Day 13 - Arromanches to Etretat, FR

Today’s route would be a slower pace since we had under 150 km or so for the day. Without stops we could be there in 3 hours, but we planned to stop at scenic locations at whatever looked interesting. Out hotel in Etretat had a 4pm check in time so we had plenty of time. 

We woke at 7:30 and made our way downstairs for our last breakfast in Arromanches. We left at 9:30am.

We stopped to get fuel. It had a single pump and was part of a Renault car dealership and car repair shop. Rob put in 30 liters with about 600 Km on the tank. He wants to track this for some reason. 

We decided to try to visit the British beaches: Gold, Juno and Sword. We thought we were at one that was a Scottish and Canadian memorial but it was a camping resort. We walked out to the beach and back anyway. 

Next we stopped at Juno beach since we missed turn for Gold beach. It was much flatter than Utah and Omaha and without hills behind the beach.

We continued up the coast and stopped at Villers sur Mer for lunch. Parking was free until July 1, which we think is the official start of the summer beach season. Google translate camera was not helpful on the parking meter so Michele typed in the French words to see if we had to pay. 

We walked a few blocks in to town. It was a nice town with many shops and restaurants. Unfortunately seaside towns have mostly seafood that Michele does not like. She vetoed four or five before we found a pizza place. We ordered pizza regina which was ham and mushrooms. The crust was very thin and it was delicious. Michele asked the waitress for the toilette (bathroom) and the waitress walked her outside the restaurant, unlocked a fancy door next door, walked her up a tiny spiral staircase and to a small locked bathroom. It was clean and served the purpose. European buildings have wonderful quirks to them.  

After lunch we made our way to the car to continue our journey. We never found Sword Beach. But, had other great sights along the way.

We passed over the Seine on a big bridge with a nice 5,40 Euro toll at the end. Soon we came upon the huge city of Le Havre. We rerouted a few times to try to avoid city center traffic. About 30 more km and we approached Etretat. Parts of the town are on the cliff, as was our hotel. We missed the awkward turn and had to drive around. Not so easy! Some streets were so narrow that Rob refused to try. Eventually we made it back and got up the hill. Luckily we found a parking spot in front, it seemed to be busy. 

At check in, a mostly black cat sat on the counter. Michele petted it and it did not even turn to look at her or sniff. It seems to know where to sit to get attention. The check in lady spoke great english and walked us up to our room. 

We dumped our stuff in the room and changed into warmer clothes to take a look at the cliffs. The hotel's outside dinning area was picturesque. hike down to the beach to see the cliffs. Amazing! 

 

  From the hotel, we had a short walk over to the cliffs. It was quite windy but the view was stunning. Amazing!

Similar to the beaches we saw on our drive to Etretat, the German fortifications from WWII are still present.

 

The beach is all rocks. There is no sand. 

 

We stayed there awhile then tried to find a restaurant that Michele liked and that was open. Many did not serve dinner until 7pm. One was open and we got a burger, then walked up to the hotel to watch World Cup. 

Tomorrow we say au revoir to France and drive to Holland.