D.O.M. Benedictine

Today we drove from Bayeux to Rouen...the long way!

The short way is 157 k's and takes just under two hours.

We drove along the coast, stopping along the way.

The small town of Etretat is a picture postcard everywhere you look.

The dramatic white cliffs bookend the town.

Monet produced more than 80 canvases

of the scenery here.

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We also stopped for a walk along the beach in Deauville,

Plenty of designer boutiques, deluxe hotels,

expensive cars on the street

and gardens of impossible neatness.

The beach has very swish bathing boxes.

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Next stop was Honfleur,

At it's heart is the amazingly picturesque

Vieux Bassin (Old Harbour)

from where explorers once set off

for the New World.

We really enjoyed some very fresh mussels for lunch

with a front row seat overlooking the harbour.

We also marvelled at the extraordinary

15^th century wooden Eglise Saint Catherine

complete with a roof that from inside

resembles an upturned boat.

Honfleur's graceful beauty inspired

many painters, including Monet.

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The last stop on our journey was Fecamp,

where we visited the Palais de la Benedictine.

Opened in1900, this unusually ornate

factory is where all the Benedictine liqueur

in the world is made.

I drank a toast to my grandfather with a

Benedictine & Proseco cocktail.

We walked 9 k's today.