Douzelage delegations welcomed to Granville Carnavale

Members of Douzelage town twinning teams from Bundoran (IE), Niederanven (LU) and Meerssen (NL) were in attendance at the 151st annual UNESCO Carnavale this past weekend in our French partner town of Granville in Normandy, France.

The delegations included Douzelage President Shane Smyth, Secretary Hannah Mc Nulty and Treasurer Joe Mc Nulty (all IE) as well as former President Annigje Kruytbosch and former secretary Femie Kengen (both NL).

The trip was arranged to coincide with the experience of the traditional Granville Carnavale which, in its 151st year, was expecting crowds in excess of 100,000 to the seaside port.

Personal hospitality was guaranteed with stays at the homes of local Douzelage committee members Laure and Ghislaine as well as tasty food each evening in relaxed comfort able surroundings meeting old friends and making new ones. Granville is also twinned with St Brelade in nearby Jersey (CI) and their partnership still exists with the original twinning committee from Sherborne from where the idea for Douzelage derived. 

With thanks to the Douzelage in-house translator Faye, we took her minibus to the wonderful Mont St Michel just under an hour’s drive from Granville. Within view of Mont Saint Michel is the Biscuiterie de la Baie du Mont St Michel with snacks and goodies for every taste, including this writer’s favourite – Madelines!

And so onto Mont Saint Michel – a stunning medieval abbey and village perched on a rocky island in Normandy. Dating back to the 8th century, it was originally a small sanctuary before becoming a major pilgrimage site and a fortress-like monastery. The island is surrounded by powerful tides, creating a dramatic landscape that has captivated visitors for centuries. Today, it remains one of France’s most iconic landmarks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This world famous island on the Normandy coastline plays host to hundreds of thousands of tourists annually though despite being busy during our visit, wasn’t crazy busy. We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day (though a little cold) which gave us blue skies, amazing views from every angle and the opportunity to eat our packed lunch on a rooftop area high above the island. The seagulls did their best to make their presence known but the food remained safe and intact!

With souvenirs in hand and phones full of photographs it was time to bid farewell to this stunning location as we made our way back for dinner in the house of one of our hosts Jef and Catherine in Granville.

Saturday brought exploration of Granville itself, starting at the Haute Ville where we walked the picturesque cobbled streets before making our way to the centre of town which was already gearing up for Carnavale celebrations with many colourful costumes already on display. Lunch was at a traditional creperie and afterwards there was time to check out some more of the town, including the Christian Dior house and garden before getting back to get ready for our dinner which was being hosted by the Granville Douzelage team in a local venue.

We ate and drank for the evening in the company of fellow town twinners and had the pleasure of meeting the Mayor of Granville Gilles Ménard as well as the President (de la communauté de communes) Granville Terre Mer, Stéphane Sorre. We received a wonderful welcome from all in attendance.

Sunday was the big day for Carnavale and we had an early start due to much of the town being blocked off to traffic to allow the free flow of pedestrians. This gave us plenty of time to take things at our own pace as we made our way to the La Maison Du Carnavale marquee where we watched some of the entertainers who would take part in the cavalcade (parade) later that day, and enjoyed a tasty lunch.

As time ticked on we made our way to the starting point for the parade which got underway at 1:30pm and saw 47 extremely impressive floats, all made up of local community groups and causes, pass by for almost 3 hours. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to watch this spectacle while thousands actually took part in the parade manning floats. Kids on the floats particularly enjoyed firing confetti at spectators. I think we’ll be finding bits of it on our clothes for weeks to come!

As our last day drew to an end we enjoyed our final meal with Ghislaine and Maryline before getting home to do some final packing of souvenirs (and Madelines!)

A massive merci to our hosts in Granville Laure, Jef, Catherine, Ghislaine, Maryline and Jean Marc. Thanks to Faye for the minibus and thanks to the people of Granville for the warm welcome to their part of the world.

Shane Smyth,

Douzelage President.