Transcript for Episode 231: Tips for a Visit to Etretat in Normandy

Category: Normandy & Brittany

Discussed in this Episode

• AirBnB La Bergerie in Étretat
• Falaise d'Aval
• Porte d'Aval
• Falaise d'Amont
• Porte d'Amont
• Chapelle Notre Dame de Garde
• La Manne Porte
• Manneporte
• Golf course in Etretat
• Oiseau Blanc Monument
• Jardins d'Étretat
• La Mer pour Tous speed boat tours in Fécamp
• Armistice Fireworks in Honfleur
• Bastille Day in Etretat
• Route des Abbeyes
• Abbey Route
• Cider Route
• Dangerous tides around Etretat
• Calvados
• Pommeau de Normandie
• Hotel & Restaurant Dormy in Etretat
• Le Homard Bleu restaurant in Etreat

THIS IS AN AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT

0:00
This is join us in France, Episode 231. I’m Annie Sargent and I’m happy to be with you today. On today’s episode, Janice Chang of France travel tips, talks to me about her wonderful visit to Etretat, that’s ETRETAT, that’s in Normandy, Janice knows France really well, she’s visited dozens of times. And she’s been on this podcast twice in Episode 86, where she talked to me about looking for unusual experiences in France, which included running both the Paris and the Bordeaux marathons. And also an episode 168, about war Valley chateaus, you shouldn’t skip and she’s seen almost all of them. So I love talking to her about that. But today, we’re talking about Normandy and in particular, at hotel has a beautiful beach with stone arches reaching into water. When you see the picture, I’m sure you’ll recognize it. It’s really gorgeous. But what is it like when you visit, Janice shares her experience with great flare, as usual. Show Notes and photos for this episode are on join us in France. com, forward slash 231 231,

1:20
there will not be a new episode of the podcast next Sunday, May 5 2019,

1:25
because I’ll be in Paris, well, actually, I’ll be in Shiva, honey, taking a small group to Shiva, honey and enjoying Monet’s gardens. So I’ll be back with a new episode on May 12, 2019,

1:39
and you can still get a ticket to join me on the MoMA, or Bella shares tour on May. Well, actually, there’s four of them left. But that’s may 7, and may 820 19,

1:51
to book that and to look at the details go to addicted to france.com. And I won’t be offering these half day walking tours in Paris going forward. Because I don’t live in Paris. And the dates you asked me about rarely work out. This week alone, I had to turn down a dozen listeners who really would like to join me on a walking tour. But it’s on a date where you know, I can’t be in Paris, it’s your dates are all over the calendar. And it’s, it’s a big ask for me to go to Paris, you know, I can’t go for just two or three people. That’s that’s the reality of things. So I would love to show you around, but I can’t do it that way. So what I’m going to do instead is something that will work no matter what day you’ll be in Paris, I am developing GPS aware walking tours, those work with a free app that you can get either for your iPhone or Android, and you choose the area of Paris that you want me to guide you in you a few dollars for the tour, it’s not that expensive. And I do give you a meeting point. Once you’re at the meeting point I start talking to you, you can put your phone in your pocket and I guide you with my voice, there’s a map, including in the app as well, but you you really shouldn’t need to look at it. And of course, I tell you about all the cool things around you that I think you need to know about. And I had just finished writing the English city walking tour when the not whole damn fire happened. And since about 20% of the eagle ICT tour takes place around not her Damn, I you know, I need to see the situation on the ground, see for myself what’s accessible, what is not, and modify the tour accordingly. So when I come back from Paris, middle of May, I’ll release soon after the internet city smartphone walking tour. And going forward, I’ll release more I’m planning on Lamar Hayes, and Sherman deeply Latin Quarter master all the places that most people want to learn about. And I will spend a lot of my time going forward writing these walking tours, which will be essentially the same tours I give in person. I think that’ll be actually better, because I won’t forget to mention some things. So for all of you that I have turned down for an in person walking tour, you will be able to get a GPS aware a walking tour, and take me with you to Paris. There will be lots more info on that soon. And I hope that will be a better way to handle this.

5:02
Janice, welcome back to join us in France.

5:05
Oh, thank you Annie it’s thanks for having me back. I have to start by saying I love Love, love your podcast. Thank you so much. Even though I’ve traveled to France a lot, I continually listen to it. Because it gives me ideas of where else I can go.

5:23
Well, that’s true, because we talked to so many different people. And they all have great suggestions.

5:28
Yes, yes. And the Facebook group has been invaluable. Yeah,

5:32
it’s very, it’s also very helpful. Lots of people, lots of very knowledgeable people in the so that’s specifically the Facebook closed group. So if you if you’re looking for it in the search box in Facebook, type join us in France closed group, there’s also a page, but there’s not much interaction on the page. Yeah,

5:51
which is a great. Yeah.

5:54
Alright, so today we are talking about a an area in Normandy that I have never visited. So I’m looking forward to learning about it. It’s it’s at hooked up. Right. And you were there recently?

6:09
Yes, I was there in July. So for many years, actually, let me go back. So when I first started falling in love with France, obviously mostly Michelle was one of the places I want to visit, right? And then once I said that k what is striking to me, and it’s entertainment. And it took me many, many, many trips, because it’s not in a it’s like not near Paris. It’s not in pro balls.

