Lower Normandy from Omaha Beach to Honfleur
When you get a sunny weekend in northern France, it’s time to hit the road. We decided to explore Lower Normandy from Calvados to Honfleur.
First stop, a caramel factory! Normandy is dairy country and these caramels are known throughout France. The factory store was pretty impressive but photography was strictly “interdit!” Anyway, we bought some caramels and had a picnic lunch next to the factory.
We were just a few kilometers away from Omaha Beach so we stopped for a moment of reflection.
It’s such a beautiful spot, it’s hard to imagine the what it must have looked like on D-Day.
We were lucky to catch a short procession of WWII American service vehicles driven by a local historical preservation club.
Next stop, cider and Calvados tasting at a nearby orchard. We tried several farmstead apple and pear ciders ranging from sweet dessert style to extra dry and funky. Strangely, I’m not a fan of Calvados, but we tried a couple anyway. After a filling of box with an assortment of bottles and a jar of local honey, we walked around the apple orchard.
Cider apples are high in tannins and usually not good to eat. They’re also not too fussy about blemishes or bugs. It all adds to the “terroir” or locally specific flavor of the cider.
After a full day of sightseeing, we checked into our charming country hotel.
Pretty chic! Every once in a while, you have to treat yourself to good night’s sleep in a big, American style bed!
The next morning, we stopped in Bayeux to see the stunning cathedral. We wandered the streets a bit then headed to the coast again for lunch in Arromanches-les-Bains.
Along the waterfront, there’s an example of a floating bridge section that allowed large ships to unload personnel and equipment onto the newly captured beaches. These were installed all along the coast in a truly monumental feat of engineering.
To the right of the scope, you can see a partially submerged piece of a WWII jetty.
Late in the day, we made it to Honfleur. We rented an Airbnb up on the hill just a few steps from this overlook. The listing said “7 minute walk to the old town”. What it didn’t mention was that the walk is straight downhill at 15% grade. Yikes.
Totally worth the walk! The old town includes this lovely little port full of fancy sailing boats. Honfleur is one of the more picturesque little seaside towns along the Normandy coast. Here’s a little taste of what we saw.
A typical timberframe building with a lobster restaurant on the ground floor.
Typical cafe table with abalone shell ashtray. I guess they have to tie them down so no one walks off with it.
Pretty cobblestone streets lead to the old port. The port is surrounded by really tall timberframe houses. Must be expensive real estate!
This is one of the oldest buildings in town from the 15th Century!
Generally, the place has a lot of “patina”.
It’s no wonder that Honfleur has been a favorite subject of artists for centuries.
It’s even more remarkable that it survived WWII given its location and preponderance of wooden structures. Lucky us!
On our way home to Brittany, we took the scenic route to see some cows. I remember learning about the Happy Cows of Normandy (les vaches contentes de Normandie) in my middle school French class and here they are. Full circle!
