The North of France

The best summer of my life was not over yet, we had one more week to be spent in Antoine’s dad’s house in the north of France in a charming little town called Hardelot.

After the Canary Islands we spent a couple of days in Paris so Antoine could work a bit. Then, Lucien’s girlfriend Emma came from near Nantes (the center of France) to join us. It was funny to be the mature couple of the trip!

We loaded up the car with Antoine and Lucien’s dirtbikes and then piled into Antoine’s old Renault for the 4 hour drive to Hardelot. We left late in the day, and arrived once night had fallen. On the way we stopped at a truck station for snacks. France truck stations are much better than America’s, and we left with baguette sandwiches and packaged pain au chocolat!

Each day in Hardelot started the same. Before Lucien and Emma were even awake, Antoine and I headed to town to get breakfast. We either took Antoine’s KTM dirtbike or the car and our first stop was always the boulangerie for the best pain au chocolat in the world. We also stopped at the market for saucisson, jam, and a plethora of juices. Antoine showed me banana juice and other weird French things, but I was content with plain old orange juice.

The first day in Hardelot was spent in somewhere that I considered home for a big part of my life – the golf course. Somehow I had left out the fact that I played golf in high school, but my dad filled in the details to Antoine and he ran with that information and had wanted to play golf with me ever since. So, we all donned our polo shirts and headed to the driving range. I wasn’t as good as usual because it has been a long time since I’ve played golf, and the clubs were vintage men’s clubs we found in the garage at the house.

Still, it was fun to hit a few buckets and Antoine and I wore matching shirts as well, which naturally made the experience all the better. 😉

Afterwards we explored the charming town of Hardelot. It’s such a small town but it has everything you could want – from a cinema to a bakery, a butcher, an art gallery, tourist shops, a florist and a supermarket. I adore little towns like this where everyone knows each other, and the ambience is unmatched.

We were going to be here for a week so my first stop was the local florist. They had buckets filled with the most fragrant, beautiful flowers. If you know me, you know that flowers are my greatest weakness. In another life, I’d have loved to be a florist myself. We all went into the shop and luckily my crew was patient as I deliberated. They had the prettiest, vibrant pink long-stemmed roses, so I decided to pick 10 stems of those.

It was fun to talk to the florist, who immediately pegged me for a foreigner by my accent, but actually complimented my French!

I kept the roses in the living room during the day and by the bed at night, so they were never too far from sight!

That evening was my first time dirt biking! Leave it to me to travel to the forests of northern France to try my hand at dirt biking! Technically I didn’t ride myself, but just sat behind Antoine. He gave me his protective gear just in case! The KTM is not meant for two riders, so I spent most of the time behind Lucien on his street bike. In France you can’t drive a car until 18, but you can get a license for a motorbike like his at age 15, which is exactly what he did. Luckily there were footholds so I felt a bit more secure than I had putting my feet on top of Antoine’s! I was surprised at how fun it was to ride through the forests, through mud puddles and around trees. It was a great way to explore, and a wonderful experience.

The next day we visited Antoine’s grandparents in Equihen, a town not 15 minutes from Hardelot. Their house is gorgeous. Their backyard is pictured above, and the hydrangeas were the prettiest I’ve ever seen! Also, the sea is visible from the kitchen window and their property stretches all the way to the beach. While we were there I peered out the window, and to my complete amazement there were parachuters landing literally right behind their backyard! I immediately took Antoine’s phone to video-call my parents, who got as much a kick out of it as I did.

Antoine’s grandparents are something else, and I adore his grandmother Cécile. She’s the most wonderful French grandmother imaginable! She even came out with me and picked armloads of gorgeous hydrangeas for me to take home. She definitely knows the way to my heart. 

The following day after a relaxing morning at home, we drove an hour north to see a historical landmark – a bunker built by the Nazis during WWII called Blockhaus d’Éperlecques. It was a sobering experience. We saw where they built V1 and later V2 missiles. The V1 missiles needed a ramp and wings to launch but the V2s launched up from inside the bunker and was more of a rocket. The placement of this bunker was strategic because this part of the North of France was right across the English channel to England so the Nazis could attack them. It was originally built as a launching site for V2 missiles.

The inside of the bunker was cold, dark and wet and had the missiles are still there as part of the museum. The walls of the bunker were several feet of concrete, and was thus virtually indestructible. There were many attempts to destroy it by the British and US air force that left a hole in the Northern wall, and fortunately left it unusable for its original purpose of launching missiles to England. 