6:36
And it isn’t Normandy. But most people when they think of Normandy, they think of the D day beaches. Correct. And this is much further north east of that area. So my guess would be a lot of people visit the D day beaches, but they don’t head ne righteous a shame. Because this is an area that I unknowingly love with it. Especially because of entertainment.

7:03
Oh, that’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. Yeah, it’s one that’s been on my list for a long time. But you know, I live into those. So that’s kind of a long way. It’s not like I can go for a weekend or something. I guess I could if I flew, but it would it would take a while. It’s that’s probably why most people don’t make it there is because it’s not on there. You know, must see lyst.

7:25
Right? Any To be honest, it’s about two and a half hours west of Paris. So it’s not that close. And it’s not like you can take a train to extra top.

7:37
So how did you get there?

7:39
I drove So after I visited pro balls, took the train back to Paris scalar night and then rented another car and drove. Okay. I probably I don’t know where they nearest train station would be offline. offline. Maybe?

7:57
comes? Yeah,

7:58
I mean, well, that’s kind of West. Yeah. You see, you need a car without a doubt. Yeah. It’s very beneficial to have a car because there’s so much to see.

8:11
Not just in between entertain Paris, but also along the coast. So you need it.

8:17
Okay. Yeah, there’s, there are a lot of places in France where I say you don’t need a car, but they’re also places where if you want to get there and enjoy it truly, you need a car.

8:27
Oh, yeah.

8:28
I’m about to go to nice. And I’m going to try to do it without a car. Because I know nice has a lot of trains and bus and stuff that I can go to a lot of interesting places. We’ll see. We’ll see how we do and I can always, you know, get a, you know, rent a car if I need to. Sure. Just a second. Let me see what’s happening with my dogs.

8:54
You never know.

8:56
I just closed my door in case my cat is came with come in and heal me out.

9:03
Well, I have also have a cat but the cats very quiet. So you know, the dogs that make all the noise around here. Anyway, so when when were you in, in

9:15
the second week in July, and I stayed a week,

9:20
which was a great amount of time. Like I actually did excursions from that town. But I rented an Airbnb, so that and the location could not have been better. First of all, it had free parking. And if I went through the back, I could get into town within five minutes. Oh, that’s so one of my recommend. You know, I had looked into all maybe I won’t stay in that your tab because I was having a hard time finding place, hotel wise. And I thought you know what, I’ll do Airbnb. And it’s close. I left my car there for the days that you know, I wandered into town. Sure. And it was just so convenient. The place I stayed at the house had been built in the late 1800s. It’s the same property as the owners. So she was right next to her husband. Were right next door. Oh, that’s very good. Yeah, she only spoke French, which was good for me. Because it made me practice Yeah.

10:27
She could not have been

10:31
a better host why she she was a super host. And Airbnb has those designations. They have high ratings, you know, fast response.

10:42
reevaluate every three months, that kind of thing. Right? They do again, this was a large house. I mean, it had three floors, hit a bedroom, two beds, that kind of thing. But he was fabulous, because she gave me dining recommendations. And she’s the one who told me. Oh, fireworks, I probably knew that. There were fireworks and extra time on July 13. But she also mentioned on July 14, Lafitte Nasional, yeah. Steel date that is in many other places like, Okay, I’m not going to laugh.

11:17
Our young.

11:20
Right. So she was very helpful. I mean, even when I was, you know, I contacted her and I said, Look, I can’t book

11:28
a dining room, dinner reservation at this place. So she recommended some other places, which was fabulous. Oh, that’s very nice. That’s good. Yeah.

11:37
And so we’ll put a link to that particular Airbnb in the show notes. But of course with Airbnb, you never know if it’s going to be available when you go. Sometimes they don’t, they’re not renting anymore. Or sometimes they it’s already booked or whatever. But I’ll put the link in the show notes because that’s very helpful that that it was somebody who was so good.

11:57
The other boy about that place was that it was quiet. I mean,

12:06
epitaph can be a very touristy busy place, and, you know, so therefore it can get crowded and noisy. Yeah, yeah.

12:13
And it’s mostly French tourists, I would assume or Europeans anyway, right? Who know about this?

12:21
Um, I guess so.

12:25
I really, I mean, yeah, it doesn’t matter. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But I talked to tell Yeah, but it’s it’s a fabulous place. And you know, every time I look at my photos I go Yeah, I could go back there because it’s so stunning. You cannot take that photo. Oh, that’s good.

12:46
Not being able to take a bad photo is a big plus.

12:52
Oh, trust me I I kept visiting the cliffs so enter does known for their for less, which is a cliffs kind of like the White Cliffs of Dover. And

13:06
the tone is right on the water’s edge. And to the south is the fellas dugout. And the it’s just

13:19
these are beautiful cliffs that have also have ports or arches. Right them even more spectacular, right? And then to the north of extra tap is

13:32
notre Dom do like God, and it was built in the 1950s. And that sits on top of

13:40
them all. Yeah. And yeah,

13:41
the cliff. And also right there. There’s another arch deport them all. So that’s what’s striking about this town is that it’s surrounded by these White Cliffs. Yeah.

