At Etretat.

Etretat, commune of Seine-Maritime department, Haute-Normandie, France.

A place of many muses, it has been home and inspiration to artists such as Claude Monet, Eugene Boudin and Gustave Courbet centuries over. Etretat's famous cliffs, sublime and naturally formed, have also featured in literature. Others have come to the scenic village in search of subject matter - art collectors, historians, philosophers and novelists alike have sought solace and contemplation in the rugged landscape and pebbly beaches of the enigmatic seaside town.

The cries of gulls, forlorning in the chilly winter air, resonate over the sheer cliffs. The town is empty in winter, when its thriving tourism trade has quietened, and holidaymakers have resided to the city, awaiting the summer so that they may return to Etretat. The waves ursurp the pebbles on the beach, and large seabirds wade in the Northern waters in search of something to fill their wintry bellies.

I need something to warm me up. We find a quiet tavern in the village. I cradle my chocolat chaud in my chilled hands.

I imagine Monet's painting as I gaze upon the cliffs. The very same cliffs, I think to myself, that inspired such beauty at the hands of artists decades before me. They haven't changed. We have.