Bayeux’s cathedral © LKL

After our week in Chinon, we headed back north to continue our trip west along the coast. When I’d visited France for the first time in high school, our bus broke down on the way to Bayeux, and since then I’d always wondered about the Bayeux tapestry. Let me tell you – it was worth the wait. No photos are allowed in the museum, but they wouldn’t do it justice anyway; you have to see it for yourself.

We were also pleasantly surprised to discover how beautiful Bayeux’s cathedral is, and were able to enjoy it in both morning and afternoon light.

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About 6 corners of the Hexagon

In a departure from our hexagonal trip, we stayed in Paris for a week – the longest stretch we’ve been there since 1996 – in a large, sunny studio with a tiny kitchen and the smallest bathroom I’ve ever seen outside of a dollhouse. The 18th arrondissement was absolutely packed with tourists – who says there’s an economic crisis?

View from the Eiffel Tower © LKL

I had a whole list of places I wanted to visit, and we made it to most of them, including Fauchon, the gourmet grocer where I bought some terrific tomato-truffle sauce, and E. Dehillerin, supplier of professional – and incredibly expensive – cooking supplies. Prices aren’t listed anywhere that I could see, so arriving at the caisse was a real eye-opener.

Jardin de Luxembourg © LKL

We rented bikes a couple of times when walking got to be too much, picnicked in Jardin de Luxembourg, Parc de la Villette, and Bois de Boulogne – we also rented a row boat in the latter. And we had coffee at Les Deux Magots, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower (thanks to online reservations, took a cruise along the Seine, and rode La Grande Roue. All in all, a great week.

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About 6 corners of the Hexagon

Palais Bénédictine © LKL

In Eu, we had our picnic in the field right in front of the château‘s garden. The drive along the coast was absolutely beautiful, and so was the town of Fécamp. We did a quick dégustation at the Palais Bénédictine, one of the odder buildings I’ve seen in a while.

Honfleur © LKL

Honfleur is very cute and flowery (kind of like Port Grimaud). We were there for an afternoon 15 years ago, but it didn’t seem remotely familiar to me.

In Rouen, we tried to find the places we’d visited in 1995, with some success. We couldn’t find our favorite café, though, which was very disappointing.

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About 6 corners of the Hexagon

Amiens’s cathedral © LKL

We spent two days on a farm in Caours, enjoying the pool and just taking it easy, though we did manage to get over to Amiens to visit the stunning cathedral. It’s the tallest complete cathedral in France, with the greatest interior volume. Someone told me that two of Paris’s Notre Dame could fit inside.

And we went to St.-Valery-sur Somme, which is a nice beachside town, but it was full of tourists and the weather was lousy, so we didn’t stick around.

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About 6 corners of the Hexagon

Hôtel de Ville, Calais © LKL

After the second corner, we headed on to Calais, which was prettier than I’d expected. There was a brocante in the street in front of our chambre d’hôtes, and the nearby park was host to a terrific exhibit called Vivants (enormous, stunning photos of animals) from GoodPlanet.org, the organization founded by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Montreuil’s ramparts © LKL

The next day we continued west, stopping briefly in Cap Blanc-Nez before heading toward Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. This being in early August, 98.2% of Parisians* were also going there, so traffic was horrendous. We quickly decided to go instead to the beautiful town of Montreuil, where we had a picnic on the ramparts, overlooking a lovely field.

*An estimate, but not much of an exaggeration, I don’t think.

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About 6 corners of the Hexagon