13:53
And so would you recommend it mostly for people who like to hike for people with fam with children? Maybe is it romantic? What sort of,

14:04
I think all three of you don’t have to be a hiker. I mean,

14:10
what I did the first day, the first full day that I was there, I took a hike. It was more of a walk. It’s not like you need high you. Yeah, you probably should wear running shoes around the golf course. Okay. And then it takes you kind of us more sofa better tech. So you can see another port, which is called for arch called metaphor. So you see metaphor, and they fell as devout and you get some spectacular views. When I went at nine in the morning. There was hardly anyone out there a bit.

14:46
I July was the weather could not have been more beautiful. It was low to mid 20s. Or does it Celsius. And you know, of course when your new deal, and it’s a bit cooler. So it’s perfect because that there was a heatwave going through France. Back in July, but not in Normandy.

15:09
still warm at times, but right boy, it was beautiful. Oh, that’s good. That’s great. Yeah,

15:15
July would probably be a good time to go to Normandy, I would assume Oh, gosh, early August would be also very great. Yeah.

15:22
You know, the dates are about going and I remember years ago, I texted someone I said, so what’s it like in March?

15:32
No, no, no, windy, cold, rainy, that kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah.

15:36
But it’s still it’s still beautiful. But it’s it’s not as ideal.

15:41
Yes, exactly. So, you know, in going back to your question, it’s an easy walk. I took my time. I mean, really took my time stopping taking photos, that kind of thing. Yeah. And it took me about two hours. My Airbnb actually started at the beginning of the path. Oh, that was very good. I can because it was right next to the golf course. See golf golf course. And you can imagine if you play golf, yeah, I, of course, I didn’t bring my golf clubs. Live View would be spectacular. Mm hmm. You know, yeah. So you can do the walk. And a lot. Most people actually get up to the top of the cliffs by take from the boardwalk. And there’s a path and stairs. So I would think that the majority of the people do that, which is a shame. Because I think unless they’re going to head more south, the Miss metaphor, they’ll miss some of the open scenery.

16:44
Okay, so So explain that again, because I am not sure I understood what you were saying. So you should get with a hike that little hike instead of taking stairs?

16:54
What I would do both, okay.

16:58
She’s going to be there a few days, what happens is if you take it from the golf course, you’re sweeping around the golf course, and you end up at the cliff. Okay, and they walk along the cliff towards the town. And then you can walk down the stairs into the town. But most people start in the town, go up the stairs to the class.

17:22
I see.

17:24
I hope I see. Two weeks of the class one from the golf course and the other from the main center of town. Okay.

17:32
Okay. But do you think going from the golf course you get better views?

17:36
Oh, yeah.

17:39
Of course, at the beginning, if you come from town, it’s much more crowded. Of course, we’re heading from that direction. Right, right.

17:49
Well, in the stairs up, I mean, the steps. So there’s probably a lot of steps. I don’t know. It seems like it’s a high cliff. Yeah.

17:55
And the other thing to really note is, there aren’t a lot of barriers. So of course, they’re warning signs that say, you know, be very careful, because you can fall over. Yeah. I mean, the pictures I at times, I would shimmy down on my bum to get close to the edge. Because I’m so scared. I might fall over. Right,

18:20
right, right. Yeah, that’s the safe way to do it. If you’re going to do something crazy. Do it. She mean, down on your bottom? Exactly. Yeah.

18:27
I mean, I, of course, I didn’t even get too close. Right. And of course, you know, you meet people along the walk, and they take pictures of you. We take pictures of them. Right. Right. So go ahead.

18:39
So there’s two there’s two.

18:43
Beautiful agree. Right. The beautiful arches. So one is?

18:51
I don’t know, I’m asking. I’m, I’m trying to understand how this works.

18:55
No, one. I’m not gonna pronounce it. Right. A

18:58
good. A good. You.

19:01
Agree. Right. Which is kind of like a rock jetting out of the water. Oh, yes. Yeah,

19:07
that’s just a pointy thing towards the sky.

19:11
Right. But beside them, are those arches, the ports?

19:16
Okay. And, and, and both arches are close to one another?

19:21
Kind of? Yeah, I mean, if you turn one way, you’ll get a photo of that one. If you turn the other way, you’ll get a photo.

19:30
Okay, okay. No, I think I understand.

19:37
Hard to victory when you haven’t been because I’ve seen a ton of photos. But exactly the lay of the land. You know, I guess I could have, you know, looked on Google Maps or something, which I didn’t do I just looked at some photos. Yeah. And that,

19:52
you know, those arches go quite high there from 40 to 50 meters high.

20:01
And that rock that sticks out of the water. It looks like a needle. Right? And it you know, who knows fooling around with my photography, I was trying to pose the needle in between the port. But it’s very difficult to do. But anyway,

20:17
and when you say port, you don’t mean a port with boats? You mean, the kind of the safari? Yes. Arch? Yes. Yes. Yeah. Because they’re called the book to devil. And to do

20:32
a demo? demo. Yeah, fellow. Right in the north, and then there’s Manafort, which is also in the south, but that’s further it’s not it. It is well known, but not as much as the other two that I’ve mentioned. Okay.

20:50
I mean, you just became famous too, because I’m, I’m Jewish. Geez. At the there was a famous author who wrote about the

21:01
this whole area Oh, guida? More puzzle. Yeah. He wrote, he lived in that retire. And he wrote, I think a story or a book, a story called envy. A laugh. Oh, yeah.

