Honfleur is northwest of Pont-Audmer.

We set out to see the largest wooden church in France. Inside, the church was bright and airy.

We walked up a hill to see a different church, Notre-Dame de Grace, Our Lady of Grace, which was the name of the elementary school Clare attended for eight years. She felt right at home.

The walk was a little steep, but well worth it, with nice views of the town and the Seine.

The church, built in the 17th century by mariners, features many boats. Even the ceiling looks like the bottom of a large boat.

Then, we drove to the more affluent town of Deauville.

Deauville features a wide, flat beach with a long boardwalk. It must be very crowded in the summer!

Deauville shows off its affluence along streets lined with expensive shops and entertainment for tourists.

We then visited a distillery where apples are used to make brandy called Calvados. We also purchased cheese in Pont l’Évêque.

What a geologic morning for us! Perfect weather. Beautiful arches on the coast. Rocks like we’ve never seen before. We were in heaven!

This area is the other side of the channel from the English “Cliffs of Dover,” sporting the same white chalk cliffs with chert nodules. Many tourists visit here – with good reason.

We found parking a short walk from the scenic area.

We climbed up the hill for more views of these beauties.

Following are scenes from the walk, then the top of the hill.

Back at the bottom.

Traveling with friends whose first language is different can lead to discussions about impossible words. The French language does not pronounce the h sound, so when figuring out the name for the roof material typical for this area, we ran into difficulties with laughter. Thatch has too many h sounds!

On the other hand, when Joëlle and Clare were looking for Marc and Brian in a market we almost ran into someone with a big cart. Clare said “Pardon” when Joëlle said “Sorry”. We both ended up laughing.

We then drove further north to Fécamp.

Next we went to the Benedictine Distillery where a descendant of a 17th or 18th century monk found and perfected his ancestor’s recipe for brandy. He took two years finding the perfect balance of 27 herbs, making an intricate four step process to complete the brandy, named for the ancestor’s calling.

We took a tour inside the restored building, culminating in tasting of three of the Benedictine blends.

The foundation of the Benedictine monastery in Fécamp dates from 1001. The current building followed its design, using many relics and artifacts from the history of the monastery.

A guide explained the public parts of the recipe for Benedictine, showed us many parts of the factory and used signs for clarification. When Benedictine was not selling, workers from the distillery would go into local establishments and ask for the drink, pretending to be upset if it was not available!

On the way back, we stopped in Allouville-Bellefosse to see the Chapel Oak, a very old tree that was burned, then hollowed; people built two tiny chapels inside. The oak tree may date to the 11th century!

Then we drove back to Pont Audemer.

Last night we arrived in the town of Pont-Audemer where we will spend the next 4 nights exploring Normandy with our friends Marc and Joëlle. It is centrally located, so each day will be a short drive and a different direction, East, North, Northwest then West.

First, however, we went to the outdoor market a few blocks from our AirBnB. Like in many towns in France, the outdoor market is open only two mornings a week.

Rouen is famous for where Joan of Arc was martyred and is full of churches. The architecture of houses and shops features many half-timbered buildings.

Modern art was interspersed with old buildings. Many of the buildings in Rouen were tipping, the walls not vertical, which is emphasized by the wood planks on the walls. We kept wondering how they stayed up.

We wandered narrow lanes and larger streets admiring the architecture of Normandy in Rouen.

Aitre St Maclou covers a mass grave from the black plague era in the 1500s when more than half the population died. Nearby is an ossuary. We did not stay long.

We went back to Notre Dame because it opened after lunch.

Near the cathedral is the Palace of Justice.

We learned a name that should have been part of US history, the person who originally claimed the lower Mississippi River and surrounding areas for France. This later changed hands in the Louisiana Purchase.

A modern chapel honoring St Joan of Arc utilizes the Scandinavian ship design for the ceilings, in an airy, uplifting space.

A bit away from the chapel are even more modern links between here and the U.S.

From one rainy city to another, the best part of the day was toward the end when our good friends met us at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.