The Trail's Our Thing

We came to Normandy with a long list of places to visit, most of which we realize, now that we’re here, are an hour or two away. And so we’ve adjusted our plans, deciding not to do so many day trips. We’re happy to spend most of our days right here in this town, simply enjoying our little cottage and the easy life in Honfleur.

Today we visited the Musée Eugène Boudin, named after one of Honfleur’s most famous citizens. Boudin (1824 – 1898) was a pre-Impressionist, a mentor and inspiration to many of the Impressionists who followed him. Our cottage—Les 36 Marches—has been documented to have been Boudin’s studio for several years. Boudin specialized in painting local beach scenes, many including people of his era enjoying the seashore, the ladies in long dresses and carrying umbrellas. Monet is one of our favorite painters; he said: “Everything I know I owe to Eugène Boudin.” Monet spent several months here on two different occasions, and the museum had two of his paintings along with paintings by Boudin and several other noted artists. It was a surprisingly extensive museum for a small town.

Later in the afternoon, when the sun was not so hot, we spent an hour on the small beach just west of Honfleur, probably a spot that Boudin painted many times. Honfleur is on the estuary of the Seine, where the river meets the English Channel (Le Manche) and the water is a mix of salt water and fresh water. Kelly was anxious to swim; Charley and I planned just to watch. It was a pleasant beach, though strange to see the oil refineries and other industrial buildings of Le Havre on the other side of the river. Charley stood down by the water and watched Kelly while she swam. I sat on a towel further back on the sand.