21:14
I have read that. I read it in high school. I forgot about it. But Oh,

21:18
okay. Well, he just supposedly describes an elephant’s trunk. Okay. into the English Channel in extra tat. And there’s controversy because I tried to do research. Was it pork demo or pork demo? Hmm. So it’s always fun when you look at these rocks, or reports or arches. And you go, okay, does that look like the you know, an elephant? Is that the trunk? Yeah,

21:46
an elephant’s trunk. So. Yeah,

21:50
that’s nice. That’s nice. Okay, so how long would you dedicate to seeing these fellows? And to know that can be you see it all in a day? Or maybe a day and a half? Yeah,

22:04
because what you could do, let’s say you start from the town, you walk up to the cliffs on the south side. So if you’re standing, looking at the water, you going up the left hand side, then you could come back down and go up the right hands. Okay, which is the last demo. And on that cliff, there’s a bit more to see. There’s the chapel that I mentioned, which chapel and notre dam do I God. And there’s also a monument that honors these two French pilots who were heading to North America, and they disappeared. Oh, they were last seen over entertain. I think this was in 1920 1927.

22:51
So this was certainly aviation.

22:54
Yes, exactly. And so monument was created. And unfortunately, the Nazis destroyed. So another one was created. And it looks like

23:06
it’s called white bird. So it was Oh, yeah. And it’s it’s quite beautiful. Because it basically looks like a

23:16
bird. A beak.

23:20
Taking off. Hmm.

23:23
Very nice.

23:23
It was 1962. Yeah. It’s it’s very white arrow, let’s say pointing to America.

23:33
So there’s a bit more to see, other than just beautiful views, and they are spectacular. There’s another path that you can walk more North seats, okay. It’s not the most exciting, but it is nice.

23:48
There’s also a garden. So you could just do that in one day. Okay, if you really want to pack in your day. And you know, I’m not into rushing to see all these things. So in another day, I actually visited the Georgia debt to attack. And these are beautiful gardens, but they’re not your typical, you know, flowers and that kind of thing in it’s very artistic. There was a French actress who, I guess, commissioned the gardener to create this garden.

24:27
She got inspiration from Claude may know, Claude Monet, who lived in Atlanta, and into this and

24:36
yeah, oh, yeah. Which is why I should point out, when you’re an entertainer, and you’re walking along the boardwalk, they’re all these placards are signpost, and they will show pictures of his works of art.

24:53
There was one I think he did a crochet du Soleil at rota. And so its position in the place, you can see the real thing, and you can see how money painted. It must be nice. Yeah, it is. So in this garden, it was only opened in 2016. And it is really whimsical. For example, how am I gonna disrupt this? Imagine a tree and it has a wind up handle. And you can actually turn the crank the handle and it plays music.

25:33
There’s another there’s another section called lose your debt, a mostly on emotions, and they’re the sculptures of different faces. I know this sounds weird. your listeners are going to go Why would I want to? It’s really

25:50
there are these sculptures made of twigs of people hugging trees. And it was the tree hugger project. I know it sounds really anywhere. But the best way

26:02
it happened. Not so long ago, I was walking my dogs and from a distance I saw something up against the big tree. And you know, I walk pretty much the same path every day. And I’m like, Oh, no, did somebody dumb? Like an old piece of furniture or something? Does it happens people dump stuff on this on this dirt road? No, it was a person hugging a tree. And he’s made. He stood there hugging the tree for a long time. You know, and it was like

26:34
a real person. It was a real person.

26:36
It was a human person live person hugging a tree. I had. I mean, you hear a tree huggers. Never seen it.

26:46
And I you know, I thought well, I really didn’t want to embarrass him. Because I don’t know if I had the tree and somebody walked up to me. I would be embarrassed. I don’t know. Maybe.

26:57
Maybe that’s what these? Yeah, yeah, these are, shall I say so bizarre. They’re actually very attractive looking. They’re made of twigs. It was done by a Polish artists. And so you can see a number of his sculptures and the one that he did. And I don’t know if you’ll put this on your website. I sent you the photo. It’s a tribute to Monet. It’s made of twigs. So it it’s a sculpture of Monet made of twigs, and you can see him painting. And in the background is the extra tab one of the clips that he’s painting. Nice. And it I love the photo, because it’s just it’s so beautiful. Here’s Monet painting with the clips of the fillers, detritus in the background. Oh, very nice. Yes,

27:51
I’ll make sure to put it on the on the website. So on the website, I’m also going to put your very, very good notes because you have a lot of specific recommendations. I mean, some some places you give the name of the like you say it’s the ni d 940. Road and take this bass and the name of the path and all of that. So I will put all of that as your guests notes, because, okay, guys, really, that’s really precious for people who want to do this trip also. Yeah,

28:21
because on my website, I did. I actually have like, not itinerary. But pretty much like that every trip I’ve taken. I try to provide detailed notes on what I saw, perhaps how you get there, that kind of thing.

28:38
Right. And your site is France travel tips, and it’s excellent. And I rank and I recommend people visit it because you do have very,

28:48
very judicious tips, you don’t go to all the places everybody goes, you know, you try to go off the beaten track. And it’s it’s wonderful to me be you actually find. And I had a little bit of a rant about this with cafes last week, you know, people who asked for the best cafe, but totally unique, totally unique and like, Well, no, it doesn’t work that way. But you get that right, you get that in France. I mean, you can’t go to the most touristy village in Provence and expect to be the only person there. I mean, it’s just not going to happen. Right?

