Top and tail of a holiday
Vytautas and Evaldas
August 2010
Church of St Jacques at Le Tréport
The only proviso that I had been warned about for food was that Vytautas didn't like seafood - so no chance for the local dish of moules frites. Evaldas seemed prepared to eat anything that was put in front of him.
My home made bread seemed to a be a big hit: this is so good. Our butter with salt crystals met with the accolade of: this is so good. I had visited the local conserverie at St Christophe (Ten minutes away but seven years to make the first trip to the shop). Their rabbit in calvados was apparently very good as well (I think I got a spoonfull at lunchtime).
The weather was a bit of a mixture on the way round the coast but it was still dry on arriving at Eu. Having just joined my two Lithuanian friends kept thinking of it as standing for: European Union
Last time I was there St Lawrence O'Toole was about to close for lunch so this time we were early. But there was a wedding taking place so I have still yet to really get a look round. Anyway we tootled around the park and then up through the town to buy buns and look at cheeses.
Vytautas does have quite a good eye for a photograph and of course everything was very different for him so every few metres he would stop to photograph the postman or a lamp on a wall.
They did notice the flint in the building material and I explained that yes it was very common in the area, certainly in any garden that I have ever had to try and dig up.
August is holiday time for the French and Le Tréport was a lot busier than it had been back in June. We parked up and it was almost trying to be sunny so I told Vytautas to take his photos of the cliffs; it isn't raining. We then plonked ourselves down on the pebbles and opened up our goodies for lunch. At which point it began to spit with rain.
We persevered though and the rain basically gave in. With the roar of the tide on the pebbles below us and the gulls crying over the cliffs, I think that the pair of them could have sat there all day but we had cliffs to climb.
Running up that hill
Back up all those steps to the top of the hill to find that inland it was black with lightning doing its wee dance here and there. As we walked back down the steps to town it really began to rain and whilst they were in jackets in trousers because they were cold (Vilnius has been up in the thirties for weeks) I was in a t-shirt and shorts.
As soon was we went inside it stopped raining
The church provided some cover and it looked as though they were getting ready for a fishing festival because there were fishing nets strung out from the columns.
Coming out we went for a beer and then with the sun now making a brave attempt over the shore we drove over the river back into the Somme and up the cliffs on the far side at Mers les Bains.
There we found lots of German bunkers and sheep.
By the time we had finished our drive around the coast the sun was out and it was a very nice evening. So they did at least see some of the countryside in the sun.
Sunday was filthy. It rained almost all of the day. It was just grey and miserable as we dandered our way over to Arras and their evening TGV to Paris.
We did a few stops but it wasn't even worth our while stopping at Vimy for a walk to the Canadian Monument.
We got into Arras and had a wander around the town before heading to the station for a beer and mini farewells. I would catch up with them again in Beauvais on Friday as they came out to the airport.
St Pierre's Cathedral in Beauvais
Of course for the last day of everybody's holiday it is inevitable that the sun will finally come out and the temperature will go up to 30 C.
With just that in the offering for the afternoon I met my Paris worn friends at Beauvais Station. It was lunchtime and as all the parking in Beauvais was free in August it was not only easy to find a place it didn't cost anything either.
Evaldas has been wanting to try Moules Marinière since he arrived so I took him somewhere where he could try it. I had choucroute and Vytautas settled for cod.
The meal was huge and Evaldas was very surprised that there is a lot of eating in a pot of mussels. He and I succumbed and had a dessert - I could have done without it but you have to live from time to time.
We were ready for a good sleep now rather than a walk but we looked around the cathedral - the highest Gothic cathedral in France at 48.30 metres. So high they couldn't finish it and it is now buttressed inside by huge timbers.
We then had a look round the local museum which is in the episcopal palace next door. The building was more interesting than the exhibits to be honest. Fantastic roof beams on the upper floor.
Evaldas wanted to buy some of our salted butter - but I had already preempted him so we were free to drive out to Canada Lake.
The plan d'eau de Canada is a large boating and watersports basin with a three kilometre pathway going around it, and lots of things for kiddies to do. All under supervision.
It was now very hot and we just wandered round to the far side and found a shady place to sit and watch the people bobbing about in boats and the planes landing at the airport. I was far too well fed to contemplate the bouncy castle.
But all good things must come to an end and it is always better to leave wanting to return.
At the airport they soon noticed other Lithuanians booking in and as I said. You know the holiday is finished when you recognise your own language around you.
The question now - when I can I go to Vilnius ?
See also