When the Amazon delivery truck shows up to your house daily, and a standard weekend date consists of buying a new TV at Costco (and a couple of hotdog combos), choosing a birthday gift for your wife is not exactly as straight forward as it may seem. But I do have one ace up my sleeve, even after a decade of marriage: We have always placed exceptional value on unique experiences, even more so when they involve atypical modes of transportation (aka Extreme Rentals). So it was no surprise Retro-Tours Normandy caught my eye while perusing the AirBnb “experiences” list for Honfleur. Motorcycle and sidecar tours through the back streets of a medieval town? SOLD.
Pro Tip: I always scan the experiences list before a visit somewhere new while brainstorming an itinerary. We have found some really unique, fun things there – always hosted by locals – like baking traditional Argentinian cookies near the tomb of Eva Perón and guided market tours in Florence. For this trip, I booked directly through https://www.retro-tour.com/normandie/ as it was a bit cheaper, but I used the AirBnb page to ask a few questions via chat to ensure the kids could safely join us (and that I would fit…), which worked out perfectly.
But having purchased a side car tour for the family (minus the two year old who is too small and the 77 year old who is too… grandma) I still needed to give her a gift to open on her birthday. As usual, Amazon had the answer with free 2-day shipping, this time in the form of a limited edition Indiana Jones play set, complete with hat, whip, and rocket launcher. She was politely puzzled at first, then soon caught on and clearly shared my enthusiasm. Phew.
So today, finally, the day arrived – by far the thing I have been most looking forward to on this trip. I was just so excited for the opportunity to cruise all over this ancient town and the local area, learning about events that occurred here over the past 1000+ years and shaped history and our modern world. We met up with the three bikes as planned near the harbor, and quickly donned helmets. They had plenty for everyone, even the kids. #1 was eager to sport the accompanying googles and, needless to say, looked adorable. Being the biggest, I took a sidecar for myself, while #1 and #2 were able to cozy up with an adult in the other two. Despite being 6’5”, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the sidecar was – but I opted to forgo the seatbelt assuming it was only likely to provide moral support rather than actual protection in the event of a crash.
As we set off, I immediately knew this would be a memorable day. With perfect weather, and it being Sunday, the wealthy locals were out in force parading their fancy cars around the harbor – Ferrari, Lotus, Porsche… nevertheless, our convoy of Urals rumbling through town was the primary head-turner. When I saw the driver of an Aston Martin Vanquish do a double take and check US out, I knew we were in for a really special day.
And sure enough, it was a blast. We wound our way up through the town, our drivers pointing out notable points in the history of Honfleur such as the harbor fortifications and the home of impressionist Eugene Boudin.
Eventually we made it to the top of a tall hill to explore an ancient church and enjoy impressive views overlooking the mouth of the Seine and the Normandy suspension bridge, once the world’s longest at over 2000m end to end.
The massive port of Le Havre sits on the opposite bank, completely destroyed by Allied bombing in WW2, only to be rebuilt almost entirely of concrete and now a unesco world heritage site for its unique architecture. And of course, spread out below us like peering through a window back in time, was the town and port of Honfleur, which escaped the bombing and remains almost exactly as it has been for over 800 years, like a time capsule from the age of knights and castles. For anyone who’s read Michael Creighton’s Timeline… it’s like that!
Looking out over the Seine estuary, our guides explained the history of the region – gifted to the Viking king Rollo in 911 in exchange for ceasing his relentless pillaging of Paris. The name “Normandy” refers to those Norman’s – North Men – who settled there, and whose later Duke, Guillaume (aka William), would sail across the Chanel to England and defeat the Anglo-Saxon king Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Some 957 years later, a direct descendent of William the Conqueror would be crowned Charles III after the death of his mother, Elizabeth.
From the overlook, we climbed back aboard our stylish rides, being sure to leer at the company competitor, Normandy Jeep Tours (bleh!), on the way out. We sped through winding hedgerows and past fields of cows, making our way about 15 minutes up the coast to Manoir D’Apreval, a family owned cidery and orchard. After sampling a variety of ciders, including the more potent local aperitif “Pommeau” and the even stronger “Calvados” – basically apple whisky – I couldn’t help but buy a few bottles to take home. And for the kids? The best apple juice in the world.
From the cidery we made our way back into town, winding through cobbled streets lined with medieval timber framed houses. Many characteristically jut out a bit each level up, making them appear to lean out over the narrow bumpy street, perhaps to make the 12th century morning ritual of emptying the chamber pot directly onto the ground below all that much easier. I was glad for the helmet, just in case.
We briefly stopped to hear the story of Saint Catherine’s church – the largest wooden church in Europe and built by boat wrights, not masons. How does a boat builder craft the vaulted ceiling of a grand cathedral you ask? Well it turns out they just build a giant boat and turn it upside down. Stay tuned for more on that when we have a chance to explore the inside in more detail.
As all good things must, we soon found ourselves back at the start, and our tour came to an end. We thanked our guides for an experience I think we will all remember for years to come – even #2, who somehow slept through most of it.
We ended the day with a simple dinner in the garden, sipping local cider while the kids played in grass. What a great day.
~Amir
TeamLouka 