29:27
That was a great post. So when I run, go running, I always listen to your podcast is great.

29:35
I’m gonna say

29:38
yes, I mean, the whole reason I started my website was because I want to write about unique experiences, you know, everybody, you can look at the top 10 guides and all that kind of stuff. But I like to seek out. I mean, this is what makes my traveling a little more interesting. Yeah. by seeking out those unique places and experiences. Right.

29:59
Right. And it makes all the difference that you get to experience. You know, the, the less traveled by I mean, it’s not like a hotel is a big secret or anything but but it’s super a plus me share a party. No.

30:18
No.

30:19
You know, you mentioned a lot of people. Yes, do visit extra tab. And after I had walked along the class, I thought okay, yeah, see a boat. I wonder if I should take a boat trip down. And I really debated with myself. I you’ve seen the clamps Come on. And I finally did. I spoke to the tourist office. And they recommended that I go to fin con to take the tour from their campus about, I don’t know, 1617 kilometers north of extra tap.

30:51
I see. So you go off a little ways and then get a boat.

30:54
Yes. And what they do is they take you on a speed boat boat. I have to point that out because this is not a leisurely cruise down. You know, down the water the channel. It was bumpy. Yeah,

31:11
like all the boats. It’s bumpy. Yeah,

31:13
the guy actually said, if you think you’re gonna get sick, I have paper bag. Wow. The good news was it wasn’t that bad, because I get seasick very easily. But so in hindsight, I am absolutely. Very, very happy that I did take this tour.

31:30
So it’s always good to go see this? You know, go see it from the ocean. It’s Yeah,

31:36
it’s always good. You know, you can’t get the same perspectives. Even on the beach. You know, I’ve mentioned I was trying to take a picture of that needle behind the port. Yeah. And the art couldn’t because, and only I’d have to go in the water. Right. So in this tour, took us and very close to the port. I mean, the only other way is if you him to the kayak. Right. Which lot of people do. You can do that too. Okay. Yeah, but it was a really nice way to see the whole coastline. Oh, yeah. Yeah,

32:09
I would have done that, too. I think boat tours are great. Yeah.

32:14
Yep. So he only spoke French. But he did hand out in English description of what we were going to see. So that was fine.

32:23
Right. And you speak French anyway. I mean. Yeah.

32:26
I mean, it’s when they speak too fast. I have that deer in the headlights. You know, look, I’m familiar. to work on my comprehension.

32:39
All right.

32:41
I think you do fine. But anyways, I so I highly recommend not just taking the walk or the hike, but also doing the speedboat tour.

32:50
So did you see any slower slower boats or is just a speedboat or kayak?

32:59
I think might have looked into it, but there really wasn’t anything. Okay. Yeah, that’s awesome. Man, speedboat tours, and now I could be wrong. So you know.

33:09
So that’s what I did. He tell

33:11
you kids would let’s go on a speedboat tours tour. They’re going to be excited. If you tell them let’s go on a little slow boat the

33:21
and they’ll take you longer. And plus, the tour company got us got really good reviews. So that obviously impacted my decision. Yeah.

33:29
So it’s called lemon juice. And I’ll put it on the website. You know, it’ll be noted on the website. Very good. Yeah.

33:37
Something I should mention, you know, I mentioned about the kayaks. One of the other dangers, besides falling off the cliff is getting caught in the tide. And supposedly over 50 people have died this way. Wow, how because what they do is they walk under the arches, and then the walk water, the tide comes in very quickly. Right. So if you see people, sadly, I think there are still people who will walk out there. But there are also people who jump out of their kayak and, you know, live on the beach for a while. So that’s understandable. But

34:17
you got to be

34:18
so careful. Right, right. Because sometimes the tides are very high and very fast. And it depends another day, it could be very calm and very slow. It just depends.

34:29
Right? But it can be very dangerous. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Especially with silver with kids. Yeah. So in terms of, you know, how many days I mean, as I said, I was there a week, I did visit the cliffs a few times. Just couldn’t get enough. But I did do excursions. And I should point out one of the reasons I was there was to celebrate Lafitte Nasional.

34:56
Now, as I mentioned, the fireworks are actually July 13th. That’s okay. Yes, exactly. Out of the fringe. The Normandy Tourist Board actually publishes a list of all the towns that will have fireworks on either July 13, or the 14th. Mm hmm. So it’s very, very handy. Yeah. So of course, I was there. And the Airbnb hostess gave me recommendations were to have dinner. Yeah. So if your listeners are interested in seeing the fireworks on the 13th, I’m going to assume every year it’s the 13th. But who knows? Probably it is. don’t necessarily have to do what I did, which is get a reservation at a restaurant, right on the boardwalk.

35:44
And the reason I say that is so I got there 830 the fireworks don’t start until quite late. And I think it was 1030 or mafia

35:54
to 11

35:56
Yeah, because it’s very, it’s quite light until late at night. Yes,

36:01
yes. In the summer, it is July 14 or 13th. It would be

36:06
right but me I mean, it’s very nice. I sound the terror. It was covered terrorist had dinner there. But then after dinner decided, you know what, I’ll go to the boardwalk just outside the restaurant. You actually see the fireworks.

