Stéphanie Montagne-Grésille, author

Published May 14 2021

Question of Luck!

Meeting with Stéphanie Montagne-Grésille, a Manchese author inspired by the Cotentin!

Of course, when it comes to talking about Cotentin, the lack of objectivity is never far away. Like any inhabitant of a beloved territory, the temptation to award him the medal of “most beautiful of all” is great, but it would quickly become exaggerated, as our planet is so full of wonderful treasures.

Nevertheless, and because it is unlike any other, paying homage to the unique nature of this piece of Normandy is legitimate and necessary, if only to proclaim, loud and clear, the desire to protect it, always.

Forgotten the overflow of superlatives, therefore, to prefer the word “luck” because that which consists of being able to live all year round on this peninsula, with a soul entirely inhabited by the elements, is one, undeniably.

To discover the Cotentin, again and again, is to nourish yourself with the strength, to be intoxicated with the perfumes, to follow the chiseled contours, to soak up the mystery, the diversity, the long history, the typicality, the culture , energy from a preserved part of the world.

Preserved from imposing cities, from intensive livestock farming, from the ugly and ostentatious constructions which so often damage the pretty seaside, preserved from massive and suffocating industry, preserved from fast-paced lifestyles... Until Today, Cotentin has kept the difficult promise of remaining timeless, may it remain so for a long time to come and may one day come true the ultimate dream of a green revolution, extended to its entirety.

Here, the changes of season, the gusts of wind, the changing skies, the return of sunny days, the rebirth of the gardens are experienced as a celebration, an opportunity to contemplate, without ever tiring, an impressionist painting in eternal movement.

So, how can you choose between the expanse of marshes covered by the waters of winter, adorned with tender greens in summer, the intoxicating view of the harbor of Cherbourg, high up on the Roule mountain, the majestic silhouette of the Gatteville lighthouse, the gulls, the song of the shrouds, the endless dunes, full of sun, the coming and going of the trawls, the boats with multicolored hulls, the flowering fields of apple trees, the fishing trips on foot , sheep, low walls…?

Why choose since all these wild landscapes, these contrasting and living moments embody, and I assume all the subjectivity, a certain idea of happiness?

Stéphanie Montagne-Grésille
Author