Day 1 of 3: Abbeville, Honfleur
Jackie had organised a 3-day coach trip to France for members of the Active Retirement Group in Meopham and offered spare seats to members of the Garden Club. Lin and I took up the offer. The tour was very well organised, starting with the pick-up at the end of Norwood Lane, so that I only had a few yards to walk. We travelled via Eurotunnel and there were no hitches on the journey.
Our first stop in France was at Abbeville, where we had an hour to have a quick look around. Then it was on to Honfleur for a longer stop and the chance to have a snack and investigate the town. From Honfleur we made our way to our hotel near to Deauville. We had half-board at the hotel so a bottle of wine went down well with our first taste of French cuisine.
Abbeville — Abbeville lies on the Somme River. It was the scene of heavy fighting during WWII. In one night in 1940 bombardment by the Germans reduced the town to rubble, destroying what had once been an attractive town.
Honfleur — Honfleur is an old, picturesque town, located on the southern bank of the estuary of the River Seine. The 17th century harbour is still a fishing port as well as a yacht marina. The sun was shining and the whole town was alive.
Centre of Abbeville with the church of St Vulfran, built in the gothic style
The quay
Street scene
Entrance to the park
Bridge spanning the Seine
A small settlement near our hotel
Half-timbered house
