Heatwave, Birthday & Honfleur

Raff
Jul 26, 2019
5 min read

We were trying to work out how many times we have visited Honfleur, but it was difficult. Had I kept this blog from the start, I could have checked. If pushed, we would say that it probably would be around twenty times. We have been here for our birthdays, Christmases and New Year. We were here seven months ago to see in New Year but left because it was so incredibly cold, and we headed for Paris (when your home is on wheels, it's easy to be fluid with your plans- relatively easy, because finding a pitch for a large motorhome in Paris at New Year is NOT easy, but we did it!).

Right now, the weather is completely opposite to that freezing cold December day when we packed up and left for Paris. We are in the midst of a heatwave which is sweeping through Europe. Over 30c in the UK and here it is currently hovering at around 40c. Our solar panels are loving all of the sunshine, but for a lot at the aire, it is a struggle! I went to pull a window blind across from the inside and the metal catch was so hot, it was painful! Our kitchen window had warped slightly in the heat and wouldn’t budge. Our neighbours from Norway left earlier for cooler climes and people were sitting outside in their underwear - desperate times! Honfleur is like coming home, we know our way around the town- the short cuts, the best places to go for certain items, how to get to the beach quickly, where to go for the best laundrette and where you can get the best croissants and groceries. We also know where not to go, where the coffee is bad or where the meals are not so good. It’s a beautiful and vibrant town with something to please everyone. Art galleries, bistros, antique shops, museums, churches, parks, sandy beaches, a beautiful promenade. I could go on, but I won’t. Take our word for it, it is just heavenly. These are just some of the reasons why the beautiful town in Calvados appeals to us- we know it well and it does feel like home.

During this visit, we walked around the pretty harbour, back streets and visited an art gallery with some interesting Banksy style graffiti art. We also visited, for the first time, a butterfly house. We’ve walked past the building a number of times on our way to the beach, but we decided to visit on the spur of the moment. The last time we visited a butterfly house was in New York and I found it quite strange. I was a lot more skittish then and the butterflies in New York were no shrinking violets. They would land all over you and stay there as you walked along. I didn’t want to (and obviously you weren’t allowed) swat them away because they are so delicate, so I was walking through with about 10 giant butterflies perched on my neck, shoulders and head. However, this was a different experience. We watched a short video on butterflies, their habitat and their life span, including a gruesome sequence of butterflies being attacked and eaten by other animals. I found it hard to watch and it made the little boy in front of us cry! We then entered a beautiful Jurassic park like area, as humid as Bali had been in May, with parakeets flying around, exotic orchids and butterflies as large as birds flying in the most beautiful shimmery colours. There was so much to take in, ther was even a stream running through with koi carp and little wooden footbridges leading to nooks where exotic birds lived. It really was a wonderful and peaceful experience, not too busy but enough people there to create a nice ambiance. The butterflies were difficult to photograph because of their rapid movement but I managed to grab a few images of the more docile ones!

Another tradition for Honfleur is our annual pilgrimage to my favourite restaurant in the town - Le Breard. The food here is exceptional - it is very well regarded, not just in the area, but within the country. In between each course, you are offered wonderful amuse bouches- oyster ice creams, lobster soups, cucumber foams. Each time, something even more imaginative than last time! This visit was no different- from the moment we arrived, it was a special experience. Our amuse bouche to start was homemade waffle with a trio of mousses- tuna, sweet pepper and beetroot & horseradish. My starter was a tartare of sea bream, radish tartare with wild pepper and currant ice cream - exceptionally good. We were then offered an amuse bouche of courgette mousse with a wild garlic and lemon sorbet accompanied with a black olive crisp, also out of this world! Main was pork fillet, vegetable sushi maki with a soy and saki jus. It was beautifully cooked and the saki jus was delicious. Their signature pudding is the warm passion fruit soufflé with with passionfruit and vanilla ice cream. I have had this a number of times yet it is still wows. What made this visit extra special was that a friend, and John’s father, had sent me over some money for my birthday so it was a wonderful gift, much appreciated!

Because we have visited Honfleur so many times, we find ourselves just walking around, visiting the shops, galleries and sitting on the beach. We are quite content doing that, having exhausted most tourist attractions over the years.

After a lazy morning in bed, in truth, we were waiting for the parp parp man, as we call him. He is actually the local baker who drives through the aire with his boot propped open, displaying all of his beautiful treats - freshly made baguettes, boules, croissants as large as your hand, pain au chocolat, pain au raisin etc etc. As he drives through, he beeps his horn to let everyone know he has arrived! Parp Parp! John will leap out of bed in his pyjamas and head to the queue (it forms quickly because these pastries are the best!), the money is already on the kitchen worktop for a speedy exit from the motorhome! There is also a visiting greengrocer who parks up every other day. He seems to be very popular although we have yet to try his produce.

Before we left Honfleur, we made the first refill of our new LPG refillable gas system which was fitted before we left the UK. It cost us just over £11 to fill up our 11kg bottle of gas (we have two, but only one needed topping up - there is an auto switch over so once one bottle is depleted, you start using the other). To replace a bottle would usually have cost us around £27 so the savings are already happening and there is no lifting of heavy gas bottles, you just plug the nozzle in and it autofills.

So farewell Honfleur 'till we visit again, as we surely will. We're moving west towards the Cotentin peninsular destination Carentin.