D Day or W Weekend, the choice is yours! (Cherbourg Octeville)

Member Name: angusreid

Product:	Cherbourg Octeville
Date:	02/04/02 (512 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: unspoilt, authentic, cheap

Disadvantages: windy, closed sunday's

I looked out the Mondeo’s windscreen, and strained my eyes in the sunlight, trying to get my bearings as I pulled out of the Ferry’s Hold, down the exit ramp, and on to French soil.

Above, an impressive array of turquoise blue sky lifted the mood, and made you forget about last nights drinking, if only for a few moments.

Sherry sat next to me in the passenger seat, while a couple of friends scoured the open landscape as I made tracks towards Cherbourg Town centre, less than a kilometre from the ferry port.

It was barely 8 on a Saturday morning, and traffic was minimal so it gave me ample time to explore the somewhat mysterious streets and architecture of this often forsaken town, located on the Western peninsular of Normandy.

Many people land here on a daily basis, load up with cheap booze, then head back, missing the picturesque and hidden secrets of Cherbourg, in favour of the large hypermarket.

Yet I had to find out why this town had so little mention, not just on Ciao, Dooyoo and other opinion sites, but in travel brochures in general.

We found ourselves at the quayside, with many cafes littering the opposite side of the road to her stone clad quay walls.

Wandering around a few, the menus were all similar, with croissants, croque monsieur, omelettes, and various enticing nibbles, which were much needed to settle ones grumbling stomach.

We chose a small café, with a panoramic view over the quay and harbour entrance, and tried our best to conquer the language barrier and order a light breakfast.

I had the croque monsieur, Sherry had croissants, and Matt and Sharon, omelettes.
Plenty of water, and coffee, orange juice and apple juice completed the order.

As prices were in Euros, a simple formula of 1.5 to the pound was enforced in order to work out the costs.
I made it £4 a person, so that was quite reasonable, and the food of the usual high sta
ndard that you expect even in a small café.

Wandering around after the meal, we noticed that there were virtually no people about, and that gave the place a deserted, eerie feel, and I am still uncertain as to why people seem scarce, but houses and high-rise flats seem plentiful.

Our hotel was situated 2 min’s drive from the town, or a 15 min walk, depending on how brave you were, as the winds picked up later in the day.
The Quality Hotel, or so the name led you to believe, was reasonably priced, but lacked more than the budget made up for.

Poor Matt and Sharon were none smokers, and it seemed that all the rooms, regardless if they were advertised as non-smoking, smelt of cigarette smoke!

They had to change their room twice, and gave up after that, opening the windows to allow the smell to escape.

I made my way to the reception in my sports gear and asked them where the gym was.
They looked at me as if I was an alien.
There was no Gym!

I went back to the room and checked their advert. Facilities include Sauna, Gym and Bar.

Rather than have an argument, I let it go (wimp!)

After a quick nap, we went for a walk to discover Cherbourg, and to buy some booze.

Now hidden amongst the tall buildings, adjacent to the quay, you will find Cherbourg’s main shopping centre, running in all directions, away from the quay, down narrow, ancient alley’s.

Each alley had copious amounts of attractive and often chique boutiques, patisseries, lingerie (my favourite), perfume and many other traditional shops, as well as the big name fashion designers.

We were actually amazed that this hub of activity was so well hidden from the tourist side of Cherbourg, and that masses of people were here, shopping like it was blue tag day at Debenhams!

The prices were expensive compared to England (I think, unless Mrs Reid tells me pork pies when she bu
ys a new top here!) with a small white top that Sherry purchased for her night out priced at some 52 Euros, £35.

The perfume was almost half the price of England though, as was tobacco, if you were lucky enough to find a shop selling it.

I was quite amazed at the presentation that each shop excelled at.
Their goods were on display, and finished with an eloquent touch, allowing you to browse their products without having to root through shelves and hangars to find what you where looking for.

Scattered amongst these shops could be found small café/bars, serving various selections of cakes and snacks, including the most amazing sandwiches/baguettes that you could imagine.
I sat outside one and sampled their local beers while Sherry spent my money :o(

We headed back to the hotel, via a trip to the hypermarket, situated inland from the quay, and within walking distance from the ferry (30 min’s max), and we loaded up with beer, wine and spirits at unbelievable prices.

Inside the hypermarket, we chanced upon the London Wine Company, where you could sample their wines before purchase, and with most wines priced between 2-3 euros a bottle, I purchased 4 boxes, and that took our tally close to 100 bottles of wine, so we decided to retire to the hotel.

After the mandatory shower and change, I proceeded to the bar area, allowing Sherry the space she deserves to get ready in peace (Good one eh lads!)

I found that the receptionist was also the bar staff and the waitress (I wondered if she was the chef as well, as she asked if we would be eating in tonight, otherwise they would close the restaurant!)

Earlier, whilst driving around the area, we spotted an American style grill house, some two miles out of town, near the Auchan Hypermarket (another hypermarket, not the one located near the ferry).

As my companions were, shall we say, not too keen on French cuisine, much to my dis
appointment, we had decided this would be the ideal place to eat that evening.

A taxi cost 12 euros, £8, and took about 5 minutes.

The food here was of a very high standard for an equivalent fast turnover restaurant, with a good selection of main meals, but a limited selection of starters.

The waitress did not speak a word of English, which I found extremely unusual, but we managed to get by with our pigeon French, expect for how we wanted the steaks cooked, with Sharon and Matt’s steaks more rare than an op from Peter Smyth!

Again, the cost was extremely reasonable, and the wine, fantastic.

I vaguely remember the bill equating to £20 a head.

Unfortunately the bar in the hotel was closed when we returned, so we ended up having an early night.

There are other places to wine away the evening, such as the Casino, on the quay, which has its own disco, and many little café/bars, with live music and their own unique charm.

Sunday saw Matt and Sharon getting the earlier ferry, at 7am, as they had to get back for a special occasion, so Sherry and I decided to explore a bit more.
Now Cherbourg has a very religious population, and Sunday finds everything closed except the café’s along the quayside.

We went for a walk along the beach, but the wind was howling, about a gale force 7 I think, so that didn’t last long.

Even the hypermarkets close on Sunday, so we couldn’t even shop for that elusive last bottle of chateau neuf du pape, and we did find it a bit taxing after a while.

If you have the inclination, you are no more than an hours drive from the D Day beaches, and museums, of which may well interest the historians amongst you.

We hit the ferry terminal about 2 hours before the ferry was due to leave, and relaxed in their small, but adequate bar.

As you can imagine, the ferry home in a gale force 7 had a few humours e
ffects on some people, but me being an old sea dog (careful!) I watched a movie in the ferry’s own cinema, Shallow Hal, and then prepared myself for the drive home.

All in all, a great little town, worth the nights stay, or even two.

Very reasonably priced bars and cafes, and with accommodation similarly priced.

May be too quiet for the fun-loving Ibiza fan, but for couples and mature groups, this could be an ideal weekend away in a totally unspoilt area of France.

Ferry prices, see my P&O op, hotel was about £40 for the room.

Angus

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