Cu cortul în Normandia

 

Vara trecuta, cand locuiam in Amsterdam, biroul unde lucram mi-a oferit cateva zile libere, la finalul lunii august. Pentru ca vazusem deja destul de multe in Olanda, si pentru ca voiam ceva mai putin turistic, departe de haosul urban, am luat in considerare Normandia.

La o scurta cautare pe Google am realizat ca acolo se afla multe din destinatiile pe care eu le tot salvam pe Pinterest, plus o gramada de locuri pe care le-am vazut doar pictate de Monet in albumele mele de suflet cu pictori impresionisti.

N-a mai incaput indoiala – am pornit spre Normandia.

 

EN: Last summer while living in Amsterdam, the office where I worked gave me some days off, at the end of August. As we had already seen a lot of places in Holland, and because we wanted to visit something less touristic, far from the urban jungle, we considered taking a road trip to Normandy.

I googled it quickly and realized Normandy was the place that I was constantly pinning on Pinterest, plus some awesome places I’ve only seen in Monet’s paintings, in my favorite magazines about impressionist painters.

There was no doubt – we left for Normandy.

 

 

Lucruri necesare pentru 6 zile de excursie cu masina si dormit in camping:

• cort
• saci de dormit
• prelata pentru umbrirea cortului – e necesara cand zona e insorita si dimineata cortul se supraincalzeste
• izoprene sau saltele golflabile
• alte lucruri utile: prosoape, umbrela de plaja, patura de picnic, gratar de unica folosinta, farfurii si tacamuri, tire-bouchon.

 

EN: Some useful stuff you need for a roadtrip and for sleeping in campings:

• tent
• sun-proof tent canvas – it’s super useful when you camp in a sunny area and the tent overheats quickly in the morning
• sleeping pads or inflatable mattress
• other useful things: towels, sun umbrella, picnic blanket, single-use grill, plates and cutlery, bottle opener.

 

Iata aici ininerariul nostru pentru 6 zile:

ZIUA 1:

• am plecat din Amsterdam spre Rouen (un drum de vreo 6 ore), unde ne-am plimbat pe stradute si am admirat minute in sir catedrala pe care Monet a pictat-o de atatea ori
• seara am plecat spre Etretat (la distanta de 1 ora), unde am admirat stelele de pe deal (era chiar noaptea Perseidelor!), si am innoptat la campingul Les Tilleuls.

 

EN: And here you are, our 6-day itinerary:

DAY 1

• we left Amsterdam and headed to Rouen (a 6-hour drive), where we took a long walk on the narrow streets and gazed on the cathedral Monet painted so many times
• in the evening we left for Etretat (1-hour drive), where we stargazed (we were lucky to see the perseid shower there), and we slept at the Les Tilleuls camping

 

 

 

ZIUA 2

• am lenevit si ne-am balacit la Etretat (unde ziua a fost cam aglomerat, incomparabil cu linistea si frumusetea de o seara inainte – deci, recomand serile la Etretat)
• am luat pranzul (scoici, bineinteles) la restaurantul Le repaire des pirates
• am pornit spre Trouville-sur-mer (distanta de 1 ora), unde am gasit cel mai frumos camping la care am stat pana acum: o parcela de teren imensa, pe un deal la malul marii, cu vedere la apus (Chant des oiseaux), si am innoptat aici.

 

DAY 2

• we sunbathed and wallowed at the Etretat beach (it was very busy during the day, so I’d higlhly recommend seeing it also during the night – it’s much more beautiful)
• we ate lunch at the Le repaire des pirates restaurant (mussels, obviously)
• the evening we went to Trouville-sur-mer (around 1 hour distance), where we found the most beautiful camping where we ever camped in: a huge area on a cliff, right next to the seaside, with amazing views of the sunset (Chant des oiseaux), and we slept there.