After such a historical, cultural experience, we went to a local Friterie. Antoine raved about it, saying it was like a food truck where we could get pounds of the best fries known to man for a couple of euros. They also had hamburgers. We arrived before opening and had to wait about half an hour, but it was worth the wait when we walked away with icy Cokes, fatty burgers and brown paper packages filled with piping hot french fries.

The next day was one of my favorites of the week. We went to the neighboring town of Le Touquet – Paris plage. There was an indoor waterpark that we visited later in the week, and an adorable ferris wheel and an ice cream truck – Le Glacier. When we arrived Antoine gave Lucien and Emma 50 euros to go do their own thing, and we split ways. It was nice to have a bit of a date together. First, we went shopping. We were on the hunt for a Vilbrequin store but they didn’t have one.

We did a lot of popping into little shops and then a Vicomte-A store. I wouldn’t even know this brand if it wasn’t for Antoine, but I’m so glad I do. Antoine wears a lot of it and it’s such a classic and classy French brand. I spied a 40% off sale so away we went. Antoine ended up treating us both to a new polo shirt and I was thrilled! (Nobody back home in LA has Vicomte shirts 😉 )!

We also browsed in a shop called La Fèe Maraboutee and this blouse with an adorable print of swimmers and sunbathers caught my eye. Antoine is my biggest shopping enabler and he forced me to try it on. We both fell in love with it so I went off with another shopping bag.

Next we stopped for a drink. I got this delicious cherry beer (it was almost as tasty as the Kriek from last summer in Brussels)! Antoine had a cocktail and an expresso. We were both a bit peckish, and Antoine got up and spoke to the waiter surreptitiously. Later, out came a plate of my favorite, foie gras! I tell you, he’s a keeper. It was delicious, with a side of toasted brioche and jam, and was actually real oie (goose) foie gras. 

The next morning was Sunday and Antoine followed our typical morning protocol and headed to the boulangerie for a couple pain au chocolat straight from heaven above. We took the KTM this morning, and stumbled upon an open air farmer’s market! I was in heaven. We dilly dallied for about an hour sampling all of the foods and I bought some foie gras to try to recreate the tasty snack from the day before. Antoine made me to get foie gras saucission as well. I thought this was foie gras in a log shape like saucisson, but it was actually foie gras inside saucisson, and I was not a fan. We picked up some meat at the butcher for dinner and then a loaf of fresh brioche for the foie gras.

We had a lazy day and then went to a local bar for some drinks. Lucien and Emma had been hounding us to go to the bar and they had literally pooled together enough change between them to buy two jaeger bombs for themselves. The claim to fame of this particular bar was that the jaeger bombs are only 4 euros. Like I said before, Hardelot is a little community so Antoine knows everybody. The bartender lady was no exception. So, we went to the bar and each ordered a round of jaeger bombs. We took them, and then ordered another round. Then, Lucien and Emma went outside for an argument. As soon as they left, Antoine grinned at me and told me to take my shot. We took our shots together and then he asked his friend the bartender to fill ours up again and Lucien and Emma were none the wiser when they returned to their barstools!

Later that night when the kids went to bed Antoine made a fire and we watched a film together. I had brought this bottle of white wine from home and we drank it that evening as an apero. It was deliciously sweet. We also toasted the fresh brioche from the market and enjoyed the foie gras. When the white was gone Antoine ran down and grabbed a bottle of red from the wine cellar and we sipped once again.

The next day was our last in Hardelot, and we ended with a bang. Antoine and his dad had a friend who owned a restaurant downtown, L’Annexe. We went and again, the feeling of knowing everyone was inescapable and truly pleasant. We all talked to the owners – a married couple – and shared a cocktail at the bar with them. Then we got a table with a bottle of red wine and each had delicious meals. My fish dish was unbelievably tasty, and the little potatos were salty and crunchy and honestly so good.

We even ordered dessert, and my tiramisu was delicious!

Emma ordered ice cream and while I was happy with my choice, I still had to snap a picture!

Afterwards we returned to our barstools with the owners and each had another cocktail. It was a truly delicious meal and such a nice restaurant and couple.

The week in Hardelot was so much fun. It felt more like normal life than any time Antoine and I had spent together this summer, and I was so grateful for it! I can’t wait to visit this charming seaside town again.