Voltaire once described bullfighting in his Essay on Customs like this: it was the most spectacular, most flattering to women, and most dangerous performance, yet it did nothing at all to improve people's lives.
After leaving Le Havre, they had been hurrying along without pause. This stretch had neither broad highways nor roads built by the ancient Romans. They also encountered many people traveling on foot, forcing them to slow down.
They stopped briefly at Etretat, where the "real" Elephant Mountain stood. Both shores of the English Channel were made of chalk, and the cliffs were as sheer as if cut by a blade.
Once a scenic spot became famous, there were always imitations. Unfortunately, there were no cameras in this era, or Georgiana would have liked to take photographs at Etretat as a memento.
They arrived in Fécamp at around one in the afternoon. It was a fishing port city, and they received an enthusiastic welcome.
Before Rouen, Fécamp had been the capital of the Duchy of Normandy. Legend had it that this was where the Vikings had landed.
After the pirates left, cod and herring became the locals' main livelihood. Many brave fishermen went to the fishing grounds of Newfoundland, and Fécamp thus gained the nickname City of Cod. But because of the war, Fécamp's residents had not gone to sea for a long time. With peace restored, Britain ceded the right to fish in the coastal waters, and Fécamp flourished once more.
Georgiana thought of the world-famous canned herring and gave the people waving and cheering at her a sweet smile.
They had lunch in Fécamp: smoked cod with the locally famous Bénédictine. The liqueur contained lemon peel, cardamom, hyssop, mint, thyme, cinnamon, and other flowers, fruits, and herbs. Georgiana bought several cases and loaded them onto