HONFLEUR

Almost a picture perfect day so we decided to head to the coast city of Honfleurs.  Honfleurs is still a fishing port and now a popular yacht harbor.  It has preserved its rich artistic and historic heritage with its picturesque street, traditional buildings, churches and monuments.  "Honfleur, a town of painters and impressionism, possesses that something extra that makes it irresistible.  The changing light on the Seine estuary imspired Coubet, Monet, Boudin and many others.  Today dozens of galleries and artists' studios continue to display a wide choice of classical and modern aintings."

We pulled into a parking lot and immediatrly were hit with this:

We weren't sure if this machine was broken, or if we weren't supposed to park here, or it was just telling us to have a great day;-)!  We decided it was alright to park and I took this picture so the person at the tourist information office could tell us what it said.  We could have used google translate but we didn't have WIFI and I have a very limited cellular data plan on my iphone and our Samsung needs a new SIM card and a new plan for France.  Aren't you glad I told you all that.  So very interesting.  

Off we went and walked around weaving our way down to the water.  

Open air wash house still fed by hillside springs.

Had we known they were still in existence we could have brought our laundry and Sharon could have done our wash.  Next time.

                                           

A monument of the washer women of Honfleurs.

This was near the tourist office where we learned that the sign said  we should pay before exiting the parking lot.  Darn, I was sure we could park for free.  

Saint Leonard church .

                                    

Neat buildings.

Fun displays.

Nice friends.

Very French girl in beret.

Little streets.

And beautiful scenry.

Always some historical building or site to see.

This church, St. Catherines's, was built by shipwrights and is the largest wooden church with a separate bell-tower in France.  The bell-tower largely built of wood dates from the end of the 15th century and is now a museum of religious art. 

                                               

Kneelers in the church were chairs.

                                    

Honoring those who died in WWI.

After our visit we decided we needed a little coffee or tea before heading on.

We saw some wonderful art galleries. These were in the window of one.

The skirts on these sculptures wereexquisite!

This was in an absolutely fabulous art gallery and of course I only got one picture before they asked me not to snap anymore.  It would be of the monkey.  There was one sculpture of a woman doing the tango that was stunning.  She cost sixteen thousand euro's and another 600 to ship.  Sharon and I both wanted it but rather than fight over it we decided neither of us should buy it.  Anything to preserve a friendship.  

Cute teapots.

The Lieutenancy. It is the entrance to the old harbor and the former home of the Governor of Honfleur.  One of the sides of the buillding is an old gate of the city, the port de caen, which was to be part of the city's fortifications.  It was between 1684 and 1789 home to the Lieutenant of the king.  It became the commerce tribunal in 1793.  

By this time we were starved and all the restaurants seemed to be full.  We finally found one with an available   table and had a very nice lunch.  I had mussels again, this time with cream.  Better cooked in wine and garlic.  They were not served in a fancy pot but they were good.  I'm not sure what Sharon had but probably a ham and cheese sandwich or as the French say Croque Monsieur.  Oh , I do detect a glass or two of wine on the table.  Mussels without wine and frites ( fries) - not a complete meal!

After lunch we got into the car, and as instructed, paid before exiting and headed up the hill to the Cote de Grace.  

The bridge you see in the background ( I know you would have missed it if I hadn't pointed it out) is the Normandy Bridge which was built in 1988 and 1995.  It is the largest bridge of its kind in Europe and was built to withstand winds of up to 185 mph.  

Notre-Dame de Grace founded by Richard II

and rebuilt from 1600 to 1615.

                                        

    

We headed down the road toward home.