36:19
So there are two places that you can see the fireworks one is from the boardwalk or from the beach. Now I have to point. This is not a sandy beach. Imagine two to three inch size. Pebbles rocks. Hmm. So it’s not soft to sit on. But there were hundreds of people sitting out there. You know, the blankets, that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah.

36:48
But the boardwalk was not overly crowded. Okay. Which, which was wonderful. And it was a perfect place to, to watch the fireworks because they’re done in such a way that they light up the port devout. The cliffs. And any it was spectacular. I believe you. The photo you sent me was is beautiful. I put it on the website. Yeah. And what’s it even if you’re not there for fireworks every night they light up the cliffs. So it’s still stunning. Yeah. You know, but the fireworks are great. And even though they don’t want 25 minutes, but you’re wild. Yeah.

37:30
25 minutes is a good amount of time for fireworks.

37:34
Right.

37:36
So I highly recommend that.

37:40
You know it because my birthday is on July 14. It was really special to me.

37:47
That’s nice. That’s a nice. That’s a nice plus.

37:52
Oh, yeah, maybe that’s why I love France so much. Right?

37:57
Yes. Many times, right. You was it visited only five or something?

38:03
I’m 31.

38:07
And then I was back in October. So that’s 32. And I’m going again in May. Wow. You should just move here. No, everybody says that. But

38:19
Canada. Yeah,

38:20
I do you look. Yeah. So on July 14, you know what? I’m good. What am I going to do to celebrate my birthday? So as I mentioned, the Airbnb hostess recommended the have and I almost was going to go and then I changed my mind

38:38
for a number of reasons. Anyways, I decided I’ll go to all Fleur. Oh, yeah. flow. Yeah,

38:43
you can’t

38:44
be on flow. Well, except it was a mistake. It was so crowded. I ended up working a couple of kilometers outside of the town.

38:54
That’s true is July 14 is going to be super crowded. Yeah,

38:57
it was so packed. And I’ve been there before but a long time ago, right when it wasn’t crowded. That was a much nicer time. So I did not stick I debated Am I going to stay or not? And I headed back to entertain and I had some

39:14
capital clap. So it’s basically covered of the cure with ice cream on a clap. Yeah, with the rosy one.

39:22
That’s how I celebrated my very

39:27
was I just wasn’t prepared to fight the crowds. Yeah,

39:30
and you know that happens a lot. It very touristy places on flow is super touristy.

39:38
caca song on the July on July 14 is like run murder. You cannot pay me enough to go. It’s like yeah, just a sea of people. And no.

39:53
It’s not worth it. So I was really happy with my decision. Oh, the other reason I decided not to stay is really did not think anything could top the fireworks at entertain. Yeah, I’ve seen fireworks at the pump the Gar. I’ve seen them. I see them in Paris. Can’t remember. Yeah, probably. And just those cliffs being illuminated by the fireworks. Nothing can beat that

40:19
better than the bull nigga, huh? Yeah,

40:23
well, I mean, the pump. The guard was pretty good. Yeah, I was there for years ago for a sound and light show. And it was pretty spectacular. But I don’t know. Those clips are beautiful. Yeah.

40:38
That’s great. Yeah, yeah.

40:40
Great.

40:43
So it looks like you have some restaurant rescue recommendations.

40:47
Right? Oh, right. So my Airbnb hostess had recommended.

40:54
The Derby hotel, the derby hotel sits on the cliff. And it was right about around the corner from where I was staying. She said, you know, it can be expensive, but go for lunch or go for a drink. So one day, without a reservation. I went there. I said, No. Can I have a table? Yes. Oh, now maybe I was. I mean, this was what the second week in July? It might have been luck. Who knows? Mm hmm. So I table outside overlooking the cliffs, and the price of the meal was not that bad. I mean, I got the prefix a Yeah. And a glass of wine and I can’t like 32 euros or something like that

41:35
was his lunch or dinner?

41:37
lunch.

41:38
Right. So. Yeah, so that’s, that sounds very reasonable. That sounds like, you know, cuisines when you typically you will pay with no wine or drink it will be 30 and can go up to Yeah, you know, 3540 a few getting some wine. And yeah, it’s it’s Yeah, it sounds like a normal price outside of Paris.

42:02
Right. I mean, I could even recommend for your listeners just go for a drink. They have these lounge chairs. So it’s certainly acceptable to just go for a drink. Sure. Lovely. Was traditional, but lovely presentation. Very good. Oh,

42:20
so that was good. Door. Me house. Yeah,

42:24
do our m wine. It’s also hotel. It’s a hotel restaurant. Okay.

42:31
And then the other place the the one by the boardwalk was little blue. So the blue lobster base? Yep, yep. Um, what’s interesting is I made a reservation only four days before my dinner on the 13th. And so I was very fortunate to sit on the terrorists. And, you know, it was about just over 40 euros for, you know, wine oysters, the prefix a huh? Which seafood wasn’t crazy about my fish. The fish soup was great.

43:07
And then, you know, one thing I should point of hope. I don’t know if your listeners know this, but normally is known for apples and certainly the area that I was in. Yeah. Big Apple region. So one of the deserts was like an apple tart. For sure. region. Yeah,

43:25
you’ll find apples, Apple products everywhere. So I’m in love apples.

43:32
So those are the two of the restaurants that

43:35
were

43:37
very good. Yeah. Yeah. So did you do you talk about doing excursions out of there? Well, where I where else did you go see?

