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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