We were awake at 2am and showered and dressed by 3am. Sophie made a flask of coffee, we did some last-minute packing of the car and we were off! It didn't feel like my birthday at all today!
Google Maps said it would take us 2 hours and 46 minutes to get to the Eurotunnel, but we managed to shave off fifteen minutes. We were given the option of an earlier train for free, which was a bonus and would mean arriving in France an hour earlier than we expected. I bought a map of Northern France (I'd forgotten the one we have at home) and a pack of playing cards in WHSmith! I'd also forgotten our Normandy guidebook, but we roughly knew what we were going to be doing in the area, anyway!
We'd had a horrible drizzle all the way to the terminal and the roads had felt greasy. When it was my turn to drive onto the train I had to go up a ramp. Halfway up, the wheels spun and I couldn't get a grip on the surface. Luckily, the German BMW following me had stopped so I slithered back down gingerly and tried again! This time the wheels dug into the grooves and up we went. It was a bit hairy, though!
We enjoyed coffee and a breakfast bar on the journey and I closed my eyes for ten minutes. Before we knew it, we were in France and it was still dark! I had expected it to be light, but we discovered that sunrise wasn't until almost 9am!
Unfortunately, it was also foggy and the first hour of the journey was not pleasant. We'd hit rush hour but I just took it steadily and we decided to stop at the Aire de la Baie du Somme for coffee and pains au chocolat. This is now a tradition if we use this route!
Because of the time of year, hardly anybody was about and we used the facilities and ordered hot drinks and pastries. We sat overlooking the frigid canal.
Lunch in Honfleur
The foggy roads were quiet with only the occasional car or lorry. Keith looked out for buzzards and we saw plenty of trees with mistletoe balls. The fog stayed with us for the whole journey to Honfleur and we weren't able to see the impressive Pont de Normandie Bridge clearly, which maybe was a good thing!
Immediately after the bridge, we turned off to Honfleur and parked in the same car park as last year. Keith and Sophie used the loos but there was no toilet paper! Luckily, we had tissues on us and also shared a couple with a young girl who had come in to use them as well! We're all about promoting a good relationship with the French!
We strolled slowly into town looking at menus on the way and deciding where to have lunch. There were a few people about, but I should think the town is heaving in the summer!
Most of the restaurants offered a reasonable prix fixe lunch menu and we spotted Cap 42 right opposite the harbour. We found plenty of choices on the lunch menu and they opened at 12pm. By now it was drizzling and the fog was lying like lace over our hair! We didn't mind, though. It was January, after all!
As soon as it was 12pm we went to the restaurant and we were shown to a table inside. We were glad we arrived when we did as the place soon filled up with lunchtime diners! The host was lovely and friendly and we ordered a beer for Keith and a pichet of the house white for Sophie and me. I chose the warm goat's cheese salad to start and Keith and Soph opted for the paté en croute. For our mains, both Sophie and Keith chose the turkey in a creamy mushroom sauce, while I decided on a bowl of mussels with French fries.
A basket of fresh bread was put on the table and we tucked into our delicious starters. By now, the host was turning people away from the inside of the restaurant and directing them to the outside, covered terrace. It was obviously a popular place!
The main courses were as good as the starters and my mussels were fragrant with herbs, onions and a buttery sauce. The bread was used to mop up Keith and Sophie's lovely creamy sauce. For desserts Sophie and I just had to have the chocolate fondant (it's the rule!) which had a beautifully oozy centre!
It had been a lovely meal and the atmosphere in the restaurant was very convivial. We paid the bill and then wandered slowly back to the car, stopping to look at the fishing boats moored up on the other side of the bridge. One boat was unloading its catch and the seagulls were wheeling around and around hoping to pick up scraps. A black cormorant was also on the lookout for a tasty lunch. We realised that the River Seine empties out into the sea here and we traced its source right back to Burgundy!
The ghost towns of the Normandy coast
Back at the car, we paid for the parking and I said to Sophie I wanted to get to the house by the coastal route, rather than go back onto the autoroute. So began a delightful journey along the coast, passing through Trouville and Deauville and the Normandy beaches. As we approached Deauville, we saw some huge, imposing houses, all shuttered up. The towns were empty with apartment blocks all closed for the winter. Can you imagine what it was like last June when the 80th commemorations were taking place? Some of the larger houses looked slightly creepy, the stone pointed roofs and chimneys poking out of the mist. Sand had been blown up onto the road from the beach and it was obvious that large stretches of the coast were devoid of people, with the towns perhaps only coming to life from March onwards. Restaurants, cafés and amusement places were firmly closed with no sign of life. We did see two busy casinos, though! In the aptly-named Dives-sur-Mer, the town looked rundown and forlorn and the grey weather added to the atmosphere!
The fog hadn't lifted all day and as the afternoon wore on, it seemed to become thicker. We turned away from the coast and drove through wide open fields, rows of identical trees stretching away into the distance. We arrived at the house at 4pm and Anne-Charlotte met us to give us the keys and welcome us back. We unpacked the car and then set off for the small Carrefour in nearby Creully where we bought more milk, beer, wine, butter, bread and cheeses.
When we arrived back, we unpacked and then it was time to relax in front of the gorgeous log burner. I dozed off and it was lovely to sit and soak up the warmth. At about 6.30pm, we cracked open a bottle of Champagne that Mum had told me to buy for my birthday! Oh yes! It was my birthday! I opened my cards and we sat and sipped fizz while chatting. It was heavenly!
Later in the evening Keith and I watched a new Netflix drama called Missing You while Sophie read her book. It was a lovely evening and the log burner warmed us up, but it really ate wood! We're going to buy another bag of logs tomorrow!
