Deauville got on my list because of Coco Chanel and all the stories I read about how she used to hang out her with her posh, rich friends in the 1930s was it? During the war, she apparently retreated to Deauville and opened up one of her boutiques. So this has held my fascination for some time. The idea of visiting Deauville. And of course, a few of my students recommended it over the years. So I had it engrained in my cerebral cortex, that I had to get that done and ticked off my list. I did not expect it to look and feel like the freaking Hamptons, however. So that was a very nice surprise.
Not to be ignored, Trouville is very nice as well. I think I went at the right time when there weren't many people on the beach, I almost had the entire plage all to myself, in fact, and I walked along the shore, talking to myself and nobody was the wiser and it was amazing!
Just as an aside, I love to talk to myself. It is a secret pleasure of mine. Sometimes, though, it spills over in public and people see me doing it, which is a drag. Not so much in winter, thought, which is why I love winter so much because I can totally talk to myself and nobody knows I am doing it cause I cover my lips in my scarf and they can't see them moving. Giggle.
But I digress. In Deauville, on the beach, walking on the shore, I talked to myself for whole stretches along the way and it was amazing, very therapeutic. I always say I don't need a shrink. Just give me a walkway and I can solve my own problems all by myself. In general, I think I am a good conversationalist and I have the very best conversations with myself. Sometimes, if you want to know the truth, I crack myself up. No, really, I do. Bigly. And if this happens while I am walking on the street, it is a problem because I cannot hide the laughter. And obviously, I cannot permit people to see me laughing with myself on the streets. So often, I try hard not to laugh. But it is very difficult to control when this happens. So I just hope for the best that nobody I know will see this. That I am freaking laughing to myself on the streets because of something I said to myself, or thought. Cause yes, they will think I am crazy.
Once again, I digress. So in Deauville, the beach. Awesome. Fantastic. I spent about an hour on the beach just walking. And I gained clarity about a lot of things that have been on my mind. The air was so clean that it cleaned the cobwebs out of my mind. I felt pure joy. Especially when I saw the horses. I love horses (from a distance, I don't ride) and the sight of them bathing on the beach just made my day. Speaking of horses, I had on my list a trip to the hippodome but there was no action going on there when I visited, so I just scrapped that idea and walked around the town instead.
But something else crept into my mind as I was walking on the beach in Deauville. It was a sense of something, or someone missing that just hit me like a strong wave out of the blue. Like my other half. Have you ever felt that you have another half, and that this person is missing? Like, literally another half? You know, not just anybody but your other half? Literally? I don't usually feel that way. But I felt him. His spirit, whoever he is, on the beach in Deauville. It was very acute. I said aloud "where the hell are you? Why aren't you here experiencing this with me?" It was very strange.
So yea. That was very nice. A walk on the beach in Deauville. After, I went to the city center to just look around. I had planned a whole bunch of things but in the end, these lists I make never pan out. So I just window-shopped in the city center. A lot of posh shops like Louis Vuitton and Longchamps and others. I went into the casino, which is apparently world renowned and I took a few snapshots. No, I did not do any gambling. I don't have money for that kind of nonsense. After I left the casino,
I searched for a Starbucks to have something to eat but didn't find one so I headed to Trouville, the little twin city of Deauville for more options. That was a short stroll across the bridge. And how cute is Trouville? Too cute.
In Trouville, I found little café and had a croque madame with mineral water while my phone charged up. It was very nice. After, I walked around Trouville a bit, checking out all the little shops and restaurants. There was a patinoire on the edge of the water (ice skating rink) and I people watched a bit before heading back to my bus which left at 4:30 back to Paris.
All in all, it was a very nice trip and I really think these two little French towns are a must see. I also took some snapshots of some of the architecture which to me is very "tudor style" but then again, what do I know about architecture?
Below, find some of the photos I took while in Deauville and Trouville. Enjoy.
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