Honfleur -- A Quaint Fishing Village

We awakened this morning to views of the Seine River banks passing by as we cruised  to Caudebec-en-Caux, our port for the next 2 nights.  From here we will explore Honfleur and the Normandy beaches.

After the morning briefing on today's activities, we had time to explore the town. We were docked right by the town making it easy to go ashore.


It was Saturday morning and the nearby market was in full swing.  The sun came out making the market produce very appealing.

Although I've been to France many times, somehow I never made it to the ancient port of Honfleur with its picturesque history.  I was certainly looking forward to seeing it on this trip.  I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Our drive of about 1 1/2 hrs was lovely -- with happy Normandy cows with unique black circled eyes. In addition to the happy cows, there were the numerous thatched roofed house, reminiscent of the middle ages.  I had definitely taken for granted the simplicity of these roofs.  The initial construction requires careful application of reeds in row upon row with iris rhizomes planted on the top of the roofs to absorb the water from the thatch.  The roof requires continual maintenance of removing the moss that begins to grow among the thatch.  Skilled workman that can repair and replace the roofs have a waiting list of 2-3 years.



Honfleur was everything I had imagined and more.  A fortification during the Middle Ages, it became the embarkation site for expeditions to the New World.  I was expecting the lovely port with yachts and fishing boats but was totally surprised by the abundance of quaint half-timbered buildings.  Walking through the Old City transformed a trip back to the Medieval era.

Located in a lively market in the center of the Old City, the 15th century Church of Sainte-Catherine was made entirely of wood by local ship builders.  There were no stone masons or quarries in the area, thus wood was the obvious choice.

Leaving the church we strolled along the Quai Sainte-Catherine (waterfront) with its cluster of slate-covered houses dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.  We stopped at a small restaurant along the Quai and enjoyed a yummy smack of oysters and Crepes Normandy topped with apples soaked in the local Calvados apple brandy.

When we arrived back aboard the AmaLegro, we had a few minutes before our special evening at the Chef's Table.  A former lounge at the back of the ship had been converted to a small glass-enclosed restaurant which our group had to ourselves to enjoy a delicious dinner.