Veules Les Roses, 2

Continuing our visit to this beautiful little village...

More typical...hydrangeas are doing well here too

A number of quaint shoppes and restaurants, but not touristy

Very old vine

A bit of Belle Epoque

They were here too

At length we stopped for a little lunch al fresco, cider and a ham and cheese
galette for her, fish soup and an apertif du normandie for me, the frites shared

Love black flowers

Another beautiful old house

At the beach, looking toward Fecamp and Le Havre

And the other way, toward Dieppe

Interesting grill work

Street scene, more flowers, more scent

The little 12th century church was closed for renovations; they do this every 2-3
centuries; but it retains its original design

Including some very old carving

Another beautiful residence

A holloway, not uncommon here

One of the coolest things: this renovated old house, glass replacing the masonry,
then covered back over with timber

Very cool...wonderful place, Veules Les Roses

Veules Les Roses, 1

We are not yet fully prepared to say Veules Les Roses is the most beautiful village we have seen. The stroll along France's shortest river--well, a creek--that flows directly into the sea, incredible landscaping at every turn, half-timbered and flint-brick construction everywhere, relatively great age and even a little recent history, the beach, the cliffs...we simply can't remember anything better, or even approaching it. And no tour buses. We spent the better part of the day here, including a casual lunch.

What led us to this place was noticing people parking and carrying picnic supplies
to this shaded little picnic area, just off the coastal road; we decided to follow and
see what was down the path

The source of the little Veules river, which flows just 1200m to the sea

For many years, Veules was the watercress capital of the north, the Garden of
Dieppe;  important as the only winter -harvested vegetable

Roses, the most fragrant roses anywhere, were everywhere

The little creek once had 11 mills in operation; this is wheat country up on the plateau

The little river continues, scarcely ever more than a foot deep

Roses everywhere

Typically Norman thatched roofs and half-timbered construction

As well as typically Norman brick and flint

Thus

More of the river, more of the flowers

Another old mill, this one rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Germans in 1940;
they were chasing 3000 British and French soldiers who finally embarked for
England at Veules; in the TI are several repulsive photos of German soldiers
celebrating their victory in Veules

Another little river scene

More roses

Banana Belt of Normandy

More interesting old buildings

Hautot Sur Mer/Pourville Plage; Or, Our Tour de France Interrupted By The Other Tour de France

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.

Our encampment at Hautot sur Mer/Pourville Plage

Looking north, toward Dieppe, a few miles away

The cliffs, being chalk, dissolve in water; best to enjoy them
from a distance

Big-time oyster country

Next morning, looking south

The view from right where Monet painted it, 1882; the French
really know how to rub it in...

As calm as you'll ever see this water

V1 Site At Val Ygot

The site is about 20km SSE of Dieppe, in a forest surrounded by farmland. Perhaps a dozen site structures remain after the Allied bombings that occurred in 1944. No V1s were launched from this site, although it was merely one of more than a hundred in the Seine-Maritime. That so many were identified and destroyed is due to the French Resistance, and particularly one Joseph Brocard, who identified more than 100 V1 sites in France, traversed the Swiss border some 98 times, was betrayed finally and sent to a concentration camp, but survived to receive the highest military honors of both Britain and France. This is the only V1 site preserved in France. In 1944, hundreds of V1s rained down on London and environs, killing some 6,000 and injuring nearly 20,000. When the sites in France and Belgium were liberated, Hitler aimed his remaining V1s, some 3,000 of them, on Antwerp and its harbor, now in the hands of the Allies. The V1 was a pilotless flying bomb, range under 200 miles, merely pointed at its "target," and lauched either from a plane or on a catapault, as here. The bomb fell when it ran out of fuel. Truly a terror weapon.

It's a well-signed site, full of information in French, English,
and German 

V1 sites in the Seine-Maritime

Stay on the paths...this area has been bombed

Thus

In memory of the prisoners and forced labor who built these sites

And the victims

Depiction of Bristol Beaus bombing V1 sites

Some of the buildings remain

The "amagnetic" building, where the missiles were "aimed"

Launch control

Cut-away; the first cruise missile

Pointed right at London

Thus

Thus

And thus; we spent a quiet night in the parking lot near this
dismal place