L'Aiguille d'Etretat

The last travel post I wrote was about Rouen. That was actually part of the trip I mentioned in the sneak preview posted more than a month ago. (*gasp!* It has been that long?!)

Anyway here's the rest of the trip. The day after visiting Rouen, we went to Etretat, a town on the northern coast of France. I doubt that I would have heard of this town if I hadn't read books of Arsène-Lupin, the gentleman-thief. In one of the stories, Arsène Lupin had a hideout in the needle rock (l'Aiguille) in Etretat.

To go to Etretat, we took the train from Rouen to Le Havre, then we took a bus to Etretat. It was raining that morning...but fortunately for us, the rain stopped at about the time we reached Etretat. The sky remained rather cloudy...but that was better than rain.

On to the photos:

the town hall, that's where we got off the bus

a building housing several small souvenir shops

the plaque above the doorway

upon reaching the seaside

the other side

Check out the terrace's name! Maurice Leblanc is the guy who wrote the Arsène Lupin stories.

there were a lot of seagulls around

the needle rock behind the Porte d'Aval (the most famous arch on the coast, I should think)

this seagull had just finished crying out...I just missed it in the act

this time I caught it at the right moment...the other seagull arrived after the first cry

See all the people up there on the cliff? That's where we're headed.

the view towards the other cliff (the arch over there is the Porte d'Amont)

against the wind on the cliff (a similar but not the same photo was posted in the "preview" post)

my turn

the Manneport, another arch

see the small bridge going into the rock?

there's a little slit (to the right of the entrance) that you can look out of

inside the rock

We're standing on that famous arch!

and the needle rock is right there

there it is, the landmark of Etretat

just to show how strong the wind was...check out the waves on the puddle!

some scenery

same thing again (I can't decide which pic is nicer)

from the cliff on the other side of the beach

some monument?

about the monument for the white bird, a plane trying to make the first non-stop flight from Paris to New York (they didn't make it though)

I think this is the monument mentioned...but maybe the first one is part of it as well.

the chapel on top of the cliff

We passed by Le Havre again on the way back

We had dinner in the Docks commercial centre

There you have it, the trip to Etretat. It was a pity not to have sunny weather...but at least I made it there. Thanks to the hosts/tour guides! :P