Most of the passengers took one of the tours to the D-Day beaches, but we’d been there a few years ago and wanted to do something different, so we took a day trip into the Pays d’Auge (one of the agricultural hotspots of Normandy).
Fun fair in Pont l’ÉvêqueFall colors in the Pays d’AugeCrossing La Toques
One of the highlights of Pont l’Évêque is Saint Michael’s Church, which was originally built in the 14th and 15th Centuries. It was damaged during the Hundred Years’ War, the French Wars of Religion in the 16th Century, and very heavily damaged during the Battle of Normandy in 1944. It has been restored, but you can still see damage from shelling on its façade. We arrived just before Sunday Mass but they allowed our group to come inside anyway.
Église Saint-Michel – heavily damaged in 1944 and restored. You can see damage from shelling on the façade.Memorial to WWII dead, including combatants, deportees, and civilians
We left before Mass began and our guide Anne took us through a bit more of Pont l’Évêque.
Pont l’Évêque City HallFountain outside the former Court of First InstanceThe Joyuse Prison
Our next stop was Busnel Distillery, a leading producer of Calvados (and whiskey and gin and…). They gave us a tour of the Calvados production process from apple to cider to distillation to aging to bottling to drinking; I took careful notes but their explanation is far better than anything I could write!
The apple does not fall far from the tree. (Actually named REINETTE by Yvon BarbieriHalf-timbered aging roomsApples from Calvados waiting to become Calvados
Original Bottling MachineThis cask holds 10000 liters of Calvados-to-be for its first agingOne of 13 aging rooms, each with a few hundred barrels (all French oak)Enjoying Busnel Pommeau (⅓ Calvados, ⅔ apple juice)
We left with a half-liter of Calvados which had been aged in Sautérne wine barrels.
Our final stop was the resort town of Deauville, where we had a couple of hours to explore on our own (and have lunch) before meeting Anne for a quick tour of the famous boardwalk. It’s a three-day weekend in France and the town was filled with Parisians (and probably other tourists, too).
Deauville City HallCasino Barrière de DeauvilleOn the boardwalk in DeauvilleIt may not be beach weather, but….Photo opportunity at Deauville Racetrack
The ship had sailed from Le Havre while we were touring; we met it in Caudebec en Caux, arriving in time for dinner.
Caudebec en Caux City Hall
After dinner, we were treated to a show by the Pop Corn Ladies, who sang in the style of the Andrews Sisters – it was a lot of fun!
We docked in Le Havre in the wee small hours of the morning after a 118-mile overnight sailing.
Our morning tour took us to Honfleur, about 40 km away across the Normandy Bridge. Honfleur, unlike Le Havre, was mostly undamaged during WWII because it wasn’t of great strategic significance, so we saw many very old buildings during our walking tour. It was market day and the beginning of a three-day weekend (Armistice Day is Monday), so the town was full of people.
In memory of the Allied soldiers who died for our libertyShucking musselsThe Roman numeral on the beam above the window indicates that this house has been moved (to follow the liege lord). They would disassemble the house, number the beams, transport them, and reassemble. The beams were treated to resist rot and it was easier to transport them than to obtain and treat new beams when they moved to a new location.Honfleur harborThis gallery is a bit too modern for my taste, though the art is probably fine.Market day!These houses are built on the foundation of the former city wallCity gate, including a statue of the Virgin Mary, whom sailors idolized.16th century beam carved by a traveler showing things he’d seen on his travels. It’s the only such beam that survives in Honfleur.
The highlight of the tour was a visit to Èglise Sainte-Catherine, a wooden church (depending on who you consult, it’s either France’s oldest or France’s only surviving wooden church) originally built in the 15th Century.
Belltower of Sainte-Catherine’s Church. It is atop the house where the bell-ringer lived.Double nave of Sainte-Catherine’s Church. The left part was built in the 15th Century; they added the right half in the 16th Century.The second beam is from the tallest tree in the forest and has no stone base. All the other beams have stone bases to bring them up to the same height.Nativity display being installedAltar
After the tour, we walked around town.
I guess this is the Normandy version of Long John Silver’sCity Hall
Honfleur is the capital of the Calvados region, and there were many shops and market stalls selling Calvados of various kinds. We will be coming home with a small bottle of Calvados with vanilla, thanks to tasting opportunities at one of the stalls.
After lunch, we took a tour of Le Havre and its beach suburb Sainte-Adresse; Claude Monet’s aunt lived nearby, and he did a lot of painting here.
Escalier Claude MonetThis was the seat of the Belgian government in exile in the first world war.Bottom of Escalier Claude Monet
We drove back to Le Havre proper. During September, 1944, the Allies bombed most of the town into rubble, including Èglise Saint-Joseph. Thousands of civilians were killed or wounded, but the bombing weakened the Germans enough to allow the Allies to liberate Le Havre a week later. After the war, the city commissioned Auguste Perret and his studio to head the rebuilding of the entire city, including Èglise Saint-Joseph, which was rebuilt in a completely modern design during the 1950s.
Èglise Saint-Joseph (built after WWII)ChoirThis crucifix is the only surviving object from the previous pre-war Saint Joseph’s Church. It was found in the ruins missing its cross. They put it in the small chapel, which they use for masses and private prayer.Belltower of Èglise Saint-Joseph. Like many Normandy churches, it’s open to the church; it is 107 meters tall.
We made one more stop in Le Havre to see Oscar Niemeyer’s “Volcan” performing arts center. Our guide says that it’s also called the “Yogurt Pot”, and The Independent agrees.
“Volcan” (Oscar Niemeyer) – it’s a performance spaceFountain at the Volcan (it’s a model of Oscar Niemeyer’s hand)
We returned to the ship for the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs dinner, after which we needed a walk. It was quiet near the ship, and the Seine was beautiful.
