Janette Sykes travels across the Channel to soak up some sunshine, coast and countryside – catching up with friends along the way
Touching base with old friends is always good for the soul – and for a lifelong Francophile like me, the perfect excuse to embark on a tour across the Channel and a long-overdue catch-up with our copains français. But not one bicycle in sight, I should hasten to add.
We had our Dalmatian Zara – not a good fit with life on two wheels – in tow as we wended our leisurely way through Normandy, Champagne, the Loire Valley and Loire-Atlantique, then back to Normandy and home.
Post-Brexit, taking a dog to Europe is a bureaucratic and somewhat expensive challenge, but we decided not to let that deter us in our quest to reacquaint ourselves with the simple pleasures of exploring rural France.
We have visited so many times over the past 40 years that these days, we like to discover hidden corners of the ‘Hexagon’ that are new to us, as well as revisiting old haunts to remind us why we love France so much.
Le Havre calling
After a comfortable overnight crossing from Portsmouth, we disembarked at Le Havre early the following morning. As we couldn’t check in at our campsite until after 2pm, we enjoyed a relaxed breakfast al fresco at our friend Guillaume’s home in neighbouring Sainte-Adresse.
From there, it was just a short stroll downhill to the beachfront at Le Havre, to let Zara stretch her legs along the restaurant-lined boardwalk.
Most people who arrive at the port don’t pause to take a closer look, perhaps because it was almost completely rebuilt in the brutalist architectural style after being severely bombed in World War II. Admittedly, its initial appearance is austere, but Auguste Perret’s post-war reconstruction project has earned it UNESCO World Heritage Site status, and there are some subtle gems to admire if you hunt them out.
Two of our favourites are the Museum of Modern Art André Malraux (MuMa), which has a fabulous collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings – said to be one of the finest outside Paris – and Appartement Témoin Perret, which is a must for anyone born in the 1950s and keen to see what life was like in the light-filled, flexible living spaces designed by the architect.
At MuMa, you will find works by Monet, Manet, Renoir and Degas, as well as those by local artist Eugène Boudin, born in nearby Honfleur.
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