 

 

ZIUA 3

• am pornit in recunoasterea plajelor D-Day, la Cabourg si Deauville – plaje pe care trupe canadiene, britanice si americane au debarcat in scopul de a elibera Europa de sub stapanirea nazista; locul a fost strategic ales datorita pantei foarte mici a malului si a intinderii mari a plajelor; acest lucru face aceste plaje deosebite si in zilele noastre, fluxul si refluxul creind imagini foarte variate, marea putand descoperi pana la 300 de metri de plaja cu lagune, sau acoperi complet malul
• dupa-masa am vizitat Honfleur, un oras foarte frumos la malul marii
• seara ne-am intors la campingul de care va ziceam mai devreme, pentru ca a fost prea frumos ca sa vrem sa vedem apusul de altundeva.

 

DAY 3

• we went straight to Cabourg and Deauville to see the D-Day beaches – where an armada of Allied troops, British, American, Canadian and more, landed in order to begin the liberation of Europe from years of Nazi occupation; The Normandy coast was chosen for its flat, firm beaches, and to take the German military off guard; this makes these beaches amazing nowadays, too, as the low and high tides create beautiful large lagoon beaches, or cover them completely with water
• in the afternoon we visited Honfleur, a super nice city by the seaside
• in the evening we went back to the camping I told you about, because we were really craving to see that sunset again.

 

 

ZIUA 4

• am pornit spre Giverny – locul unde Monet si-a petrecut ultimii ani de viata, si unde a avut o gradina superba cu plante aduse de pe toate continentele, cu cele mai multe si colorate flori pe care le-am vazut vreodata la un loc – si pe care le-a pictat, pe toate;  va recomand acest loc, chiar daca nu aveti neaparat o pasiune pentru acest Monet pe care il tot invoc; veti avea 🙂
• dupa-masa ne-am indreptat spre Granville, un oras mic si dragut la malul marii, unde ne-am cazat la campingul L’ermitage.

 

DAY 4

• we left for Giverny – the place where Monet spent his last years, and where he had a breathtaking garden with various plants from all over the world – which he painted, all of them; I recommend you visit this place, even if you don’t have a passion for this Monet I keep telling you about; you will 🙂
• in the afternoon we headed to Granville, a small and cute place on the seaside, where we also slept at the L’ermitage camping.

 

 

ZIUA 5

• de dimineata am pornit spre Mont Saint-Michel; sincer sa va spun, dupa atatea plaje, gradini, plante, natura, nu simteam nevoia de a face pe turistul intr-un loc super aglomerat, dar am zis sa nu ratam locul asta de care am tot auzit, daca eram prin zona; a fost frumos, ce-i drept, dar va recomand sa va documentati inainte mai bine decat am facut-o noi, si sa mergeti, pe cat posibil, toamna sau primavara; greseala noastra a fost ca am ajuns prea tarziu (pe la 1pm) pentru a avea rost sa stam la coada intrarii in manastire (am fi stat vreo 3 ore), iar alt lucru putin incomfortabil a fost plimbatul prin caldura si soarele arzator (de aici recomandarea cu anotimpurile mai reci)
• dupa-masa am pornit spre Bruges (stiu ca articolul este despre Normandia, dar Bruges este un oras foarte special, care merita vazut, daca sunteti prin zona si daca timpul va permite)
• seara am innoptat in campingul Memling

 

DAY 5

• in the morning we went to Mont Saint-Michel; frankly, after experiencing so many beaches, gardens, seeing flowers and a lot of nature all around, I didn’t really feel like playing the tourist in a super busy place, but we decided not to skip this nice place if we were so close to it; it was beautiful, I won’t lie, but I would suggest googling more in advance, and going during the spring or autumn; our mistake was arriving to late (around 1pm), and the queue to enter the monastery was too long (maybe around 3 hours); another uncomfortable thing was walking in the sun on a very hot day (that’s why the colder seasond could be better)
• in the afternoon we went to Bruges (I know this post is about Normandy, but Bruges is a very special city which you could also visit if you have time)
• we slept at the Memling camping.

 

ZIUA 6

• dimineata am vizitat Bruges pentru cateva ore, apoi am pornit inapoi spre Amsterdam.

 

DAY 6

• we visited bruges for a couple of hours, and then we drove back to Amsterdam.