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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2009 22:08:31 GMT
Etretat is a small town in Normandy with a population of only 1615, but it is nevertheless quite famous at least to the French and a quite popular place for Parisians to visit for the day. It has beautiful chalk cliffs and a remarkable if impractical pebble beach. Since I am a Parisian, I decided that it was time to return there. Even though it was an exceptionally fine day after a week of miserable weather, it was not exactly crowded. Of course, one of the first things to do is to go down to the "beach." There was a sign that said "forbidden to take any pebbles" so I only took two of them. The pebble police did not seem to be on duty at this time of year. I use the big ones as doorstops. I didn't really need any new doorstops, but I find these rounded stones absolutely irresistible. If you have never heard the sound of surf on a pebble beach, I am sorry that I cannot think of any way to describe it. While I would say that the sound of water flowing down a sand beach sounds like sssssiisssssssssssssss, the sound of all of these pebbles knocking together is so unique that I can't even remember the actual sound once I leave the beach. I do know that I consider it to be a quite frightening and violent sound, and I am not sure if I could sleep soundly hearing that in any of the nearby hotels. I have always been terrified of the ocean anyway (for one thing, I am a terrible swimmer, so it could suck me under in a flash), but I am attracted to it like a moth to a flame. I went away from the water, but in any case it was more or less low tide. I went to take a closer look at the cliffs. Most of us growing up in an Anglo-Saxon environment have heard countless times about the "white cliffs of Dover" without always understanding exactly what they look like. Well, the French side of the English Channel has exactly the same cliffs in reverse, but they are just called "chalk cliffs" over here. The ocean digs away at them constantly. Obviously, the ocean wins from time to time, and you can see some pieces of cliff lying around. I figured that it was time to return to the "safe zone" and got off the beach. During the high tides of the equinox or during any of the major storms, the sea rages against that sea wall. It is curved to send the waves back from where they came, but the town is often completely sprayed by the ocean winds. It was only when I got back on the walkway that I was able to read that I had been in mortal danger walking right under the foot of the cliffs. Now it was time to go over to the other side where I knew there was a walkway to the top of the cliffs... (more to come)
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2009 0:36:58 GMT
Did you drive your little red (rental) car there, or did you take the train? Is there a convenient train?
We have a similar rock thing, le rocher Percé, but it is far from any major city in Québec or New Brunswick.
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Post by hwinpp on Dec 12, 2009 5:14:01 GMT
Etretat, I expected a place in the south of France... Even we've got White Cliffs, they look like this: ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2009 7:34:34 GMT
These little cabins take a real beating from the weather. In the summer, they house little stands like bellyboard rentals or snacks. Of course, the old German "cabins" continue to prove that they were built to last. There are cables for beaching boats. This cleaning worker looked desperately for some rubbish to pick up, but it appeared that he was going to have a very boring day. Even the seagulls who prefer to eat junk food instead of fish saw nothing of interest. The dame pipi will probably be back around Easter to collect her due. Time to start climbing the cliff, but I can't say they didn't warn me. I remember that the last time I climbed this path, it was a New Year's morning in the snow. Some friends had been staying with me, and we woke up and said "Let's drive to the coast right now!" Today the weather is much nicer so this is a piece of cake. The low tide uncovers the remains of some other German installations. It really is a lovely setting for a little town. Up here, quite a few thorny bushes help to make sure that you stay on the path. Almost there... The wind was quite strong, but who cares? Yes, it is also a relatively popular suicide spot. So easy to do! There are a few more vantage points to inspect. Up here you can also see the golf course that is set slightly back from the edge, or else they would probably lose too many golf balls and maybe golfers, too. (more to come)
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Post by traveler63 on Dec 12, 2009 10:35:55 GMT
Wow K2, what a beautiful town and the day looks wonderful. I love the church on the bluff. The pebble beach is amazing and I can only imagine what the sound of the pebbles rubbing together with the tide. When we lived in Oregon we would go to the ocean often, about an hour and a half from where we lived. Actually we loved going when there was a big storm. The wind would howl and if you took a walk on the beach the foam from the waves would blow around . It was wonderful and I sure miss the ocean. Thanks for your post.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2009 14:05:39 GMT
Exquisite K. Know that sound well,but,is indescribable as you say. On hears so much about Normandy and have seen pictures of but in a totally different context. Something about the seashore in Winter...I do so miss. Thank you so much for this.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2009 14:51:38 GMT
