Nice weather has finally arrived in France!
Two weeks of +17 degree Celcius weather, its time to get outdoors.
We took advantage of the weather this weekend and went for a hike with the dog at one of our favorite spots, Etretat France.
Etretat is located in the northern region of the country in the province of Normandy. The city sits in a small valley along the west coast of the Atlantic ocean and is sort of wedged in between two sets of chalk cliffs.
You can hike for miles along both sides of the cliffs, which apear in many areas to be carved directly out of the earth. On one side of the city is a really nice garden and a small chapel looking over the town and beach below.
Here are a few panoramics of the area.
There were a lot of people out taking advantage of the sunshine so it was quite busy around the chapel area. Nearly everyone was wearing masks (includjng us) but it was still a somewhat odd sight to see (people hiking in a masks, weird).
Conintuing down the grassy trail things opened up a bit and there were much less people meandering about. It was nice to get out of the crowd.
There are many natural lookout points along the way but there are no fences on the side of the water so the hike is at your own risk. We noticed a few spots that had given way and fallen unto the water below, a reminder to not get too close to the edge.
In the photo above you can see a pile of white stone that fell from the cliff into the ocean. White chalk was slowly diffusing into the blue water, leaving a streaming pattern of milky white. It was kind of neat.
Sparkling blue water on the left and nice green pastures on the right. The whole area is quite beautiful.
This spot was the only somewhat challenging bit along the trail. It was actually quite steep on both sides. We took our time but were still huffing by the time we reached the top of the other side. Our first hike after a stagnant winter. Time to get back into shape.
The dog was loving the sunshine and being outdoors. It was his first time to Etretat.
Unfortunately we still have curfew here in France and that starts at 6pm so we couldn't stay long. But we spent about 3.5 hours hiking and touring the area which ended up being plenty enough for us.
You really managed to capture the piercing blue of the ocean. It must have been a stunning day to hike.
I would be a little bit unsettled haha, your dog doesn't seem to pull too much luckily 😃
Yeh. There are spots that have the underside of the grass completely eroded away with just a thin layer of soil and grass hanging over the edge. You can't tell whats happening there unless you look at it from an angle off to the side. Its very dangerous to get close to the edge for that reason.
Hi there!! Long time no see! Hope you're doing well had a good break away from Hive. I notice you have still been voting on Hive so at least I knew you hadn't totally abandoned us. Good to see you back!
Yes I've been busy with work lately so i haven't had much time to engage. Plus we haven't been doing anything because of covid so I have nothing to post lol. I'm still just as busy at work but I hope to engage a bit more.
Etretat is otherwordly and stunningly beautiful at the same time. I just quickly showed the screen to my husband and he instantly recognized it and recalled his experience while ending his sentence with the word "Etretat". I can't imagine hiking with face masks for 3.5 hours not to mention steep trails without barriers. I'm sure it's well worth it.
Yes its definitely a distinctly recognizable place. Most of the people were gathered at the begining of the trail by the chapel. We removed our masks once we got out of the crowd and could easily social distance ourselves. So we didn't actually wear them for the entire hike, but I wasn't clear on that in the post. I couldn't imagine doing so either lol
That's a relief! lol We were told that France's borders have been closed off recently so we couldn't even come and visit family. Looking forward to more of your travels there. I'll enjoy France vicariously through your posts for now. Have a great week!
Yeah the borders are basically closed other than for essential travel (whatever that is). We can travel between regions but have a 6pm curfew so that is a major limitation. All restaurants, bars, museums...etc are closed as well so there isn't much to see and do other than hiking. I was told today that we may go back I to a full quarentine this week so....yeah, the covid show never ends.
Yikes! Again? oooh..sorry to hear that.
Our numbers are still increasing but the governor in our province put her foot down and opened the borders for domestic tourism despite another quarantine demand from the higher government. We'll see how things go. Stay safe
I wish we were doing that as well.
what a magnificent view! 😍 thank you for sharing!
https://d.buzz
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it
Holy 😍 WOW
The view is AMAZING!
Such incredleble envirement and the Blue sky and water is magical.
Absolutly loved this alot.
Seems like a beautiful place to hike, and such a cute dog you have 😍
Thank you for sharing and have a fantastic sunday.
Cheers 🌹
Yes the dog quite enjoyed it
:)
Wow, the photos are amazing, I really like your dog, he is very cute.
Thanks!
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