Cote d'Albatre

And, for something completely different, Friday we drove along the Cote d'Albatre (literally the Alabaster Coast) located in northern France on the coast.

It is part of the French coast of the English Channel (la Manche) which forms almost all of the coastline of the Seine-Maritime. It takes its name from the white hue of its high chalk cliffs, including those of Etretat, which stretch for over 120 km, dominating most of the coastline. It is part of the same geological system as the White Cliffs of Dover on the other side of the English Channel.

The Cote runs from the large container port of Le Havre east to the small fishing village of Le Treport, taking in the town of Dieppe, as well as Fécamp (famous for its abbey) and Saint-Valery-en-Caux. Three river valleys punctuate the cliff face, making way for the harbours of Fécamp sheltering on the Valmont river, Dieppe on the Arques, and Tréport on the Bresle.

We stopped at Etretat, just west of Fecamp.  From there, you can see two of the famous cliffs along this coast:  Falaise d'Amont to the east and Falaise d'Aval to the west.  The latter is often featured in French tourist magazines and calendars.  After so much emphasis of our vacation on battlegrounds, it was such a lovely contrast to be able to concentrate on nature instead.