I have been to Normandy, but not this particular place. There is also beautiful lush farmland. The only seaside cliffs I got to were at Dieppe, which as at least the Canadians will know was the site of a disastrous landing during the Second World war. Hard to imagine the carnage at that pretty seaside town. hw, I see you are channelling your German side, not your Cambodian, with your sehr romantik Caspar David Friedrich Kreidefelsen. Many famous painters chose Etretat as a subject, including Courbet and Monet. Here is a sketch by Victor Hugo; non-francophones may not be familiar with his visual artist side: www.3dsrc.com/victorhugo/victor-hugo-009.htm Kerouac, you even got some bright sun! Lovely. Was the town rebuilt after the War? It has that slightly too-new look, though in a Normand style.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 12, 2009 15:06:10 GMT
How interesting to see a place like this presented by a real person. If I'd seen this in a movie or travel brochure, it would have made me leery about so much beauty. It's so beautiful, it's hard to believe that it's real! Well, the hotels facing the water are a hint that modern commercial life is alive and well, but views such as the one with the beached boats and the cable stands are post card perfect.
There is so much soft greenery close to the water, adding to the overall beauty. Gad, I'd kill for some of those rocks! You say it's a pebble beach, but if some of them can be used as doorstops, those must be very big "pebbles".
Hate to use this word again, but ...... SO beautiful, and extremely interesting as well.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2009 15:42:05 GMT
The doorstop stones are a bit large to be pebbles, but my Oxford English Reference Dictionary says: pebble: a small smooth stone worn by the action of water, so it is more a matter of the smoothness and roundness of these stones.
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Post by imec on Dec 12, 2009 18:05:01 GMT
Very nice kerouac! Looks like a beautiful part of France I need to visit. Good cheese in Normandy I think, no?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2009 18:45:03 GMT
Along the path back down to town, I thought that this bench would be an excellent place for a picnic on a nice warm day. As for the town itself, it is a mixture of charm and bad architecture. It was not bombed during the war, but the Germans demolished the old casino and all of the seafront villas during the war to improve the defenses, just in case the Allies tried to arrive there. What was rebuilt after the war is not very picturesque. But it's still interesting to see what is in town. It has perhaps the only Vietnamese restaurant that I have ever seen not run by a person of Vietnamese origin. At least, that's what it seems like to me when I saw a completely French woman putting up the Christmas decorations in the restaurant. Perhaps she grew up in colonial Vietnam? No seaside resort is complete these days without a surf shop, even when we are far from Australia or California. When people rent a holiday flat in a place like Etretat, it is often in a building like this. The main streets are extremely ordinary, at least in the French sense of "ordinary." Foreign visitors might well find them wildly exotic. Even far from the shore, some of these places seem to have been slightly dissolved by the salt air. This place amused me (Detective Hotel!) because of the literary aura of Etretat. To the French, it is famous not just because it is a town in a beautiful site, but also the location of one of the adventures of the great Arsène Lupin, a master thief created by Maurice Leblanc at the beginning of the 20th century. In that episode, it was determined that the "treasure of the kings of France," going back to the time of Julius Caesar, was hidden in the aiguille creuse (the "hollow needle") of Etretat. I did not get a good personal photo of the hollow needle, but here is a commercial photo of it: A few years ago there was an Arsène Lupin movie starring Romain Duris and Kristin Scott Thomas that showed the interior of the hollow needle. Indiana Jones would have been very upset by not having found such incredible treasures himself. Okay, back to reality. Here is the city hall (center) and the tourist office (on the right). Not bad for such a small town. Basically, the town seemed to have anything that a tourist might need or want. Anyway, at least out of season, it is a very economical place to visit. Do I sense a bit of competition here? Just a few final images of Etretat... The "new" casino... So that's it for Etretat. I would love to spend a night there sometime, but when a place is only 2 hours from Paris, it is hard for me to justify it. ("Why waste money here when you can be in your own bed in 2 hours?") I know that I will get past that feeling some day. To answer Lagatta, no there is no train station in Etretat. You have to take a bus from either Le Havre or another town that operates a bus along the train line in July and August. However, it is fully worth a visit. (end)
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2009 23:49:43 GMT
France has the enviable problem of so many nice places to visit and within easy access of major cities, whether by train or highway. I'd love to stay there overnight (though in the town away from the pebble beach) and wake up there. I so enjoyed that in Dieppe.
