Monthly Archives: January 2012

Boudin in Normandy

28 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in Culture, Normandy, Things to do, Travel

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Do make time for the Musée Eugène Boudin if you find yourself, as we recently did, in Honfleur on a rainy winter’s day. Boudin (1824-1898), a native of Normandy, is known for his paintings of the outdoors, and was a great influence on Monet and the Impressionists.

Boudin Museum ticket, Honfleur

The museum is spacious and the collection not too large; allow one to two hours. The collection includes work by pre-Impressionist and contemporary Norman artists, as well as displays of traditional Norman costumes and artefacts. The heart of the collection is the Boudin paintings.

Woman with a Parasol on the Beach might be my favourite. You see the same lady later in Monet, and in Winslow Homer on the opposite side of the Atlantic. There’s the wonderful contrast between the dark formal dress and the sweep of beach and wind-pushed clouds. Is she talking on her mobile?

Boudin worked a great deal on the Normandy coast, especially at the fashionable resorts of Trouville and Deauville. He painted a number of scenes similar to On the Beach at Trouville between the 1860s and 1890s.

Boudin is extensively collected around the world, and I have created my own Boudin in Normandy collection at the lovely Artfinder.

I’ve written elsewhere about visiting Honfleur and Étretat. Here Boudin paints The Jetty and Lighthouse at Honfleur and The Cliffs at Etretat.

This painting of the Seine near Rouen looks so much like the view of the Seine from the bottom of the garden at Les Iris. I wonder where Boudin painted it.

I love the business of this scene outside the Casino de Trouville. Look at the children, and the dogs, and the tipped-over rush chair at the front.

It seems to me that being a C19 pre-impressionist painter was an excellent gig: you got to hang out in the loveliest places like The Beach at Trouville and Deauville. Check out those bathing machines.

Now here is a view that has changed. Le Havre has been extensively re-built and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its post-war architecture. Boats have changed too, although every 5 years or so, an armada of tall ships gathers on the Seine in Normandy. The next gathering is in June 2013.

And here’s a view that hasn’t changed, apart from a few parasols. Life goes on in the same way year after year on the beach: the resort wear, the sailing lessons, the children ducking in and out of the white-capped waves, their screams of delight echoing down the years.

New Years Day in Étretat, Normandy

14 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in France, Normandy, Things to do, Travel

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Is there a good way to start the new year? Celebrate midnight in style, and you wake up with a headache and a mess to tidy up, and at least one resolution broken in the first twenty-four hours. This year, with guests to entertain, we decided the headaches had to be ignored. And the mess: we decided to leave it behind.

But where to go? New Years Day was both a Sunday and a bank holiday. Northern France was closed for business. Not a museum or a restaurant to be visited. There were many small children in our party, so a walk in the forest wouldn’t be easy. That left the beach. Perfect.

I like beaches best in the dead of winter. Preferably stony, with the wind whipping salt through my hair, and a moody slate-grey sea. I am not the bikini type: for one thing, my skin fries in the heat, and another is I get bored just lying around. The beach we settled on for New Years Day was at Étretat.

Etretat, Normandy

Étretat isn’t the closest beach to Les Iris, but the 45 minute cross-country drive on narrow farm roads through open fields and villages is pretty. Étretat is famous for its alabaster cliffs, or falaises, which were painted by Monet, Courbet and Boudin among others. There is plenty of parking in town; park as close to the seafront as you can. Two famous rock formations are visible from the town. As you face the sea, to the left is the Porte d’Aval. There is a path to hike up to the top, from which a further falaise can be seen.  At the top there is also a spectacularly situated golf course.

The Cliffs at Etretat after the storm, by Gustave Courbet.

We decided to hike in the opposite direction, up the Porte d’Amont. There were some steep steps, but overall it looked a shorter climb for the children.

Etretat, Normandy

Etretat, beach and the Porte d’Amont, by Claude Monet.

It took us about 30 minutes to climb to the top. There are tables overlooking the town on the way up which would make a lovely picnic spot in warmer weather. On the clifftops, cows were grazing. There is a small church. There are no fences: hold on to your children.

Falaise, Etretat, NormandyEtretat, Normandy

A few minutes along from the church there is a path that goes a little way down towards the sea from which you can look northwards. The views of the cliffs are timeless. You feel that you have been here before, that you’ve walked into a painting. Etretat, Normandy

The town itself is attractive, with typical Norman architecture, and restaurants and boutiques (all closed, of course, on New Years Day).

