This time last year, I went on a cruise with my siblings, 9 of us in total. We went to Hamburg in Germany, Bruges in Belgium and Brest and Le Harve in France. Brest was quite an uneventful day, and a challenge to make it into an interesting post. I'm still working on it. Today's post is about Le Harve.
This art installation by Le Harve port is one of the city's landmark and all tourists arriving by cruise will see it when they walk into town. If you visit Le Harve by any other means, you'll probably see it as well if you walk along the sea front.
Before we arrived at Le Harve, I was responsible for the day's itinerary. Of course I turned to my trusted Pinmapple to see where my fellow Hiver's have been and found a place called Etretat. It's about an hour's bus ride away from town and was perfect for the day. The problem was that there was only one bus an hour, and when the bus arrived, it was already full. It wasn't surprising to be honest as it was Sunday. Imagine a cruise with 3000 passengers arriving in a city, even if 5% of them had the same plan as us, that's 150 people. You'll need more than one bus an hour!
Whilst we were debating what to do next, we wandered around town. There wasn't much to do to kill six hours.
In the end we decided to walk over to the bus terminal and catch the next bus. We might end up with less time at Etretat but at least we'll have been there and done it. That's the joys of cruise travel 😄 There was a bit of a queue when we arrivedat the bus terminal but luckily we managed to get on the bus and even got a seat.
Etretat was very busy when we arrived. I'm glad we weren't driving as I saw lots of cars parked on both sides of the road that were quite far away from the centre. Apart from us and other cruise tourists (quite easy to recognise) there were also a lot of locals. The place was buzzing. We headed down to the beach, that's what Etratat is famous for - the chalk cliffs and the arches.
It was actually very nice to see these arches at Etratat, because back home in UK we also have a similar structure called the Durdle Door. Here's me hiking there some years ago. The arches at Etretat were a bit further away and we didn't have enough time to walk to that stretch of the beach. Viewing it from a distance was pretty impressive anyway.
Anyway, back to Etretat. The best view is from the cliff top. It's a little hike up, nothing that we can't handle. I can already imagine how gorgeous the views will be, and I spotted a church up there. Not that I was planning to go to Sunday church.
After a little huff and puff, we made it to the top. And boy, the views were a lot lot better than I imagined.
Here's the chapel I saw from the bottom of the cliff. It was locked and I don't know if it's still in use. It probably is as it's in very good condition. There's another structure behind the chapel. I didn't go to explore it, but I've since learnt it's a monument to commemorate two pilots who died in 1927 when they tried to fly non stop from Paris to New York.
We walked a bit further along the cliff, a lovely thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. I just wished I could have kept on walking for longer, I love cliff top walks. Sadly we were a bit pushed for time and had to make sure we got back to Le Harve in time so our cruise ship didn't leave without us.
On the way back down we saw a group of people come up carrying bits and pieces to set something up. I think it looks like a proposal setting. How sweet and romantic. I hope she said yes💓❤️
Till next time, bye!!!
You can checkout all my travel post on the Pinmapple here or click on Mr Pinmapple below
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That's one of my favorite places in France. Its a shame that you missed the first bus but glad you made it there anyway and made the most of it.
Your's was one of the posts I saw so I knew I couldn't go wrong by going there! Always follow the best 😃
Haha 😁👍
Glad you think so
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Oh, getting engaged or married on such a place is amazing 😍
Those cliffs and arches are so interesting. Ph16 has never seen arches like that, so he is asking me now to take him there one day! 🤔
Everyone had the same idea haha, but that's good that you decided to wait for the second bus and enjoy in these views and the hike ✨
So we shall see Ph16 travelling soon? Next time we meet, I shall have to introduce Snowpea to him
Soon - next week, but "just" to Zaragoza, which is some 450 km in one way.
Yes, Snowpea and Prince Hefromund could meet in some next meetup 😇
These are in no doubt, these are so nice and pretty.
The two things I love most are the beach and that artwork is so beautiful and colourful.
I love this every bit of it.
Thanks for dropping by
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That’s a lovely visit.
Beautiful clear day too.
Happy weekend 👋🏻😊
Yes, a good clear day makes so much difference by the sea, especially since we're only there for half a day. Have a great weekend yourself Jackie
It makes it extra precious ☀️
Thank you so much, enjoy yours 😊
That cliff walk looks so amazing and scenic. WOW! Your photos def give it justice! The sea-can art installation is nice too, interesting recycling/use of them. Too bad you were pressed for time tho, I guess that's something that always happens when we travel and there is so much to see. Thank you for sharing!
It certainly was some great views, but surprisingly I don't have that many photos, I can't remember why 🤔. But overall still a very enjoyable visit
Sometimes it's not always about the photos but being fully in the present moment.
That shipping container art is really cool!
It's very creative isn't it, and reflects its port status
I hope she said yes too! I know how hard and tiring it is to organize such events and I think it's awful when a marriage proposal is rejected. You want to unite your life with someone and they give you a big NO. It's something that would feel awful even without the organization.
The photos look perfect Pauline. The sea is so clear and beautiful. I think it is more beautiful to visit places without huge skyscrapers everywhere :)
I think its amazing how the friends all helped out, it would be so difficult to pull it off by yourself.
I’ve always wanted to go there looks amazing.
I would like to go back again, properly, cause it was a bit of a rush this time. Plus there's a garden next to the cliff which looked really nice and I'd like to go there as well.
It sounds and looks like you had a fantastic adventure. It's always fascinating to discover new places and take part in local activities. Your post is a great example of how travel can lead to unique and memorable moments.
The proposal setup you witnessed adds a touch of romance to the story. I hope she indeed said yes! Thank you for sharing this delightful travelogue with us, and I look forward to reading more about your adventures.
Wow, I loved the photos 📸 Very interesting place 😃Thanks for sharing 😃
I myself have seen many pictures of this country and also seen many videos. It is a very beautiful country. One day I will definitely visit here and see all these natural sights with my own eyes and the way. In the pictures we have seen that the maps of the buildings are very beautiful.