Saturday Sunshine Splendour

 Saturday’s sunshine was a nice way to start a hike in Honfleur up to Chapelle Notre-Dame de Grace. It was a very steep hill on the way up and a switchback hike on the way down to somewhat lesson the workout on our legs. It really gave a beautiful view of the whole town of Honfleur; a chance to try to take a somewhat aerial photographic view of the city. 

The Bell Tower.
Six bells signal every quarter on the hour. It sounds magnificent. 

Can you see the outline of our Lady of Grace protecting all?

The rest of the day was equally delightful as we went inside all of the art shops and galleries in the Old Town. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere that has so many little art galleries where you get to meet the artist because they own the shop. And the art is so good. Of course that means the price tag is as well. One bronze sculpture that I liked ran in the neighborhood of 90,000 Euros, and it was a beautiful piece, but also very large. I tried to look unsurprised. There seems to be a real wild animal trend going with the contemporary art. We saw a lot of rhinoceros painted and sculpted in several different mediums, often next to children. I wish we could have photographed them but I don’t think that’s proper etiquette so we refrained.  It’s so encouraging for the artists that they obviously do well enough to keep their shops open so they must have a pretty good clientele. Because it was Saturday it was also market day in the Old Town so fresh fruit and vegetable stands were everywhere, including very large food truck operations and antiques etc. Walking through the crowds was challenging and every once in awhile a motorcycle would come zipping up a street that cars can’t fit on. 

After the art gallery hop, we walked over to the Jardin du Public where we had been before. Today was their perennial sale and the garden was full of flowers and shrubs for people to buy and plant in their garden. They also had little tractors for sale, lawn furniture, garden ornaments—you name it, if it could go in your garden there was a sales representative there. It was so encouraging to see beautiful rose bushes and trellises and arches full of flowers. Makes me yearn for my garden at home, though we understand the cold weather isn’t letting too much yard work happen there yet. 

This amazing bush has blue flowers. I don’t know what it is called. Alex or Iris??

Look at the adorable display with the faux chickens.
So many refreshing decor ideas. 

We leave Honfleur tomorrow and head north. We’ve really enjoyed our stay in this very beautiful city which we recommend to you all. Our breakfasts the last few days have been really enjoyable as we have met some interesting people who come from all over. Our latest group includes a British couple, and two American couples, one from Walla Walla, Washington, another from Colorado. We’ve had some very interesting discussions about sites we’ve seen, and even politics. It was a lovely day spent saying au revoir to Honfleur. 

              Au revoir a la maison. Le foliage c’est tres magnifique. 

La salle pour le petit dejeuner. 

Grandpa will not miss driving through these doors everyday.
It was a tight fit!