Honfleur, France

 

The beautiful old port city of Honfleur, where the Seine River meets the English Channel, is understandably popular with tourists. It has also been attractive to numerous artists over the years, including Monet and Boudin.

 

 

St. Catherine Church, with a wood-shingled exterior, was erected by shipbuilders and the interior has a nautical theme.

 

 

A stroll along the harbor in the evening

 

L'ecalilleuz, a terrific little restaurant that looks out over the harbor. During our visit to Honfleur, we stayed at the Ferme Saint Simeon, a short walk from town with fine accommodations and a superb restaurant. Our adventures in France concluded, we looked forward to returning to Ohio and enjoying our summer in Cleveland--home, of course, to the World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers!!

Mont St. Michel

Yes, it is touristy. Yes, it is crowded. Yes, there is no choice but to trudge uphill. But go. Go, you must. It is iconic, it is unique, it is breathtaking.

Traveler's tip: Arrive around 4:00 and the tourist bus crowds have begun departing. The abbey atop the mountain is open until 6:00 in June, and later in July and August. There will be plenty of time to climb to the summit and enjoy a relatively uncrowded abbey. If you can, spend the night on the island and, from the ramparts, watch the tide roll in and reclaim the surrounding land. Then walk back down, exit the stout wooden gate, and take in the view of the towering abbey as the sun sets and the lights come on to illuminate the stone walls. Yes, it involves considerable walking, and this magical place is worth every step.

                                   

                                   


                                 

                                  
            A view from the ramparts of the bridge connecting Mont St. Michel to the mainland

                                  
                              Construction began in 708 A.D. 1200 years of history, folks!
                                 
                                                                 The Abbey Church

                                 
                                                                   The Cloisters

                                 

                                  
                   Scriptorium Hall, where monks would decorate illuminated manuscripts

                                  

                                 


                                 
                  Watching from the ramparts as the tide rolls in is a fascinating experience

                                                                   

                                  
                                                    Village street as night falls

                                 

                                 

 We spent a night at the isolated Chateau de Bouceel, located in a bucolic area several kilometers south of Mont St. Michel. The property has been in the family since the 1400s.
                             

Our host's father was a member of the French Resistance during WWII and, near the end of the war, was arrested by the Nazi's and sent to a concentration camp. Before the train arrived, however, Allied troops bombed the tracks. The Nazis fled, and our host's father returned to his chateau, where he became instrumental in founding the American Cemetery at St. James. Even today, many locals--including our host--have adopted and maintain the gravesites of American soldiers.

French revolutionaries sacked the chateau and burned its contents on the front lawn. Only this portrait, of the Marquise de Montecot, owner of the chateau at the time, survived. The frame was built into the wall and proved too difficult to remove. Today, it is said that her ghost roams the chateau.