Saturday morning I was feeling adventurous. I took the 8 am bus to a fishing town, Fecamp. A short ride and a long walk to the beautiful boat basin for a 2-hour BOAT RIDE around the cliffs (les Falaises) offered by BALADE NAUTIQUE A ETRETAT (29.50€).You must reserve ahead btw.
Our speed boat. There were 8 of us plus guide Stephane.
The 2-hour lecture is in French with translation blow-by-blow provided.
Initially the ride to Étretat was very choppy 🌊 I was ready to swim 🏊 to shore if not for my iPad & paintbox. I don't do ferris wheels 🎡 either.
Fortunately things calmed down and I decided to hang in there.
The views are even more spectacular from the boat than from the beach. The old stories are endless - pirates, black market dealings, Marie-Antoinette required oysters regularly from the fresh water rivulets that stream down the cliffs(no longer available), ship-wrecked sailors survived in the natural caves, their use during the WW II occupation.The cliffs go back as far as B.C. Looks like George Washington’s profile? Some cliffs have the profile of elephants.
Every promontory has a name and stories attached. Altogether a terrific experience, especially if you have good sea legs & like ridding ferris wheels 🎡
By our return we were all starving for plates of fruit de mer. Chez Nounout was recommended (32€).
A wander around Fecamp led me up to the Benedictine Palais..closed till 2 for the brandy tour. One could picnic in its parks if one hadn't already stuffed oneself with seafood 🦞
Every morning at 6:30 I ate this eggy flan + hot chocolate for breakfast from the patisserie. Très Delish. I naively took it down to the beach to look at the cliffs, something you feel compelled to do at all times of the day. Me & my flan at 7 am. And the gulls (golands). They spotted me and grabbed my flan. Swooped down in seconds. Back to the patisserie for another flan.
Also tempting is the chapel on the opposite cliff.
Take the little tourist train 🚂 up and down for 6€
Or better yet walk down the path for more delightful views.
Lunch was another fruit de mer plate in a cafe/restaurant along the beach (19.50). Don't get the over-priced trifle but rather an ice cream 🍦 from the hut further along the beach. I learned to love bulots (welks or sea snails) in the upper left of my plate next to the mayo. They taste like clams and are chewy.
Back in my hotel room, I set up a studio in a wink of an eye.
My 14th century hotel, La Residence Salamandre. 54€ a night. I never found the showers, just ran to the pool soon as I returned to Paris 🏊
The Normande architecture is stunning. Walking around town is great fun.
Definitely wear something stripped no matter your size. Etretat isn't a fancy place. Families and dogs. I plan to return. You should too.
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