Today my program took us on a day excursion to Honfleur, a delightful harbor town on the northern coast of France. The above view is probably familiar to those of you who know Impressionist art fairly well -- several artists traveled here to paint the tall, skinny buildings and the reflections on the water below. The town still maintains its reputation as an area that encourages creativity with a dozen or more galleries and studios dedicated to painting and sculpture.
It's certainly become less of a port since the French Revolution, but that doesn't stop people flocking to the town on Saturdays. But why??
The market. Ohhhhh, the market. It was a beautiful market. The tomatoes, the olives, the strawberries, the homemade jellies. It was an impressive display of craftsmanship. The kind folks who manned the tables were generous with samples and their back stories. Some were quite animated and charming. All in all, the market, set up on cobblestone streets, was one of the most heart warming and lovely experiences I've had thus far. It had such a sense of camaraderie and tradition.
We decided that the strawberries were obnoxiously amazing. They tasted like I'd expect heaven/perfection to taste.
We all became obsessed. How do I eat another strawberry ever again if it isn't one of these??
After the market, we walked up the large hill in the hopes of seeing a spectacular view. It was quite the hike, but well worth the trip!
It was so cloudy all day that it was hard to really photograph the view as well as it ought to have been. I guess some landscapes and moments I won't be able to share with you. Bummer.
Above: One of the houses atop the hill
After working up an appetite, we went to find lunch. I had gotten very hungry at this point, so anywhere sounded good to me. Luckily, my friends found a spectacular place. Le Champlain had the best three course meal for 16 euros! The portions were huge, and the food was the best meal I've had in France. I got about 24 snails, then this delicious dish (below), and a fromage blanc with strawberries.
Above: Photography by Jonathan G. of my Polaroid. There's a science to photographing Polaroids, and I have yet to figure it out. This is a great group of adventurous people; so happy to have people like this to share in the life changing experience of that food.
Afterwards, I went to the harbor with a couple of those folks, Kasey and Anastasia. We walked along the harbor, basking in the sun and bag pipes. Not a bad day for a getaway :)
Below: The prayer request cards in the town church
Above: The prayer requests at the local church
Above: My roommate wanted a pic, sooooo naturally, we had some fun with it.
Below: What I considered a stunning bridge, and what others thought was an eye sore. Seen on a quick, relaxing boat tour
Somehow, I've managed to fall asleep writing this post. In an oddly quick end and without further adieu, I will be heading to bed! Hopefully, I've spared you of horrific spelling and grammar mistakes! Apologies all around for the sudden ending to this blog post! I need to be well rested for tomorrow. Stay tuned for those adventures :)
Goodnight!!