Showing posts with label coast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coast. Show all posts

Hiking - Étretat, Normandy, France (1)


Étretat is located in Normandy (French: Normandie) region in France.
Étretat has long white cliffs formed by sedimentary rocks of Limestone along the seashore.


painting of Étretat drawn by Claude Monet
First, we found one of the paintings of Étretat
drawn by Claude Monet 
near the entrance of the beach. 


boats on the Étretat beach
We found several boats on the Étretat beach.
 
 
view from the beach, Porte d'Aval in Étretat
We can already see the most famous points of Étretat
 "Porte d'Aval (La falaise d'Aval)" from the beach.


We walked to the left and went up the hill.


On the hill of Étretat
On the hill of Étretat.
 Walking course was very organized. Easy to walk and follow.


We found the bridge to go into the cliff.
After walking a while, we found the bridge to go into the cliff.


the bridge to enter the cliff
Tomo is on the bridge to the cliff. Chouchou is inside the cliff.
We could enter this cliff.
There was nothing special inside the cliff. But it was fun.


We could see the long white cliffs continuing further ahead.
We could see "Manneporte".
We were located between Manneporte & "Porte d'Aval (La falaise d'Aval)"
We could see the long white cliffs continuing further ahead.


the most famous view points "Porte d'Aval" & "Aiguille"
The natural arch is called "Porte d'Aval (La falaise d'Aval)".
The pointed rock is called "Aiguille" or "The Needle".
Here is the most famous view points.
 
Claude Monet drew some paintings from this spot. 

For Tomo & Chouchou, Porte d'Aval looks like an elephant. :) 
Don't you think so??



To be continued ... Étretat (2) - right side from the entrance


Episode of Étretat

Tomo & Chouchou have been to Étretat several times but we have never felt bored. Because Étretat is very beautiful place, and depending on the weather, landscape changes and we can always discover something new.
French famous painter "Claude Monet" had drawn so many paintings at Étretat. It is very understandable when you see this scenery.

We can access to the beach from the downtown village of Étretat. As soon as you enter this entrance, you will find the cliffs on the left side and on the right side.
 
We came to Étretat for hiking this time. Hiking course is to follow the coast of Étretat. Our hiking course is to follow the coast. First we went up the left hill. Walking road was very organized. It was easy to follow. On the way to the main spot, we could enter the one of the cliffs. When we arrived to the highest place of the hill, we could see the long white cliffs continuing further ahead. Landscape was very beautiful. We also enjoyed the landscape from the most famous spot where we can see  "Porte d'Aval (La falaise d'Aval)" and "Aiguille". This natural arch and the pointed rock are formed by the wave, rain and wind by many years. We can feel the power of the nature a lot. Claude Monet drew some paintings from this spot. Tomo & Chouchou think this is the most beautiful spots in Étretat.
 
 

Tomo&Chouchou's advice for Étretat 

 
1)If you go to Étretat, the summer is the best time!
In Normandy, it rains a lot all year long but in summer, it's relatively sunny.
If you go to Étretat on sunny day, you can see shining blue or green ocean.

2)Walking course from the entrance to the main famous point to see Porte d'Aval and going back to the entrance is not so difficult for the elder people to walk. This course is enough to enjoy Étretat.
 
3)After watching main view point, you can go back the same way to the entrance. Or you can continue to walk to the longer hiking course. If you continue to longer hiking course, you can find long tunnel in the cliff. You can also entered this tunnel. There is a hidden beach in Etretat. So explore Étretat in your way !






Quiberon in Bretagne, France

Quiberon is the entrance to go to Belle Isle [Belle-île-en-Mer].

How to go to Quiberon?

There are trains which go to Quiberon in Summer.
There are no trains during off-season.
It takes about 1 hour from Lorient to Quiberon by car.

 
-   Côte Sauvage  -
the Breton coastline & the big Atlantic ocean
the Breton coastline & the big Atlantic Ocean.


wild rocks, the Atlantic ocean and the sun at Côte Sauvage
There were wild rocks.
The Atlantic Ocean was just beside.
We felt the sun was closer.


There were two different types of shore at Côte Sauvage
There were two different types of shore.
One is grey rocky shore and the other is the rocky shore with grasses.


view spot of Côte Sauvage
There was kind of view spot of Wild Coast [French: Côte Sauvage].
Sea breeze brought the smell of the sea and made us feel fresh and comfortable.


We found kind of shelter at Côte Sauvage.
We found kind of shelter.




Episode of Quiberon

Tomo&Chouchou went to Quiberon where is popular resort for summer in Brittany [Bretagne] in France. There are trains which go until Quiberon in summer. But during the off-season, the train doesn't run until Quiberon. So we rented a car in Lorient to go to Quiberon. It took about one hour from Lorient to Quiberon by car. 

Quiberon is the entrance to go to Belle Isle [Belle-île-en-Mer] where is the biggest island in Brittany [Bretagne]. In summer, there are so many people on the beach. But in winter, the beach is empty and you can walk along the beach freely.

As soon as we approached to Quiberon, we could see the Atlantic Ocean.
While driving, we saw the sign of "Côte Sauvage". So we decided to follow it. We could see the Breton coastline and big ocean from the car window. It was so wonderful to see such a scenery, so we decided to get off the car to see it without windows and to feel it more! We were right. We could feel nature with our five senses; salty smell of the sea, fresh and comfortable sea breeze, sound of the Atlantic ocean, the bright sunlight and so on. It was worth stopping by Wild Coast [Côte Sauvage].

Actually we came to Quiberon to take a boat to Belle Isle [Belle-île-en-Mer]. We didn't expect such a beautiful landscape. We really enjoyed Breton beach, the ocean and the landscape in Quiberon!


Tomo & Chouchou's advices for Quiberon

1) Wild Coast [Côte Sauvage] is the best place to see the beach in Brittany.
You can enjoy Côte Sauvage while driving. But we highly recommend you to do trekking along the coast if you have enough time and enough energy.

2)We recommended to visit the cannery called "La Belle-Iloise". La Belle-Iloise is a famous maker for oil sardine in Brittany. La Belle-Iloise makes many varieties of canned foods such as sardine, mackerel, salmon, mousse of seafood, soup of seafood. They are good souvenir gifts from Brittany.


Information of la conserverie "La Belle-Iloise" 

45min. factory guide tour
It's free.
From Mon. to Fri.: at 10h, 11h, 15h, 16h
Saturday: at 11h, 15h
!!ATTENTION!! Sundays are closed !!
We need to arrive 15 min. prior to the tour time.
The tour is 6 people maximum.
At the factory or the shops, they let you taste some of their products.
Try to find your favorites!

La Belle-Iloise cannery, hotels and restaurants are gathered around the Port Maria where the boat departs to Belle Isle [Belle-île-en-Mer].


Relating article


* Carnac