April 8, 2026

We arrived to our port very early after traveling from Rouen at night. Our tour today is a walking tour in a nearby village, Honfleur.

It was a short bus ride to the village and on our way there, our tour guide, Stephanie (who happens to be our other guide – Martin’s wife) told us about the area.

Honfleur is known as one of Normandy’s most enchanting port towns, tucked where the Seine River meets the English Channel. Its heart is the Vieux Bassin, a small 17th century harbor lined with tall, narrow, slate covered houses. A young Claude Monet spent time painting here. The history dates back to the 11th century and its port launched explorers like Champlain, who sailed from here to found Quebec.

One of the most surprising things was the thatched roof houses. We have seen them in other places before, but never with irises planted on top of them! The roots are long and help to stabilize the roofs!

Here are some of the sights in the town.

Honfleur is near Lisieux, home of St. Theresa. I was fascinated by her as a teenager.

It was a lovely day and the weather was perfect.

We had a cocktail party for the river Heritage Club members (at least one previous cruise with Uniworld) and Captain Dave, Woody and Ruben came around to each table to thank us for our loyalty.

After dinner, we had entertainment by the Hot Stompers, a New Orleans style jazz band. They were terrific!

Tomorrow will be a long and emotional day – we visit the beaches of Normandy. It is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride so we leave at 7:15 and won’t be back until about 7 PM. I have been there many years ago but Norm has not. We think it will be one of the highlights of the trip. Stay tuned.