To the northern coast of France

Wednesday, July 8

Off to Deauville! We checked out of the fine Crowne Plaza and headed off to the northern coast of France this morning. With stuff it was easier to cab it to St. Lazare, plus it was a gray drizzly Paris morning. At the station we caught a bite to eat, then boarded our train and shortly thereafter arrived in Deauville.

(On the subject of stuff, I sent everything we’d already worn or didn’t need or wasn’t easy to rinse out back w/ Joe, which left the three of us with a backpack and small suitcase. I’ve become a bit too adept at minimizing the packing; this time around I should have held on to the sweatshirts, but who knew the weather would be coolish?!?)

It was a short walk to the hotel, then we headed to the city center for lunch. Deauville is a gorgeous little town nestled between the coast and hills. Pretty houses and churches w/ tall spires line the hillsides around, lots of trees and flowers throughout. In the center of town is a fountain in the circle, with cute streets emanating from it, lined w/ shops and cafes.

We picked up sandwiches and crepes at a mom and pop shop and sat by the fountain for lunch, watching Deauville’s comings and goings. Apparently it’s a popular Parisian tourist destination. Most visitors that we ran into in our short stay were non-English speaking.

After lunch we caught the little tourist train for a run around town – after 45 minutes we’d passed through the streets and their lovely mansions, down to the beach and around the boardwalk. It was chilly with storms rolling in and out – gorgeous sky and clouds being blown in over the water. Despite the temps lots of people were on the beach and in the water; maybe this is good beach weather by Deauville standards. Or families determined to do the beach at all cost?!?

After pulling back in front of town hall – a lovely timbered building w/ flowers galore out front – we hit the tourist info shop, got a map and some agenda items for the following gday, then headed to the hotel for a dip in the pool.

The kids had plenty of water fun and I took in all the French family activity (no different from at home, just different lingo).

A couple hours later we dried off and headed down to a sidewalk café to enjoy the sun, which had belatedly made its appearance. We sat outside and had drinks and played cards, then opted to eat at a pizza/pasta place. I had a Normandy mushroom chicken dish which was ok – the mushroom/cream sauce was of course outstanding.
The kids had pasta and my chicken and fries.

We ended our Deauville day w/ ice cream at an outdoor gelateria on the square – lovely spot with cool bells in the center that ring hourly. I had a fabulous nutty ice cream, made even more decadent w/ nuts and chocolate coating on the outside.