Saturday, December 6, 2008

France 2: To Honfleur...and beyond!

16/07/08
A dull 2 hour ferry crossing (cold, grey and windy - let's just say I'm not a good sailor), followed by an uneventful drive to Honfleur. I say uneventful, but the bridge across the estuary at Le Havre (Le Pont de Normandie) is pretty impressive. It held the world's record for the longest cable-stayed bridge from when it was built in 1995, to 1998 (when the record was broken by the completion of Tartara bridge in Hiroshima, Japan). To cross the bridge, one has to drive quite a steep incline, alonside lorries who apparently care naught for the speed limits (as I was to be constantly reminded of).

Our hotel turned out to be directly opposite the one I had stayed in back in 2004, and was very comfortable. It was the first of a number of Hotel Kyriads we eventually stayed in. The first day's drive was celebrated with beer on the quayside in a cafe-bar called L'Albatros, followed by a wander round the town (an original Cinque Port), and Moule-Frites 'La Bisquine' followed by tarte tartin for dinner. Paspartout had Bulots (large sea snails, not the gastric complaint you may first have thought of) with garlic mayonnaise followed by cheese (and here, with Paspartout and cheese, is set the tone for the coming weeks...).

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