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Published: July 23rd 2009
Etretat
Jackie, Jeff, Dean, and Cyndi Sunday evening, July 19 - Veules-les-Roses
The house in Veules-les-Roses is on a tiny road-- not even wide enough to be called “chemin”. We stop on the slightly wider lane that it T’s up to, and I walk down to find the house. Four neighbors are chatting, and thankfully they can speak “Franglais”! They point me to the correct house. Its yard has a wide gate for a car to swing in onto the grass, but between the fact that our Grande scenic is too wide to make the swing and that our host, Francois, had advised us to park one street over, we simply pull up to the gate and unpack. Then we back out of the lane and find a spot on the main street.
I find the keys where Francois said he would leave them, and after fiddling with a finicky lock, we are inside. The home is very rustic; an old Norman house of bricks, river stones, exposed wooden beams and plaster, with high ceilings and large French (what else?) windows. A circular wooden stair leads to the second and attic floors, so we settle in.
Jeff is anxious to find Internet access, so
Etretat house for sale
For sale, but Dean does not like the price! we walk around the town to find the tennis club where Francois has said that there is wireless access. (The tennis club is on the grounds of an old convent. The revolution certainly provided the government with many beautiful public buildings!). Jeff is unable to find a signal, and we surmise that they must turn the modem off after hours, so we continue to tour the town, winding our way down to the beach. We hear voices in French as if through a sound system, a public gathering? A dance? -No, it is the sound coming out of the open back door of the cinema, where the projectionists are sitting on an open landing eating their bagettes! Before we leave, we will have to see if any film is playing that we might dare to attempt in French- I doubt if there would be subtitles!
Farther along, the road opens onto a vista of white cliffs, rocky beach, and ocean. We walk down to the boardwalk to watch the sunset (again, it’s close to 10 pm). Then we head back home through town. Dean and I stop often to admire the roses, RED and pink hydrangeas, and Dickens-village-like architecture
that is everywhere. Jackie and Jeff gradually pull ahead of us, and are waiting on the stone steps when we arrive at the house. We sketch out a plan for tomorrow and say good night. Dean is concerned about his back because the bed is soft. He moves to a twin bed that is a little harder, and we hope for the best.
Monday, July 20- St. Valery-en-Caux, Etretat, and the Benedictine Distillery
Dean’s back is in bad shape because of the mattress on the twin, and the bigger mattress was so soft that even I woke up sore. We decide that Dean will go to the pool, try all the mattresses in the house, and if things don’t improve, we will have to find a B&B to stay in, despite the added cost. Fortunately, the pool works out fine- it is in St. Valery-en-Caux, only 15 minutes away (closer than at home or the Cape), and the depth/temp are good.
The kids come along in search of Internet access, which we find in the town at a hotel café which overlooks the marina and the town square. I sit outside with a café au lait, and
Our home in Veules
River running by our home. the waiter gives me the password for Jeff to use. Jeff and Jackie are online until it’s time to pick up Dean. Our next goal is Etretat, where the white stone cliffs have been shaped into arches by the sea. It’s a lovely drive, and I get to watch the scenery because Jeff is the chauffeur. Signs lead us to a parking area at the summit of a narrow road, where we walk to a stone chapel and cliff overlooking the famous arch far below. Jeff and Jackie hike along a cliff walk, while Dean and I wander around the church and viewing area.
Jeff drives us back into town, where we walk the streets and stop to buy some fruit and bread for a lunch/snack. The town of Etretat is a bit louder and more touristy than Veules or St. Valery, so we do not stay long. En route home is Fecamp, site of the Benedictine Distillery. It is in a chateau-like building that houses a museum as well as a distillery tour. We have trouble parking (I am informed that “car” means “bus”, so I have to move from my prime spot near the site) and end
Veules les Roses
Home for sale!!!! up near the harbor, but it’s only a 10 -minute walk back, and the architecture is so interesting to look at, I don’t mind much.
