PAGE FOUR
Le Havre - Cruise 2008 Part One - Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums & her Aunt and Uncle - 2008
Having taken Andrew’s Mum on her dream trip to Niagara for her 70th Birthday it was time to do the same for Jacqui’s Mum. She had always wanted to go on a cruise – and so Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums and Jacqui’s Uncle Stanley and Aunt Hannah found themselves in Southampton boarding the Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas.
All Aboard the
Brilliance of the Seas
Dancing
Captain Andrew- Yaar!
It was our first time on a cruise and none of us quite knew what to expect. It turned out that we had made an excellent choice. Brilliance of the Seas was a magnificent ship and Royal Caribbean and its staff were all exemplary. We certainly caught the cruise-bug from this cruise which would take us to France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Monaco.
Lazing Around as we
cross the Channel
Inside the Brilliance of
the Seas
Another view
The first port of call was the other side of the Channel in Le Havre, the largest town in Normandy. Now it has to be said that I had always heard unflattering things about Le Havre – it’s all concrete, there’s nothing to see, that kind of thing.
St. Michel's Church in
Le Havre, Normandy
Fooling Around in Le
Havre, Normandy
So it came as a pleasant surprise when, once beyond the rather functional port area, we were set down in a fairly airy, clean town. Certainly there was little here of any age. The city was pretty much flattened in World War II (5,000 souls and 12,000 buildings were lost), so it was not unreasonable for there to be nothing left of the old town.
Le Havre's Town Hall,
Normandy
Place de la Hôtel de
Ville, Le Havre, Normandy
In Le Havre, Normandy
However, the new town had been built rather better than a similar age city in England – let us say, for instance, Coventry. The concepts looked similar; covered concrete walkways, wide ring road, Brutallist architecture. So either the authorities in Le Havre had done a better job of keeping the buildings in good condition, or the original constructions were of a better quality.
Fountains in Le Havre,
Normandy
More Fountains in Le
Havre, Normandy
Jacqui and Mum with big
ball in Le Havre, Normandy
View from the Public
Gardens around the Hôtel de Ville, Le Havre, Normandy
St. Joseph's Church, Le
Havre, Normandy
Immediately outside the Hotel de Ville is a small square with some interesting fountains and gardens which make a pleasant centre around which to orient yourself. We wandered down towards the Old Harbour with its war memorial and looked across past a bizarre white upturned funnel structure, which it turned out contained an underground cinema.
Weird Underground
Cinema, Le Havre, Normandy
Beyond this and in the background of many views of Le Havre is the huge tower of St. Joseph’s Church – Auguste Perret’s masterpiece in Le Havre. Although we did not have time to get close to the church, it is certainly eye-catching and dominant. Perret seemed to do a much better job on Le Havre than was done on the modern parts of Lille!
War Memorial in Le
Havre, Normandy
Detail of War Memorial,
Le Havre, Normandy
Docked in Le Havre,
Normandy
We had a fairly limited time and after a coffee and cake stop we headed back to the Brilliance of the Seas.
Looking back at Le
Havre, Normandy
At dinner time, having been asked what he would like for dessert and saying “Nothing” Stanley was presented with a plate with nothing written on it in sauce! He did not ask for “Nothing” again!
Cabaret
Go to Cruise 2008 Part Two - Vigo, Spain
Ajaccio, Corsica - Cruise 2008 Part Five - Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums & her Aunt and Uncle - 2008
The good ship Brilliance of the Seas arrived off the coast of Corsica and docked at the harbour in Ajaccio.
Andrew had been to Sardinia some years before and had not been overly impressed, so was not quite sure what to expect of its neighbouring island.
Narrow Street in
Ajaccio, Corsica
Main Square, Ajaccio,
Corsica
Street in Ajaccio,
Corsica
Ajaccio, at least, was a very nice town. Corsica, although quite clearly French, had a feel of Italy or Spain about it too. Perhaps it was the shared Italian/French/Catalan history, although on Sardinia if anything the opposite had been true.
Ajaccio, Corsica
Alley in Ajaccio, Corsica
Ajaccio is one of those little towns that has become more significant than its size might otherwise merit. This is because of events on 15 August 1769 when a young boy, one Napoleone di Buonaparte, was born in a medium sized house in a back street of Ajaccio. This, of course, is the Emperor Napoleon I. The English tend to think of Napoleon in terms of grandiose schemes and dictatorship, but to the French he is still something of a hero, albeit a flawed one. On Corsica and particularly in Ajaccio he is revered. There are about four statues of Ajaccio’s favourite son dotted around the town. One is in the central square, although the most famous (where he is dressed as a Roman God) is elsewhere.
