Week-end in Normandy

Allright I believe it is now high time for me to give a short review of my last week-end. First let me say that last week-end was great, a really great revitalizing adventure deep inside Normandy to Caen and then to Cherbourg.

Sunny beach close to the Hague

The first day consisted in getting there. Getting there was a three-hour drive to Cherbourg. Once there, the journey continued along the coast to La Hague from where nice views over the surrounding islands of Guernsey and Sark could be enjoyed.

Goury and the lighthouse

La Hague is home to Goury Cape where the waters from the Mont St Michel bay meet the waters from the Channel. During high tides, the Atlantic is literally pushing those waters into the Channel and this leads to unbelievable tide-induced currents that may reach a speed of up to twelve knots. This is absolutely scary!

Milk, Cheese and Pasture.... The three masterwords of my Land...

Later in the day, we opted for a dinner in the fields close to the sea and amongst our familiar beasts from Normandy. After all, Normandy is the dairy country by excellence so let’s take full advantage of that… Sea Cows and Wind is the motto here…

Le Redoutable

On the following day, we headed to La Cite de la Mer where a nuclear-powered submarine is on display. This submarine was the first of its kind in the French Navy and reflected the strategy of its time: ensure nuclear dissuasion by having a strategic fleet of stealthy submarines permanently at sea with the ability to launch a massive nuclear strike on any nation willing to harm French vital assets.

The eight missile-tubes from starboard.... ....Torpedo tubes and torpedoes...

The submarine is roughly ten meters wide for a length of a little more than one hundred and twenty meters. It is home to a powerful nuclear reactor for its propulsion, sixteen intercontinental ballistic missiles, a few torpedoes and tactical missiles and a crew of one hundred and twenty. The sub may cruise for seventy days in between the surface and two hundred meters below sea level while travelling at twenty knots.

Sail of Le Redoutable....... ......That's what I call a propeller...

Later in the day, we went East to the Cap Barfleur, the other cape that is at the North Eastern tip of the Manche peninsula.

Cap Barfleur

Tiny fisherman wharf on the Channel coast...

Finally, during the late afternoon we drove back South to Caen in order to catch my train back to Paris. Caen is a pretty amazing city that I barely know. Strangely enough, I have never visited this town, maybe because it is too far and yet too close from where I live...

Caen, where William the Conqueror is buried...