Finding Belgium and More

Honfleur and Dinan – A little bit of Etretat

This is the first real travel in Europe. We decided to go to Normandy, France to celebrate 75th anniversary of D-day. (Among many other reasons:-) . For the days we are in Honfleur, it was one of the hottest days in France (~104F).

In my college years, back-pack travel around Europe was so popular and I really wanted to do that.. Whatever the reason was, that never materialized for me to travel around Europe without worrying about what comes next. I dreamed again in my graduate school that I would travel after my degree.. Again, that never happened because the life does happen naturally.

Now, almost 25 years after my dream, I am in Europe and going to France for 8 days. That was really exciting even before the trip.

Day 1-2: Honfleur, Day 2-5: Bayeux, Day 6-8: Dinan

In between, D-day exploration from Deauville, Merville, and more.

Etretat

On the way to Honfleur, we passed by Etretat (Jens recommended it). It is truly a breathtaking view with cliffs and ocean. You can walk along the cliff and explore. I particularly liked this area and being the first time in Normandy, this really set me the right place for Normandy.

For me, going to the ocean really makes my heart open and filled with memory. I grew up near the ocean. My grandparent had a house on the top of cliff facing one side of the ocean in Korea.

Honfleur

Honfleur is a picturesque town with seaports. A lot of boats and a nice port you can walk to. Since this is the summertime, there was a carnival with merry-go-around and ferris wheel.  For us, it was a perfect town for us to explore on foot for 2 days which we did.

Honfleur Beach – Plage de Butin & Le Jardin de Personnalites

Honfleur has a good size  of beach and not that crowded when we were there. In the morning when it is low tide. You can walk out pretty far if you are willing. Le Jardin de Personnalities is near by and you can walk into this garden. The garden consists of small gardens which are dedicated for characters of people related to Honfleur . At the time we visited, there was a special exhibition of Musical cows.

Honfleur Bridges

You cannot stop admiring the architecture of this bridge! Impressive to look and impressive to drive through!

Day 6-8 : Dinan & Mont. St. Michel

Mont. St. Michel

Mont. St. Michel is an island in Normandy, France (although Jens told me that there is some dispute between Brittany and Normandy.) When it is high tide, you can get there by the bridge between the inland and island. There was plenty of shuttles and buggies. Or You can choose to walk. The walk is around 3.2km for one-way from the parking lot to the entrance of the island. Wow, what else I can tell you.. This is such a breath-taking place and if you are around, you cannot miss this. Truly amazed by its architectures and uniqueness. I strongly advise to visit the Abbey if you can. Please be aware that there are lots of stairs.. I also recommend to get there early so that you can walk around the island during the low tide.

Dinan is the final leg of our trip. I decided to write Dinan before Bayeux and D-Day since that will be much longer. Dinan is an impressive medieval town and really lovely. Everywhere you look, you can feel its medieval history- clock tower, Chateau, nice Port de Dinan. Gothic buildings everywhere. Tons of its character, and very close to proximity to Mont. St. Michel. Dinan is a town in Brittany and feels that you are stepping onto Harry Porter movie sets.

A few things to do: I strongly recommend to walk around the town at least one day. Port de Dinan, Rue du Jerzual to connect the town to the port, Cathedrals (many), Clock tower, Chateau and more are easily accessible on foot and it is definitely worthwhile to see.

Finally our dinner at Atypic in Dinan. Wow, the dinner was really good and to our surprise, they came with skewers. ( we ordered Salmon, and Fillet Mignon) Beautiful to look and really tasty with different sauces. And really great view with the clock tower!