Parlez-vous Français?: Honfleur

Today we took the bus up to Honfleur, another little sea town a bit further north along the Flowery Coast. The bus ride itself was really lovely, since it wound along all the back country roads that connect the little towns along here, and everything is blooming and green. And French farm houses are incredibly picturesque. Actually, everything here is picturesque.
Honfleur isn't a very big town, but I think it had a lot of character. It's tucked into a little valley that opens into the base of the English channel, and has obviously been a port city for a very long time. Many of the buildings are renaissance style (probably not age, though...) timber framed or colored brick, and the roads are cobblestone, and there are flowers hanging from nearly every window and/or street pole. We had a really lovely time just wandering around and looking at all the little shops and restaurants tucked into corners and crannies. Eventually we found a footpath that took us up "Mont Jolie" (Pretty Hill), and found a really breathtaking vista overlooking the city, the harbor, and the Normandy coast. There was a monument there dedicated after WWII giving thanks for protecting the city during the Norman Invasion. So it was a great spot for our lunch... Michael summed up our day pretty well: "It's cool what you can find when you're not looking for it". Je suis d'accord. (:

A pretty public fountain

A lovely tree-lined boulevard

Most of the streets were little, cobblestoned and winding. We're both impressed by the drivers here.

and suddenly cows. Although I guess you have to take our word for it...

Our lunchtime view. You can kind of see le Pont du Normandy -- the Normandy Bridge -- which is apparently the longest cable-suspended bridge in the world, according to the sign.