Étretat · A Video Postcard

The first time I saw the white cliffs of Étretat was during a plane ride to Denver. I had downloaded season one of Lupin on Netflix and was finishing up the final episode when the stunning aerial shots of this coastline appeared. Season one ended on a cliffhanger there, but all I could think was where is this place?

It was in Normandy. I had to visit I thought.

On my first trip to Europe in 2007, my brother and I took a ferry from Calais over to the U.K. From the large ship we looked out at the beautiful white cliffs of Dover, before disembarking and taking a bus to London, where my friend lived.

Seeing the white chalk cliffs of Étretat reminded me of the same. There is a reason, they are same geological chalk system across the English Channel. Upon driving into the small coastal town there were signs for Le Clos Lupin, a museum for the character Arsène Lupin. His author, Maurice Leblanc lived here. The museum was his former residence.

I took a hike towards La Falaise d'Amont on the eastern end. The winds were quite lively that day. There were families walking the route. Up high above sat a church, Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. An absolutely astonishing site with it's hull-shaped nave. It was a place of worship for sailors here. Its design felt so modern.

As I retraced my steps back down at the town a sign stood down near the beach. It was one of Monet's paintings from the perspective where the display was. I headed west towards the Falaise d'Aval, There was a beautiful golf course nestled right along the coast there. The large archway was impressive, carved out from many years. It resembled an elephant's trunk dipping into the water.

I eventually found an area to take a break and watch the sunset from that shielded me from the wind. From high above I looked out miles out towards the horizon, feeling the curvature of sea. Looking back to the other side I could see the church's silhouette piercing the sky.

It was late September here so the summer crowds were long gone. Other than a few golfers who braved the winds and handful of people milling about in town, I imagined Monet enjoying the tranquility as he captured the play of light along this peculiar landscape.