Restaurant, Etretat, NormandyEtretat, Normandy

There is a small casino, a restored covered market in the main square, and a war memorial.

Flags and Market Hall, Etretat, NormandyLamp post, Etretat beach front, Normandy

But the action is centered on the seafront. The paved boardwalk has these shapely lampposts all along it. Or you can go right down onto the pebble beach, like the children did, and play in and out of the vigorous waves.

And should you find yourself here on New Years Day, bring your bikini/trunks. Because the only way to start the new year in Étretat on New Years Day is with ‘le grand frisson’ – the big chill. Baptize yourself in the frosty Atlantic waters and you start the year with a clear head and the confidence that you’ve kept at least one resolution. Then top it off by sharing a glass of champagne on the beach.

Normandie : Le grand frisson du nouvel an | Paris Normandie.

For more information about Étretat and other things to do in Normandy, visit Normandy in the Press.

A Winter Market in France

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food, France, Normandy, Things to do

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What comes to a local market in the dead of winter? Very little, you would think – the fields are empty, the trees are bare, there’s nothing but rain and a dull grey sky. You’d be surprised. Here are some of the delights we found at our Norman market at the end of December.

Boxes and boxes of the freshest oysters, only a squirt of lemon needed.

Mistletoe, France

Holly and mistletoe grow everywhere in Normandy. Look up any old tree in the winter and what looks like a messy kind of birds nest is probably mistletoe. And there is a whole forest of holly, la Forêt d’Eu, in the Seine-Maritime. But if you don’t have time to collect your own, you can buy some at market.

Guinea fowl, France

I think these are guinea fowl but please tell me if I’m wrong. There were plenty of geese and roosters too. No one looked squeamish about buying fowl with the head and feet still on. Even in the supermarket, the packaged free range chickens have more feathers and blood left on than their sterile UK counterparts.

coquille st jacques

The pretty coquilles Saint-Jacques are a Normandy specialty which have been awarded the prestigious “label rouge” in recognition of their quality. (Does everything in France have a label?) Here is a video about the fishermen who catch them, and a recipe which, like all the best Norman recipes, is packed with wild (if you can get them) mushrooms and crème fraîche.

Candied fruit, FranceCandied fruit

The candied fruit sparkled like cheap jewelry under the fluorescent lights of the market stalls. It seemed that every imaginable fruit – and even vegetable – had been candied. Pears, mango, carrots, tomatoes, kiwi, pineapple, peaches, cherries, lemons, clementines, figs and more. No gallon tins of chocolates needed here to keep spirits up in the dead of winter.

Flowers, French market

And then a hint of the season to follow. All these bright bulbs poking out of the soil, promising even better come springtime.

Traditional decorations and the Christmas season in Honfleur

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food, Normandy, Travel

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The last post described my search for French Christmas tree decorations.  In the weeks after writing, I started to feel increasingly pessimistic about my chances of success. No one could tell me where to look. While we were away from Normandy, neighbours kindly decorated our cottage – a touching surprise that the children adored.  The decorations, however, were not quite of the made-in-France variety I was searching for.

Then, driving after dark from Calais to Upper Normandy during the holidays, the flashing Santas and light-dripping evergreens in village after village were as gaudy as anything I had ever seen in suburban America. Did real French Christmas decorations exist?

So I was intrigued when @mrslittleboot suggested Marie Vit in Honfleur, on Rue Haute where it meets L’Homme de bois.

What a gem. Full of charming home decor ideas – including these delightful French Christmas tree decorations. I particularly like the toile hearts.

There are also baskets and baskets of what I thought were paper fans. In fact they are hand-marbled paper lampshades, each one unique. They come in various sizes.  What an attractive stocking stuffer.

And Honfleur looked elegantly festive with its large fir trees and Christmas lights reflected in the old harbour. All Norman wood and red berried holly, nothing like the gaudy lights across the countryside.

As is traditional during the festive season, we lunched on the freshest oysters with a touch of lemon at a restaurant next to the Honfleur docks. And look at these seasonal table decorations, complete with sticks of cinnamon. Just lovely.

Flower arrangement, Honfleur