Honfleur

Honfleur

What a delightful and charming place this is....

From the first time I saw Rick Steves' travel show on Normandy, I thought "I'm going to go there" and I was not one bit disappointed..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imUhl4UuH2M in case you would like to watch. (This is the short excerpt just on Honfleur)

It is the place where the River Seine meets the sea, and there is wonderful inlet surrounded by cafes. So, I joined the throng and ordered a hamburger and a glass of white wine and looked out over this incredible scene. I had to keep pinching myself to remind myself I was actually here.

Today is Saturday (I think) and it was absolutely packed. There was a market in the city too, but I arrived about 12.30 and it was just beginning to pack up.

There were tourists everywhere, so I didn't mind taking some pics. Here are a few...

 

Apparently Honfleur is also famous for its light, so artists flock here to make the most of it. There are art shops everywhere, so it is one of the local industries.

The other thing I really wanted to see here was St Catherine's Cathedral. It is unique in that it has 2 naves, and the ceiling is shaped like a boat. The first nave  was built in  1468, however they realised the Church was going to be too small so built another one in 1496. (I'm cheating- I bought a handout!)

St Catherine's Cathedral

 

Roof shaped like a boat

 

One other little interesting  fact... In 1944 during the liberation of France, a shell entered the left chancel of St Catherine's and struck the floor without exploding.

Then once again it was time for the candles. Our Lady of Grace is big in this area, so I indulged in  a 3 Euro candle and prayed to Our Lady of Grace for all those intentions which are very dear to my heart.

That's my candle -bottom left. The blue one!!!

They also offered paper and  pen to write down your intentions, so I had a long list to put on that piece of paper....

Prayer intentions

One last pic of the "old town"

So, that was my day in Honfleur. My hotel is about a 15 min walk out of town, which is fine, but I walked all around Honfleur, and I think I'm still a bit weary after my big day out yesterday, so I'm glad just to be home and put my feet up tonight.

I'm off to Villers Bretonneux tomorrow, so am looking forward to that. Will have to do a bit of research tonight to see what I can see there. It's Sunday, so I'm just hoping that not everything is closed.... Although as I found our last week at Noirmoutier, the French don't do Mondays, so maybe it will be alright!!!

Bon soir....