43:48
So I went to visit some towns that are part of the route days eBay. The between Paris and Normandy. Oh, sorry, Paris. And there’s a route that you can take in there a whole bunch of these Abby’s cathedrals that are quite impressive. So there were some nearby Lubo. The barn has a Roman amphitheater. So this is

44:18
also so of extra time is the cider route. And it’s actually I think it’s about 60 kilometers round trip. Mm hmm. Anything stopping the various beautiful towns, or to some of the producers and have tastings of cider, overdose.

44:39
And one of the towns which is very famous is Paul avec. Yeah, only very few people know what? stinky cheese right is my least favorite cheese? I hate it. I hate the smell. Taste the Spartan. Right, right. stinks. It does take Yes, he does think he’s quite famous. But you can Oh, yeah.

45:02
Very, very. And you can find it at any even a little grocery store will have it.

45:07
You know, it’s right. Yeah, it’s famous. But anyways, so hopefully, there’s a new

45:15
place. That’s called the Commodores experience. And it’s in Portland back. So maybe potluck will no longer have the stinky cheese reputation. But

45:28
it only opened about a year ago. And it’s basically obviously promoting the capitals region, but the production of Calvin us which is a an apple brandy. Yeah. I personally find it too strong. Yeah,

45:42
I can’t drink this stuff. It’s like it’s very, very strong. Not very sweet at all. And not really. I mean, yeah, I bought. I can’t remember where I was, oh, maybe

45:58
in by you. That’s what it is by you. Yes. They had some locally made kind of others. So I got some for my husband, and he drank it up. But I tried it and it wasn’t a big bottle, you know? Yeah. But I was surprised because after trying it, I was like, well, this thing is just going to sit in the cupboard forever because nobody can drink. But he drank. You know, within a month or two he was gone. But it’s just not. It’s very strong. I mean, like, if you like cognac, or straight whiskey. Whiskey is even softer on the throat. I think

46:38
this is really abrasive.

46:41
Aqua Calvados experience. It’s fun. I mean, yeah, it’s, they take you through

46:46
these

46:49
interactive displays, and you go from room to room. And one of the displaces, it’s like you’re walking on.

46:59
A hon. And it’s filled with apples. Oh, it’s hard to describe anyways. So they tell you about the know how Calvados is made. Hmm. And then at the end, there’s a tasting and you try to aged

47:15
cowboy doses. Yeah. So that was okay. Fine, you know. And by the way, you can bring kids through and they get apple juice at the end. Good. But what I did, what I did was I went to the other bar, and I paid for some tastings of promo I any, if there’s one thing I’m addicted to it is promo. promo is apple juice and cover those together, right?

47:41
It’s like a cocktail. Yeah,

47:43
that’s good. Oh, I mean, they say it’s an aperitif. But I’ve also heard is a digestive and the end of it. So who knows? I’ll drink it anytime. Yeah. So I tried some of those and obviously bought some to take home. Yeah. I’ve run out. And by the way, you good luck in finding nemo. anywhere outside of Normandy, not even in Paris. I only found one place.

48:10
That’s true. It’s not something that you find frequently. That’s true. But I had it, but I don’t know where I’ve had it. But I remember enjoying that.

48:19
There is one restaurant in Paris called palm named after the apple, where they specialize in Apple dishes and Apple drinks and Apple dessert. So I liked it.

48:32
Oh, excellent.

48:35
So anyway, that’s a fun place to visit the Cavazos experience.

48:40
Very good. And so you drove back following this visibility and you made your way back to Paris?

48:47
Yes, that’s right. And the shame of it is, I think I drove back on the

48:53
dean. And they were having the big world cup celebration. Everything was happening in Paris. Yeah. So I into the city. I stayed at a hotel at the airport, which is kind of battery. Sad, but it was crazy. From what I hear.

49:08
You couldn’t have known that we were going to win. I mean, it’s so rare.

49:13
I’ve been in Paris. Many years ago, when France was against Italy. Yeah, in the World Cup. And I was on the shoulder Lizzy, and a friend and I actually went into a bar because we wanted to celebrate there. Yeah, we got to see who stayed there. And then afterwards, there was a wild party at the Arc de Triomphe. It was quite such a thing. Yeah. Last. I mean, I think the French like to celebrate

49:42
Yeah, today. I can’t remember again. So we we won the World Cup twice, but I don’t remember who was the other country we beat? It doesn’t matter. I mean, I don’t follow soccer. So yeah,

49:52
it wasn’t the year that I was there. They lost. Still celebrating. Yeah,

49:58
friends, people who just like a party. Yeah.

50:02
So

50:04
it was a free trip, because it was concentrated in one area. that week. Yeah, you know? Yeah.

50:12
Oh, I didn’t see it.

50:15
Sorry,

50:16
you could see well, so you can see a lot, huh? Alright, so

50:21
let’s end with you telling us again about your website, I need to mention that you have been on two episodes before, that was Episode 168, about the war Valley. And you have visited pretty much, you know, so many of these chateaus, that that’s great. Because you can actually tell people this, this one is better than that one, you know, because you’ve seen them all.

50:46
And then it was a episode 86 of the I called looking for unique experiences in France and where you talk about running the marathon? The motto new me, Doc? Yeah,

51:00
that was fabulous. Yeah, drinking wine at every water station.

