Sunday, May 26, 2019

Zuiderdam MegaVoyage 2018-2019, Cherbourg, France, Part 1 of 2

Another great day aboard the ms Zuiderdam….  Today, we explore the area surrounding Cherbourg!  Cherbourg has the largest man-made harbor in the world, taking seven decades to complete and still guarded by sea forts at its entrance. It was going to be an off the beaten path day, which many of you know I just love...we hired a taxi to take us to the Contentin Peninsula known as the Cap La Hague region of Normandy. The Cotentin Peninsula is a checker board of apple orchards, cider presses and châteaus with landscaped gardens, a beautiful lush countryside hugging the rugged Atlantic coastline north-west of Cherbourg. Our first stop was the Urville-Nacqueville Fort along the Sea shore...I got a great photo of Manior de Dur Ecu chateau estate...Watching me get this photo, our driver Christaf coined a phrase for me in French...Le Cascaduer or Stuntman. Next, we made a brief stop at Landemer Trails overlooking the beaches at d’Urville-Nacqueville. This area is covered with hedge-marked fields on the heights of the granite cliffs like Grenville-Hague, it is understandable why the 19th century Jean-François Millet set up his easel in these quaint old settlements...by the way we made a quick stop at the birthplace of JF Millet. Travelling along the narrow roads in Cap La Hague, where hamlets with low stone houses are sheltered from the sea winds, we stopped at Omonville la Rogue, a picturesque fishing village and Port Racine a charming tiny fishing village with the smallest port in France. Along the way we passed an old mill between St. Germain des Vaux and Auderville...Making our way to the hamlet of Goury where there is a Lighthouse on an island just off the shore and known by locals as the end of the world. The cliffs at Nez De Jobourg rise from the seas 365 feet, unfortunately we made it up there but the area was totally fogged in so we did not witness this spectacular site. Making our way back to Cherbourg, we stopped at Napoleon’s monument, I did a hike back to get a photo of the Abbey du Voeu, built in 1145...over the centuries the abbey has deteriorated and now a ruin. Next, we visited Holy Trinity Basilica, one of Cherbourg’s oldest buildings, built in the 15th-century, the basilica is one of France’s first Neo-Gothic churches. We walked around the city center and then walked back to the ship. We really enjoyed our trip to the countryside...another great day.





















































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