After leaving Falmouth, we headed across the English Channel to Le Havre, France. This city was originally named Franciscopolis after King Francis in 1517. A chapel known as Notre-Dame-de-Grace existed at the site before the city. This lent its name to the port, Le Hable de Grace—the harbour of grace. The city was completely rebuilt after World War II and most of the architecture is done in concrete. It is a gateway to Paris, Rouen, Honfleur, and the Normandy Beaches. But we stayed in the city and went off to explore.
Restaurants in France are amazing. Being a waiter here is a career choice, not something you do when you can find no other work. It takes 10 years to become a head waiter. The city of Le Havre is a very clean city. There is a squad in France, especially in Paris, just to remove graffiti. The architecture is done all in concrete but is very pretty.
Our new friends, Bob & Betty, are doing an on your own tour of Paris after taking the 2 ½ hour bus drive in. Bob wants to see the Arc de Triomphe with its converging of 12 different highways in a circular motion around the Arc with none of the lanes marked. If you have an accident, no matter whose fault it is, it is charged 50/50.
We walked down Rue de Paris to the Cathedrale de Notre Dame. The Le Havre Cathedral was a 16th c. parish church, 1520 to be exact. The belltower was built in 1540. Both are done in Gothic Baroque style. It was devastated and ransacked during the French Revolution. It was restored in 1830 but was badly damaged again during the Allied bombings of September 1944, which destroyed the old parts of the town. Its restoration was only finished in 1974. The foundations of the cathedral are lower than the other buildings around it because they were built on the ruins of the old town.
We then walked over to the Museum of Natural History which had a China exhibit and one on bugs—very interesting bugs—a tarantula and a camouflage bug that looked like a cluster of leaves.
Then we walked down Boulevard Francois to the tower of St. Joseph’s Church designed by August Perret. It is octagonal in shape and is a 350 ft. high lantern tower. It is a symbol of the rebirth of the city after World War II. From the outside, it is very pretty, but it gives no indication of the beauty from the inside as all the small but plentiful pieces of glass are colored, so you walk inside and look up into the inside of the tower and see a spiral staircase (closed today) and a cylinder of amazingly beautiful wood and stained glass. Very impressive.
France is the best place in the world for bread. 70% of bread here is made by hand whereas it is only 3% in most other countries. There is usually a bread shop every 100 meters. There is NOTHING like a French croissant with its subtle buttery layers. We stopped at a little patisserie, because it had orange canopies outside, and I very confidently walked in and ordered my two croissants and two of the cute little Tropiziennes with sugary dots on top that I had in France in November, but here they were called choissetterries, or something like that. And I did it in very presentable French, if I do say so myself.
Lunch back on the ship and laundry and packing to do. Dinner this evening in the dining room with Russell and Claudia and Daniel waiting on us. Say goodbye to Bob & Betty and Joe and his wife. Off the ship in the morning.
pictures from top: outside of St. Joseph's Tower Church in Le Havre, France; 3 of the inside of the tower; Meringue for sale just sitting outside on a table!
