The July heatwave in Paris became unbearable for a bit, so we escaped to Étretat for a change of scenery and cooler fresh air. Oh it was cooler alright, and the water was actually rather cold that even Frédéric who’s normally a big fan of the sea retreated back to shore after a few minutes snorkel. We also had time to walk both the cliffs that flank the village of Étretat and had a picnic along the way. What a lovely getaway from Paris indeed :)
We started our visit with a walk along the cliff of Amont (la falaise d’Amont), where the smallest of the three natural arches – Porte d’Amont – can be found. From the village, along the sea front, it’s a left turn followed by a set of well-paved stairs to arrive to the foot of the hill that eventually leads to the small chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde.
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This week, I discovered that being a translator is probably not a career alternative I should pursue. My friends, in the spirit of keeping things bilingual for their wedding, had asked me to help out with certain tasks (e.g. translating wedding ceremony programme, speeches), and working from English into French, oh dear… I am lucky I have other wonderful friends around me who helped to proofread my translations, and I also roped F into translating some particularly tricky texts. What would I do without them?
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29 Jul: This piece of street art reminds me of the sculpture of Le Passe-Muraille to commemorate Marcel Aymé that can be found in Montmartre. The main differences? This is on the other side of the wall, thus forming a continuation of sort to the sculpture, and this is a very modern take, for I don’t think hoodie fits into the setting of Aymé’s story. Disclaimer: I don’t know if the artist intended this as an echo to Le Passe-Muraille. Total speculation on my part.
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The mere mention of Greece easily conjures up the image of white-washed buildings with blue windows and doors, or blue-domed roofs. Taking advantage of the colour selection mode on my trusty point-and-shoot, here’s my attempt to show you just how well-loved blue (and white) is, especially in the Cyclades.
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Santorini is not a very big island, and by all accounts, have a good network of public buses that run regularly and budget-friendly in term of ticket prices. To us, this negates the need to rent a car and drive on unfamiliar, narrow and windy roads. The network radiates from Fira, however, thus we would need to travel from Oia to Fira each time for onward bus connection.
I’ve been advised by friends to make sure we have a copy of the latest bus timetable. We were also, understandably, to know that any time indicated would be approximative. Afterall, there’s no predicting the traffic, right? Like a good trooper, I duly downloaded and printed a copy of the timetable from the bus company’s website.
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