JOIN THE CLUB

This 19th-century cartouche mode-nature above a fishmonger's sets the tone for storefronts along the quai in the charming bay town of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, a member of the Club des Plus Beaux Détours de France. The town is a must on one of my favorite French destinations, the Baie de Somme.

Vocabulary
une poissonerie:  a fishmonger's, a fish store

©2013 P.B. Lecron

STILL LIFE

Eye catching decorative keystone of fish and fowl on a turn-of-the-last century villa in Saint-Valéry, on the Baie de Somme.

Vocabulary
un clef de voûte:  a keystone
un voûte:  an arch
un clef, un clé:  a key
la nature morte:  still life

©2012 P.B. Lecron

A YEAR TO REMEMBER

Commemorative bas-relief of Guillaume de Normandie, better known to anglophones as William the Conqueror, in the village of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme. It was from this port on the Baie de Somme in September 1066 that Guillaume sailed with his army of some 15,000 men and 3,000 horses in a fleet of about 700 drakkars, to conquer and profoundly change England and its property system.

Vocabulary
un drakkar:  a longship; a viking-like ship, or a viking ship
une bataille:  a battle
Guillaume le Conquérant:  William the Conqueror



©2012 P.B. Lecron

A SEAL'S LIFE

Two seals bobbing in the bay before high tide, as seen from the quay in Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme on a perfect summer evening. 

Vocabulary 

un phoque:  a seal

un quai:  a quay

la marée haute:  high tide

la marée basse:  low tide

la marée montante:  rising tide

la marée descendante:  ebb tide

©2012 P.B. Lecron

NO PLACE LIKE SOMME

A rainy summer afternoon on the bay walk at Saint-Valèry-sur-Somme, on the Baie de Somme. Rain or shine, we love France's exceptional estuary on its northern coast.

Expressions
Rien ne vaut son chez soi.
There's no place like home.

Où se trouve le coeur, là est la maison.
Home is where the heart is.

©2012 P.B. Lecron

EASY DOES IT: BAIE DE SOMME

For best land-side views around northern France's exceptional estuary: foot or bike it

A laughing gull or mouette rieuse, sitting on the dock of the bay, Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme.

Near Cayeux-sur-Mer.

Shifting sands on the north side of the bay,  Plage de la Maye.

A family of swans or cygnes along the road outside of Le Crotoy.

Majestic dunes near Le Hourdel.

Peace and quiet around Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme.

Cattails or quenouilles in the Marquenterre bird reserve.

Tide's up! Mallards or colverts noodling for grub on the shoreline of Saint-Valèry-sur-Somme.

View across bay looking from Le Hourdel.

Adorable lapwings or vanneaux huppés.

Expect to see storks or cigognes. 

Do as the Saint-Valéry locals do.

Each sunset or coucher de soleil a marvel or merveille.

Vocabulary

une balade, une promenade: a walk

une balade en vélo: a bike ride

Though it's easy to get around the bay by car, opt for more environmentally friendly bipedal locomotion,  or even a guided field tour. See Maison de l'Oiseau as well as Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre. For information about bike tours and rentals around the Baie de Somme see Baiecyclette. Or consider discovering the site on a fastidiously restored 19th-century steam-powered train, classified as a historic monument, which in addition to its regular schedule offers sunset dinner rides around the bay on certain dates of the year: Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme. 

Click on photos to enlarge them.

©2011 P.B. Lecron