Jul 21, 2019

Going to Barfleur, Normandy for the Sea Climate, and Sea Food

What attracted me first to Normandy was its summer climate. The forecast for July promised 17-19°C on most days. I claim any temperature past 23°C to be a total waste on me.

After an 11-hour drive from Oberursel near Frankfurt, passing the periphery of Paris in 42°C (108F) weather, we finally arrived. The French are knows for having late dinners, but just like last year in Cancale, we had to look around a bit to find an open restaurant at 9pm.

As usual, we rent a vacation home for privacy. I don’t like hotels, and I don’t care how many stars they have. I want space and time to visit myself. Our rental sat on the main road in Barfleur, but sat back a bit, so it was perfect. This view from the house shows some part of the outdoor seating possibilities. Every morning, I got to watch the sun rise sitting in that spot.

Vacation rental in Barfleur
Barfleur on a summer evening

There weren’t as many tourists as in Cancale last summer, and the sea food selection, in general, is a bit smaller as well, but just as good.

This is an old boat launch for life boats. The building now houses some kind of museum, and the launch now serves as a means for having some water fun.

Oct 5, 2018

Day Trip to Lyme Regis on the Devon-Dorset Border

There are plenty of shops along High Street in Lyme Regis on the Jurassic Coast. Most cater to the many tourists coming to this seaside town. At this time of year, in early October, it was mostly elderly people. The weather was brilliant, and we even got to sunbathe at the shore for half an hour before we left the next day.

We had the option of taking a three-hour tour, but having only one afternoon in this town (we got there around noon from Exeter), we decided to walk around at our own pace.

There are a few fossil shops, a fossil museum, fossil tours, and even the lanterns are fossil-shaped.

On my former visits England, I used to find coins on the streets and sidewalks. Not anymore. Either it is because the streets are being swept all the time (they looked very clean), or because Brexit is near. Instead of coins, I saw many bird feathers. 🙂

We walked a good mile out to the spot where one can find fossils. We didn’t find any, but instead I found much sea glass! A fossil collector explained how it got there – land erosion caused a landslide, and brought down a landfill… I brought it with me nevertheless. It had been in the sea for many years, polished by the sand and water, so it had done its job.

Jurassic Coast Lyme Regis

This is a beautiful place to vacation, and I could easily spend a week here. There are several cafés and benches by the shore. Most of them have an inscription dedicated to a loved one.

We watched the elderly get off the bus. They had to step carefully, some gave a helping hand. My husband and I looked at each other, and we didn’t have to say it out loud. This could be us ten years from now.

We saw no one with an iPhone, nor iPad (I used mine to take pictures and was eyed curiously). We were some of the younger tourists there.

Aug 3, 2018

One Week in Cancale, the Oyster Capital of Brittany

Cancale, a small fishing village situated on the Emerald Coast, can also claim the title for being the Oyster Capital of Brittany.

Through booking.com, we had booked a small apartment for two adults near the sea. We arrived after an eleven-hour drive from Oberursel a bit before 9pm. After we had checked in, we were lucky to find a restaurant around 9:45 to still serve us on a Saturday night. And we were starving by then.

We were happy to arrive at last.

Cancale

This shows the other side of the same vacation apartment we had booked (top floor in the red building).

Cancale

I’m an early riser, and my better half is a late sleeper. He appreciates it when I let him sleep, while I sneak out of the house early in the morning. I always have my iPad camera, my journal, and a book. All I need to find is a bench to read or update my journal.

This was my impression on my first morning in Cancale.

Early morning in Cancale

A bit later in the morning, I went to look for a bakery in the center of Cancale, which lies a bit up the hill (a good ten-minute walk from the sea). I found a bakery, and got to practice my rusty French. But you can’t really do much damage to ‘Bonjour!’ and ‘Deux croissants, s’il vous plait.’

Later, we took a walk together and discovered the meaning of Emerald Coast.

Cancale on the Emerald Coast

Every morning during that week, I checked the weather forecast and it called for 19°C. There was something wrong with the forecast, because we had 30°C weather e-v-e-r-y day.

Nov 26, 2012

48 Hours on Mallorca

We only had exactly 48 hours to spend on Mallorca. We arrived at the hotel on Thursday at 11 a.m. and were picked up again by the hotel’s transfer bus on Saturday at 11 a.m.

I managed to take 145 photos, we walked much both days, and sampled some very fine Spanish cuisine and enjoyed the island’s beauty in sunshine.

the port in Cap Ratjada, Mallorca

There were very few tourists, the temps were in the low 20s, and we had plenty of time to explore the town and coast on foot.

coastal promenade

The water is so clean and so are the streets. The street sweepers were out and about as early as 8.30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

water around Cap Ratjada

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