Kerouac, perhaps the woman's husband is Vietnamese? I've seen restaurants run by couples like that. Interesting mystery anyway.
imec, yes, splendid, storied cheeses. And lots of rich cream, like in southern England across the Channel.
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Post by lola on Dec 15, 2009 4:21:54 GMT
Oh, my. Gorgeous, kerouac. Thanks.
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Post by hwinpp on Dec 15, 2009 10:27:49 GMT
These mushrooms are edible when young and befor they discolour: They're called 'Tintlinge' in German, no idea what they're called in English or French.
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Post by lola on Dec 15, 2009 14:46:50 GMT
They'd be called Inky Caps here, I think. I've had em.
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LouisXIV
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L'estat c'est moi.
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Post by LouisXIV on Jan 16, 2010 19:17:34 GMT
Kerouac2, thank you for bringing back some fond memories of my time in Etretat. I was with a friend who lives near Nantes and we arrived in Etretat mid afternoon and spent the night there. We had a fantastic sea food dinner at a octogram shaped, two story white restaurant right on the sea. I would recommend it to anyone.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2010 21:20:08 GMT
Yes, that place is still there.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2010 5:16:36 GMT
I was just watching the morning news which showed the tourist season kicking off in various places, including Etretat. They showed the usual French and Europeans taking advantage of the Easter weekend, but also another big group never really seen there before: the Chinese have arrived!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2012 18:07:36 GMT
I just decided that I need to return to Etretat at the height of the summer. I think I have only ever seen it off season.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2012 6:36:18 GMT
Maybe this summer?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 22:11:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 22:24:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2015 5:51:28 GMT
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Post by bjd on Mar 22, 2015 7:45:02 GMT
Aha -- so you were one of those people who made the coast "noir de monde"?
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Post by tod2 on Mar 22, 2015 10:15:48 GMT
What amazing photos! And what a beautiful little seaside town. I hope you reveal all soon?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2015 18:09:26 GMT
The event was the "high tide of the century" which actually occurs every 18 years. The most impressive place to see it was Mont Saint Michel, which had a tide of 15 metres and even submerged the new bridge for a few minutes. Here is what The Telegraph said about it.It was nowhere near as impressive at Etretat, which had only a 5-6 metre tide, but I had been planning a trip to Etretat anyway, so it seemed like the best day to go with a friend. Naturally, when high tide hit at 12:08 it was the highest I had ever seen it. Just compare this photo from 2009:
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 22, 2015 23:23:26 GMT
It's nice you were able to revisit Etretat. Those chalk cliffs are just lovely, especially with the arches carved into them.
Mont Saint Michel must have been a sight to see, rising straight out of the water.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 23, 2015 16:57:25 GMT
That was wonderful Kerouac. The photos, scenery, all of it. Read the whole post from 2009. I have one of those black/blue stones which I dug out of the chalk cliff in the south coast of England. And yes, standing in danger of the whole lot coming down at any moment.
I would really love to go there. May I ask if this was a day trip?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2015 18:19:26 GMT
Yes, it was just a day trip. It's about a two hour drive from Paris. Etretat has no train station, but I believe that there are buses from Le Havre.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 13, 2018 16:49:54 GMT
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