Palais Benedictine was constructed in 1882 by M. LeGrande, who rediscovered the secret recipe for the liqueur, which had been given to a local woman by a fugitive Benedictine monk in gratitude for helping him escape during the revolution. It is full of turrets, grand halls, and mullioned windows. Before the distillery tour, you pass through several halls filled with religious and historical artifacts. Dean finds a portrait and statue of Pope Clement, the last pope of Avignon, with a given surname of DesRosier! There are also relics from churches that were sacked during the revolution, illuminated manuscripts and the seals of William the Conqueror.
The tour itself is much more interesting than Jameson’s in Dublin, because it is the real thing, not a tourist demo. We walk through the cellars and see the huge oaken barrels, and a room that displays the 27 spices used in the liqueur for you to feel and smell. After all is done, we each can choose a sample of original Benedictine, B&B, reserve (more aged) or
a mixed drink. We try one of each of the first 3, and rotate our glasses. Jeff is feeling a bit under the weather, so the rest of us taste, then let him finish off the glasses. This doesn’t help him, though, so we head right home.
Dean and I then drive 30 minutes to the nearest supermarket so we have food in the house. Back at home; I call Francois, who advises us to try the bed in the attic. (Maybe they put it there because it was too hard?) We eat and go to bed, Dean and I in the attic garret- I feel like a French artist!
Tuesday, July 21-Giverny and Rouen
The two other “tourist sights” we want to see from this base are Giverny and Rouen. We are not sure how to work the two, since Rouen is an hour from us, and Giverny is about 40 or so minutes past it. Dean’s back is better than it was, but he can’t afford to skip a day in water, and the pool doesn’t open until 10. People in France must not wake up early except to go to work! Dean is at
Veules les Roses
Cyndi on the beach at low tide. the pool when it opens, and we are en route by 11:15. Rick Steve’s book said to go to Giverny either at 9 a.m., after 4 p.m. (last admission is at 5:30) or lunchtime. The sights in Rouen stay open later, so we opt to gamble with lunchtime- WRONG CHOICE!! Jackie is not interested in going again, so she reads in the car while we go in and hope to be ”back in an hour”. How about an hour in line before we get in? But, we are here, and it will take longer to leave and drive back, so we wait. Finally we see the house and lily pond. It is crowded and definitely not worth it. So- if you ever come in summer to Giverny, try to be in line before it opens, otherwise, Jackie was right, “It is not worth the time”.
I liked Rouen, but after wasting the afternoon at Giverny, we had to rush to see the Churches before they closed. A nice young lady directed us to the market in Place St Maclou, after which we visited the Church and its adjacent plague cemetery (which is now an art school). The cemetery is
cliffs of Veules
Dean on the beach at Veules with sunset cliffs. in a walled courtyard covered with carvings of skulls and souls dancing with death. There is a mummified black cat interred in the wall to ward off evil.
Next, we go to Notre Dame. It has the tallest spire in France, built at the same time as the Eiffel Tower. The outside and inside carvings and decorations are amazing, and made better because I asked a young lady with a name tag on if they gave tours in English. She brought us into the bell tower and the crypt, which we would not have been able to enter on our own. The cathedral has been largely restored after extensive bombing damage in WWII. Another highlight was the tomb of Richard the Lionhearted.
On our way to the Place du Vieux Marche, where Joan of Arc was burned, we walk under the Gros Horage, a huge clock in an arch over the cobblestone street. It only has an hour hand, because minutes weren’t important back then. We go into St. Joan’s church, which is modern and boat-shaped. Then we return to the car to head home. Back in Veules les Roses, Jackie and Jeff watch a movie on DVD,
Giverny
Cyndi on the bridge among the crowd at the lilly pond. while Dean and I go for a walk around the town. I will write more about the town when I finally catch up on things. Today is really Thursday, July 23, and we are off to the pool. Friday we drive to Caen, and I am not sure when I will have Internet again. Au revoir and a bien tot.
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