51:06
You probably drink a swallow or something. I mean, you don’t drink that much wine as you’re running. There’s no way you can’t drink that much wine. Anyway. So I’ve had you twice. Again, you website is France travel tips. And I will link to that in the show notes as well. Thank you. And and you should look it up because she has great. You have great suggestions for for people. And you have this year and you have this thing for dishevelled to

51:39
cars.

51:41
I still remember you telling me about sitting in one. It was like sitting in a tank. Yeah, it’s awful. Yeah.

51:47
I know, I know that they are popular and that there are these tours in Paris, right? where people go around Paris, in addition, but I’m pretty sure they change the seats, there’s no way they can have original seats. You sit in those things. If you’re not very tall, if you if you happen to be a little short and a little heavy, you won’t even see out of the window.

52:11
Because

52:13
there’s really thin and you just you know, I mean, I you know, when I was a teenager, growing up in France, my friend, I had this dear friend who had the shovel, and she gave me rides a lot. And so I was grateful. But afterwards, when I I didn’t have my driver’s license yet. But then when my father, let me use his old puzzle, I used to tease her I’m like, Well, you know,

52:44
three or five is so much better than so we’d have these arguments about who had the better car but hers was more stylish, I guess.

52:52
Well, oh, one thing I should point out, you should watch this. Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld has a huge tube channel called comedians in cars. And there’s an episode where he invited Gad Emma. Oh, comedian. Yes. To write in one. And it is priceless. It is so funny. Because talk about the car. Yeah.

53:16
To look it up. Well, friends people have I’m sure God has a much different. We don’t have quite the romantic view of these cars. Right. As as visitors do, but they’re good looking. It’s it is no problem. Anyway, all right. Did I forget to add? Did we forget anything important to mention?

53:39
No, I don’t think so. You know, people should not overlook missing at your time. I know the DJ beaches and that whole area are. They’re fabulous. Yeah, but don’t miss this area. Because I’ll tell you I think of all the photos I’ve ever taken in France, and I’ve taken thousands. This is probably the photo of the palace is the most beautiful. Yeah, yeah.

54:06
You sent me some remarkable photos. Yeah,

54:09
I was really happy. Yeah.

54:10
Thank you so much, Janice. You are. Really appreciate being on. Yeah, I love having you on. You always have great tips. And next time you come to to lose. Give me a shout out again and we’ll we’ll meet again this time we’ll do a meal.

54:27
Okay, sounds good. Okay, messy. messy. abou Whoa.

54:34
Thank you, Eleanor Matthews for pledging to support the show on Patreon this week. And my thanks to all the other patrons who support the show month after month. Thank you for giving back visit patreon.com forward slash join us to see the different reward tiers. And thank you so much for giving back. Patreon is pa te r e o n. Join us, j o i n you. I published a Patreon reward this week on the intruders at the Pantheon and there will be another one coming up early next week. Those are so much fun to make. And thank you Mark be for your generous one time donation via the tip your guide button on join us in France. com. The green tip your guide button on the website stopped working for some reason. But Mark alerted me to it. And I fixed it. So it’s working again, if you just want to make a one time donation, rather than giving through Patreon, just go to join us in France. com and look for the green buttons. And thank you to all the listeners who respond to my requests for trip reports as a result of recorded a few episodes last few days to be released in the next few weeks. And I have several more recordings scheduled. I really really couldn’t do this podcast without your help. So thank you so much. I love having regular people on the podcast. So we can have real conversations about visiting France. I don’t seek out famous people to come on the podcast. I mean, it might be nice. But I think too much of travel information out there is canned, and it’s motivated by hidden commercial relationships. I don’t get any freebies from travel providers. When I travel, I don’t get any free hotel rooms, no free meals, no free tickets. And the people who come on the podcast don’t get any freebies either. You know, they paid their own way. They have no hidden motivation to make things sound better than they were. They keep it real. And so can I and that matters a lot to me. I rely on the support from podcast listeners. Some of you are very generous. Some of you are not our such as life, maybe someday you’ll be convinced to make a donation. Either way, I want to keep it real. So what why am I telling you all of this, because I’m looking for more regular people to talk to me about France. I’d love to line up some interviews with foodies this time, people who visit France primarily to enjoy French food and wine. Maybe you want to talk about a great cooking class you took in France. Maybe you come to France and you rent an apartment so you couldn’t cook the French way with French ingredients. Maybe you go around trying start restaurants. If that’s you email me Annie at join us in france.com. And we will set it all up. And if you want to help other people listen to the show to prepare their own trip to France. Tell them that they can listen on Pandora, Spotify, Alexa, Google Home, YouTube and join us in France. com as well. And you can see all the places we’ve talked about on the website, use the Search button. You’ll be surprised how many places we’ve talked about that. You know, sometimes I don’t even remember all the places we’ve talked about certain questions or feedback Annie at join us in france.com. Again, there will not be a new episode next Sunday so I’ll be back to Sunday after that. Have a great week of trip planning Have a great week in France if that’s where you are. Oh watch out for me first everything will be closed. Gotta say that again because people don’t believe it.

58:22
Oh, the join us in France travel podcast is written and produced by Annie Sargent and copyright 2019 by addicted to France. It is released under Creative Commons Attribution non commercial no derivatives license.

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Category: Normandy & Brittany