Napoleon's Birthplace,
Ajaccio, Corsica
Another view of
Napoleon's Birthplace, Ajaccio, Corsica
Napoleon’s Birthplace is in a surprisingly pokey little side road in an otherwise normal house which can only be told apart from its neighbours by (1) the plaque on the wall and (2) the crowds habitually standing around it.
Ajaccio Cathedral,
Corsica
It is interesting to note that Napoleon’s family were Italians. He was born into a relatively well-off merchant family and so was given the education which allowed him to leave Corsica and set off on the course that would change the history of Europe. Napoleon in his early years of power returned to Corsica frequently, but as his thoughts turned to conquest he began to drift away from his roots. Despite all of this, the Corsicans are very proud of their prodigy.
Cathedral Bell Tower,
Ajaccio, Corsica
Almost everything in Ajaccio has a Napoleon connection. The attractive, pastel Cathedral was where he was christened in 1771. It is very easy to imagine him as a young man stalking around the little twisting alleyways of the back of town. Perhaps watching the ships passing through the harbour, dreaming of greater things.
Oratoire
Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Ajaccio, Corsica
Modern French Car!
Andrew and Jacqui in
Ajaccio, Corsica
Jacqui and Andrew's Mum
in Ajaccio, Corsica
Even Ajaccio’s Castle – or rather Citadel – has a Napoleonic connection as he besieged it many years later in 1789 when it was held by Royalists. It is one of those many Vauban-style Citadels which are dotted around the whole of France, although a fairly small example of the same it still manages to have a superb strategic position overlooking the Harbour.
Statue in the Port of
Ajaccio, Corsica
Ajaccio's Castle from
the Sea, Corsica
Andrew at Ajaccio's
Castle, Corsica
Ajaccio Castle, Corsica
Ajaccio Harbour, Corsica
Ajaccio from the Sea, Corsica
Corsica Scene
Leaving Corsica and
Ajaccio behind
As we headed back to the Brilliance of the Seas and it departed into the growing evening we were treated to some of the most dramatic and lovely seascapes we’d seen on the whole journey. Ajaccio and Corsica had been a very pleasant surprise and one of the nicest parts of France we’ve visited.
Departing Corsica
Go to Cruise 2008 Part Six - Monaco
Villefranche - Cruise 2008 Part Seven - Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums & her Aunt and Uncle - 2008
Brilliance of the Seas in Villefranche Harbour, Côte d'Azur
The Brilliance of the Seas docked in France for the third and last time at Villefranche near Nice. It was the second time we had to take tenders to shore, although this time the sea was much more calm.
The Citadel of
Villefranche, Côte d'Azur
Citadel Arch,
Villefranche, Côte d'Azur
We had booked for a coach trip to Monaco this day, so we didn’t get to see much of the little harbour town of Villefranche.
Church of Saint-Michel in Villefranche, Côte d'Azur
The coach departed for Monaco from inside the walls of the Citadel which is quite unusual of its kind in that the walls are really high and towering making the Citadel dominate the town completely. It certainly looked like a good Citadel to have a wander around, but that would have to be some other time.
Citadel Walls,
Villefranche, Côte d'Azur
Villefranche Harbour, Côte d'Azur
Pastel Shades in
Villefranche, Côte d'Azur
The coach headed off along the very exhilarating coast road, affording some great views of Villefranche Harbour with the Brilliance of the Seas sat out in the Bay.
The Walls of Villefranche Citadel, Côte d'Azur
Villefranche Citadel from the water, Côte d'Azur
Villefranche Citadel, Côte d'Azur
Villefranche from the
tender, Côte d'Azur
Brilliance of the Seas
Going back aboard
On returning we walked back down to the Harbour, passing through the Citadel again and getting some particularly attractive views of the houses tumbling down the steep slopes towards the sea. Villefranche looked very attractive in the late afternoon sun, picking out the various pastel colours on the buildings. Andrew chose to sit atop the tender as it headed back to the Brilliance and was rewarded with some great views back towards town.
That night was to be our last night aboard the Brilliance of the Seas and so the crew put on a spectacular evening buffet on deck with superb ice sculptures and live fruit carving. It was a great end to the cruise itself before we docked at our final destination: Barcelona.
Go to Cruise 2008 Part Eight - Barcelona, Spain
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