Cool Rocks, Santa Horses, and Galettes

December 25th, 2018 — Étretat and Honfleur

We left our apartment in Paris too early for my brain to fully wake up. It takes about 200 km to get to Étretat, our primary destination, and we were bound to come back to Paris the same day.

Paris was still pretty dark with cold wind and orangish glow of street lights. It was Christmas, but the day was too early to feel lively. Streets were dead silent and no nearly cars were in motion. Riding in the cheapest rent car possible, there was no need to stop for anything, except breakfast — a quick stop at a resting area. I call it a resting area, but it is nothing like the ones in the U.S. There are restaurants, cafes, and, wait for it, staffs.

Breakfast was some basic bread and coffee, surprisingly cheap (or was it staying in Paris for too long?). Just like our body, the day gradually became warmer and I was finally able to see the road we were driving in full visibility — A13 Autoroute.

We arrived to Étretat before noon and saw the elephant-like rock that Monet liked so much. Sounds were mostly winter winds crushing my jacket and periodic waves hitting the rocks on the beach. Looking back at the photo, I found out there were sunlight. Mentioned before, it was Christmas, so I was curious for people visiting the place. Our family is very used to ignoring the 25th as it is one of few times my dad gets more than a week off his work. Were other people in our situation as well?

It is possible to climb near the famous rock for a better view. It was a short climb of around 15 minutes to the top and after we got there, I took this panorama.

After Étretat, I think we were suppose to visit where Monet lived his last few years of his life, but the time was a bit tight, so our car directed to Paris instead. We found a city called Honfleur and looked at the city as there was a local Christmas feast.

There was a small ice skating rink besides what I assumed to be the city hall and beside the small ice skating rink were Christmas horses (donkeys? I don’t know). They looked very cute and very depressed at the same time.

The biggest attraction of the feast was a street vendor called Vin Chaud Galettes, which sold what I initially thought were Crêpe. They tasted very similar, but Galettes cost twice as much.

I think we ended up staying in Honfleur a bit too long as the sun was setting quick. Here is the last photo I took during the walk. I fell asleep in the car (luxury of having someone else to drive) and we arrived back home at 10:00 pm. The next day, we went to Louvre.

Brayden Noh, at home stuck from school and virus