising...bad facial hair, theatrical contact lenses, lip balm or cheap touristy hats?

Charming Seaside Resort Town

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Even though the parking lot was packed, we had no idea where all the people were. There were few others out on the street as we investigated every open shop in town. We got some pretty good deals on the leftover summer merchandise that the souvenir shops were trying to dump.

Another Place That Warrants a Return Visit in the Summer

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I can imagine that on a hot summer night this little corner is the center of action in downtown Etretat. The big building in the background is the chic restaurant of Etretat and in fact was advertising their big New Year's Bash in posters scattered around town.

We Own This Town

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Or at least it seemed like it since there was nobody around after we hit the last store of our visit. A little further down the street we found an itty-bitty Christmas Market with a merry-go-round and a candy booth. Nearby was the tourism office where we picked-up a few brochures and a map of the area.

Please Be Closed, Please Be Closed., Please Be Closed

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It wasn't.

Why Is the Flower Shop Open?

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There was no rhyme or reason to why certain businesses were open on a Sunday in France. I thought maybe only bakeries, food stores and souvenir shops were allowed to open for business. But most food stores remained closed, half the souvenir shops in Etretat were closed, one clothing store was open too and this looked like the only town we had been to that didn't have a bakery. And oddly enough late on a Sunday afternoon this flower shop was wide open.

Testing the Maximum Setting of My Zoom Lens

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Just before leaving town I took one last look at the cliffs to the West of Etretat. Seeing a couple of hikers heading up to the peak, I zoomed in to see just how sharply my new camera lens could zoom. Pretty impressive.

Interesting Etretat Building

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Not exactly symetrical. I assume the owner on the left side doesn't have the cash that his next-door-neighbor has.

Back to Fatcamp

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With darkness descending on us we bid a fond adieu to Etretat. On our way back to St Valery our path took us through Fecamp once again. Hoping to fit in just one more sightseeing gem we consulted the Michelin guide. Lo and behold, the headquarters and distillery for Benedictine liqueur was located smack dab in the middle of the town. It took a few wrong turns until we found the place. I parked the car and got out to see what there was to see.

"Deo Optimo Maximo" ("To God, most good, most great")

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That's the company motto. Benedictine liqueur was originally made by monks. In the late 1870s, Alexandre La Grande of Fecamp, who had found the ancient recipe in a family trunk, started to make it for the public. the recipe made him a very wealthy man. I don't remember ever drinking it, but I read the taste is similar to very sweet cognac. The reipe includes odd bits like lavender, thyme, cardamom, juniper, and vanilla. That doesn't sound at all tasty.

The Stills

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This gigantic apparatus for distilling the liqueur is no longer used but serves as a decoration near the entrance to the distillery. In America all that copper would have been peeled off in the night and resold.

Actually, It's Still Open

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Even though it was almost 5:30 the distillery tour was still open. However with them closing at 6, it didn't make any sense to walk two blocks back to the car to rally the troops for a fifteen minute tour. I looked around a little longer trying to determine if we might want to do the tour the next day when we left St Valery.

A Rather Spectacular Facade

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The factory looked like a palace. Not only was it huge and adorned with all kinds of bric a brac on the exterior, but peering inside I could see marble floors and staircases along with rooms full of statues. More Benedictine info: The recipe is a closely guarded secret, rumored to be known to only three people at any given time. Many people have tried to reproduce the recipe and the company maintains inside the distillery a "Hall of Counterfeits" displaying bottles of the competitions' attempts. The manufacturing process involves several distillations which are then blended. The same company also produces "B & B" (or Benedictine and Brandy), which is Benedictine diluted with brandy, making it less sweet than Benedictine. B & B was developed in the 1930s when consumers began mixing Benedictine with brandy to produce a smoother taste. Both Benedictine and B & B are 43% alcohol (86 proof). Additionally, the company produces a Benedictine Single Cask that comes in a black bottle and is only available at the Palais de la Benedictine's store in Fecamp, Normandy, France. Sounds like a good reason to return.

Another Closed Food Place

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When we got back to St Valery the real fun began: once again we headed to that big parking lot in the harbor. This time we used our IPads and TripAdvisor to find recommended restaurants. We settled on a highly praised Creperie. Using the GPS we headed that way, but after 15 minutes of searching by car and then on foot, we couldn't locate it. Seeing a hotel close to the St Valery beach we walked up to it and entered their restaurant. We were told they didn't open for another 45 minutes. After a quick check of the menu revealed that dinner for 4 could exceed the daily amount we can withdraw from the ATM, we walked out. After more walking around we returned again to Kabob King for the second night. Once again it was delicious and reasonable. I was pleased. I can't vouch for the others.

Getting Ready to Leave Town

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After dinner we returned right back to the Hotel Henry IV. We needed to do some repacking and re-arranging for the next day. Ms Excitement then went straight to bed.

And the Rest of Us Partied On Into the Night

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Gail, her mother and I went downstairs to the little living room/lounge of the hotel where we sipped some beer and caught up on our reading. Grandma Phoebe read through the piles of coffee table photo books in front of her, Gail checked her e-mail and Facebook and I tried to figure out how to upload my photos so far. The owner spoke to us for awhile while we tried to befriend his shy Labrador Retriever. By 11 pm we were running out of gas. Despite the nasty cough I was fighting, I still fell asleep within minutes.