France July 2013 - Day 1 - Etrétat and Houlgate in Northern France (Normandy)

After planning the 4th of July official event for the embassy, I was so ready for a break!  Kirk planned a wonderful weekend in France.  We flew into Paris at night, rented a car the next morning and drove to Normandy where we spent 2 wonderful days!   We stayed in this place, where we had a small apartment with a balcony (where we enjoyed wine, cheese and baguettes)!

 

We spent the first day in Etrétat, where we explored the archipelagos (natural arches).  We hiked up to the top of each arch. 

 

                               It was VERY windy this day!

This is the village, nestled in the small cove.

This beautiful old church and the pasture of lazy French cows were at the top of one of the arches.

 

  The beach is not sandy but made of smooth stones.

There was a really big cave that we walked into to explore. 

We felt like pirates searching for booty!  Arrrggghhhhhh!

 

 

 

 

After our day in Etrétat, we drove to a small village called Touques on our way back to our hotel.  My relatives have traced our family tree back to this small French village in the 1600's.  The church is where one of my ancestors, Marthe Rainville, was baptized. 

Some of these buildings have been standing since the 11th century or earlier! 

It was an amazing afternoon of exploring and seeing so much history.

The view from our room in Houlgate.

This is the sunset from the beachside restaurant where we enjoyed a leisurely

French meal and a lovely bottle of wine.