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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2012 16:47:52 GMT
In northern France, if you tell anybody that you are visiting the two capes, they will generally know what you are talking about. In southern France, they probably would not have a clue. Anyway, the two capes are Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez (Cape Grey Nose and Cape White Nose). They are only about 15 kilometers apart on the coastal road between Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer. Cap Gris-Nez has the distinction of being the closest point in France to England, and it is the starting or finishing point for people swimming the English Channel. Any of you who saw the French movie "Welcome" a few years ago are already familiar with that part of the coast. While Cap Gris-Nez is more important symbolically, Cap Blanc-Nez is "prettier" in most opinions, as you can probably deduce from the names. Just like on the other side of the channel, the cliffs are made out of chalk -- sometimes it is white, and sometimes it is a bit less white. Whenever I am in Calais, I find myself irresistably drawn to the capes for a brief visit, no matter what the weather. I like to see them on good days and on stormy days. On this last visit, it was merely windy and freeze-your-ass-off weather, but that was a good excuse for a visit as well. One of my problems at this time of year is that I am an early riser while the sun is not. So I have to wait around for dawn, and then I am on the road.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2012 17:03:23 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2012 17:33:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2012 18:42:05 GMT
Anyway, that was about all for Cap Gris-Nez, which I find a bit more disappointing than in the old days. I do understand the protection of nature, but years ago there were a lot more areas open to the public, and you could also walk right up to the lighthouse. Now, you can't get within about 300 meters of it. One's zoom lens has to do all of the work. I was hoping to be able to see the English coast, which one can rarely see because of the mist. But since it was a clear day, I thought I might have a lucky moment at dawn. Well, no such luck, but I will finish with a few photos I took several years ago when I did indeed have a magic moment of seeing Dover from France. |
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Post by bjd on Mar 4, 2012 18:53:35 GMT
Thanks for this, Kerouac. I had often wondered what it looked like over there.
When my husband was small, his grandmother bought a house in Wimereux -- then got annoyed because nobody wanted to come on holiday there because the water was too cold.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 4, 2012 18:55:40 GMT
What a wonderful peaceful day. I would have driven into the village to see if I could have found some place open to have a tea and a treat and then a stroll around. I also liked the photo of the tree that has been shaped by the winds of the Channel.
Cheers!
Mich
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Post by fumobici on Mar 4, 2012 18:57:13 GMT
Lovely photo essay. Again. There is a stark exposed beauty about this coast and you've captured it. Also whatever post-production tweaking you're doing to your photos now looks great.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 4, 2012 18:59:18 GMT
Anywhere one sees trees misshapen by the wind there is excellent potential for wind farming. I see a few windmills in the first photo of the report so I see people have thought about this.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 4, 2012 19:21:52 GMT
You are correct Fumo. Having driven up the north coast of France from Juno Beach past Calais into Belguim and The Netherlands, you see those windmills in great amounts all the way up the coast.
Cheers!
Mich
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 4, 2012 21:29:14 GMT
These photos are beautiful. I especially love the one of the village nestled in the hills, the ones of the long, golden grasses and misshapen tree, and those last few shots of the coast. They're so romantic.
Every time I see pictures of the English channel, it boggles my mind that people have actually swam across it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2012 13:51:53 GMT
In the last set of photos, it is already exceptional that there was a little bit of snow on the ground, since it rarely snows on the coast. However, yesterday all of these roads were closed because there was a freak snowstorm that dropped 20 cm of snow over the entire region. I'm sure it would have made great pictures, but I wouldn't have wanted to be out there for that.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 6, 2012 14:17:41 GMT
That is crazy. We've only had snow here once all winter, other than a freak snowstorm in October. I'm starting to forget what snow even looks like.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 6, 2012 14:20:56 GMT
Your photos made me reminded me of this poem.
"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold (excerpt)
The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 6, 2012 15:02:20 GMT
I've loved that poem for years, NYCG, but never thought how perfectly it fit this thread until you posted it.
Extremely beautiful thread, Kerouac. Besides the wonderful views of the landscape, you captured the ephemeral sense of the place -- the golden or pearly light, the briny smell and ceaseless wind, but most remarkably, how it is soaked with human history from times far earlier than the WWII artifacts shown.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2012 12:21:23 GMT
I got really lost in this thread.
Very beautiful.
I love the wide open spaces and as someone mentioned,the stark beauty.
Some of the photos of the cliffs reminded me of the point off the tip of Long Island. Miles and miles of open expanse.
I miss the sea.
The photos of the grain,wheat I'm assuming, are splendid.
Thanks for this.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2012 13:45:01 GMT
Thanks.
It might be random wheat that escaped from the fields or just some kind of coastal grass -- in any case it was growing wild.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 13, 2012 17:19:08 GMT
Absolutely stunningly beautiful photos Kerouac. If you look at them slowly and look deep into the photo you can almost feel the vast remoteness all around. Thanks for giving us the two versions. Yes, it's hard to imagine snow at the coast! Looking across to Dover made me wonder if it will be clear enough for me to see the coastline of France when I get to the Isle of Wight. Especially from Tennyson's Down - that's if it faces that way  |
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