From our V1 encampment we thought we'd drive back to the coast, bypassing Dieppe, to Hautot sur Mer and its Pourville Plage, and continue on down the Alabaster Coast. As we neared Hautot, we noticed much foot traffic, people carrying picnic and other accoutrements, a festive atmosphere; and then a sign that said Route Barriere, 1000 meters. Often, we ignore such signs. The French, like Americans, sometimes leave highway signs up for years. They simply rust away. Somewhat after 1000 meters, the traffic began piling up, and in the not too far distance, we saw the reason: an RV attempting a U-turn on the small country road, just shy of the barrier. The smaller cars funneled off into a huge parking area, with a 2m overhead barrier, and we were the next to execute the U-turn. At a vehicle length of 5.5m, I did this relatively easily, with Vicki hopping out and stopping the oncoming traffic. Arretez! Arretez! S'il vous plait! We drove back, thinking this must be one hell of a market or fete we've missed. Another few k's up the road we stopped to re-group, and it then occurred to me this might be something bigger. I looked up the Tour de France, and sure enough, today was Stage Six: Abbeville to Le Havre, pretty much where we thought we were going that day. Along the coast.
We thought briefly about going back some distance, parking, walking the rest of the way, and joining the spectators. But then we remembered that watching scantily-clad scrawny persons with numbers on their shirts, bicycling, was not really our thing. (This happened to us once earlier, in 1998, at the Arch de Triomphe, where, in a throng of thousands, we inadvertently saw the finish; or saw a lot of people seeing the finish.) Anyhow, we drove back to Dieppe, and spent the day shopping at the Decathlon, the Auchon, and the Brico Depot. In addition, I reorganized the basement and installed molding to cover the several solar panel and instrumentation cables coming down from the roof and up from the battery. And I also bought a pair of shoes to replace the aged loafers that had expired in my previous solar panel installation.
Vicki reckoned that if the race was to end the day at Le Havre, then Hautot might well be cleared out by later afternoon. We boldly drove back, and, sure enough, the place was relatively deserted, with ample parking for RVs. We spent the night there and enjoyed a walk along the beautiful beach.
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| Our encampment at Hautot sur Mer/Pourville Plage |
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| Looking north, toward Dieppe, a few miles away |
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The cliffs, being chalk, dissolve in water; best to enjoy them
from a distance |
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| Big-time oyster country |
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| Next morning, looking south |
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The view from right where Monet painted it, 1882; the French
really know how to rub it in... |
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| As calm as you'll ever see this water |
1 comment:
We have managed to be in France either right before or right after Le Tour came through. In '99 when we had the kids with us, we sort of followed the Tour all around France, seeing signs and hay bale barriers on curves, but never actually saw a single leg of the race. A couple of years ago, we drove one leg of the Tour through the Pyrenees but it was a couple of weeks before the bikers actually were going to be there. There have been a lot of serious accidents this year. We don't read or see much about it over here. Now that there is not a major American team or rider who is a contender, there is not much interest here. Sad but true.
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