Addendum

I just wanted to say that this was a wonderful, fulfilling trip, especially with 2 great friends Bob and Carol who were wonderful travel mates.  We enjoyed being with them as much as we enjoyed what we saw.

Also, there was a large glitch in WiFi availability this trip.  The second rental place in Aarromaches Normandy tried but failed to secure a consistent source of internet.  So I had to improvise and do my daily blogs on WORD and copy them to the blog when internet was available.  I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Again, to say that the trip was really great, I recommend anyone who is confident enough to take on France as an independent traveler.....it was quite easy....ESPECAILLY with our wonderful GPS...Jane!!!! She came through like a champ.

See you next trip!!!!

Day 16

Day 16

This was our last day in France OFFICIALLY.  We moved out of our rental house around 9:30 am and headed southeast to first Rouen a gorgeous…oooollldd….city north of Paris.  It was about 2hours away and we found and parked downtown with not problems at all.  We just started walking with the goal of finding the main cathedrals of the city….there are 3 of them.  Plus we wanted to just see the old buildings in the old part of the city.  Let me say that some of them were really old, they had to date to the 10^th Century….or even before.  They had that typical French beamed and plaster  look to them.  We strolled through the old city and easily found our main destination.  Too bad it was in major renovation mode and not much to see.  The cathedral itself is in really bad shape but it carvings and design are simply magnificent.  The church dates to the 9^th Century and even before when the Roman were here.  Like I said this was an ooooollldd city.  We also found a very familiar cathedral that if you are a Monet fan or know anything about his work you will recognize it immediately.  It is the one that he painted several times from the same location but at different times of the day to get a real feeling of the incredible eye he had for light. After lunch and a large number of pictures we were off to our final destination….Giverny….again, the home and famous painting location of Claude Monet.

 It is very close to Paris and a very small village.  WE parked and walked to his home and gardens.  OMG!!!!!  I had been there many years ago but seeing it now was   glorious.  Because it was Monday (a lot of website note that the place is closed on Monday) and being in September we had a very small crowd there.  We got to tour his home showing copies of his works on the wall and see exactly how he lived and entertained.  He had many friends here to visit and see his gardens.  The gardens are not large but just full of flowers…..EVERYWHERE.  And many in bloom as we walked.  But the main spot in the area was the water lily pond which runs through  the property.  It was IN-CRED-IBLE.  Just seeing and knowing that he stood there right in your spot painting several of his greatest masterpieces….it was overwhelming.  Needless to say I took many many pictures for both the calendar, the slide show and future flower calendars that I made once in awhile.  The sun would peak through every once in awhile and really give us a show…..and the water lilies were still blooming!!!!  It was very difficult to leave but we had to be in Paris by around 6 or 7 PM.  So, the drive to the hotel was uneventful and dropping off the bags also ran smoothly.  But taking the car back to the airport worked out to quite an adventure.  I can easily say that there are no signs to tell one where to drop your rental car off……none.  We just guessed at the terminal.  There are 3 absolutely HUGE terminals there miles apart and of course we had to guess which to go to.  WE guessed right with Terminal 2 but could not find the return lot for our rental.  We drove around and around looking and asking people along the way where it was……finally we found a man who spoke English and also knew where the lot was……after about 45 minutes of driving the airport we got it back safely.  Now to find the hotel shuttle to get back to the hotel……….oh no it could not be THHHHAAATTT easy.  WE asked and asked and got…….”that way”!!!!!  We were in the wrong terminal for one thing….after we found that out we asked at “INFORMATION DESK”….one would think that they SHOULD know!!!!  She gave us expliced directions but as we learned, they were completely wrong!!!!!  But we followed signs and just guessed a couple of times and finally ended up at a different terminal (got there by their rail system) and found the bus stop.  Now the wait!!!!  But after about 2 hours or so, we made it safely back to the hotel and FOUND THE BAR!!!!  There we all  met had a couple of deserved drinks and ate dinner using the bar menu (just to tired to go and wait in line at the buffet)!!!  Around 10:00 we went to bed exhausted and ready for tomorrow the day we leave France for good.

WE were up, ate some breakfast and were off to the airport and flights.  No problems (except for the excruciating long lines…….seemed like half the world was flying someplace that day).  The flights were  perfect, no delays and we made it home (with the help of some great neighbors who picked us up at the airport) and were home around 9:00.  So total about 17 hours on the road we were home safe again…..a quick cocktail to wind down, an hour of Breaking Bad (we still have not seen the end yet) and to bed with the wonderful help of Ambien!!!! 

Some interesting observations I made.

1)      The women have some really great fashions there….and dress much more fashionably that we do.

2)      People were INCREDIBLY FRIENDLY.  For example we got lost (no map) in Rouen and an young girl actually guided us back to our parked car.  She walked a quite a ways out of her way to help 4 oldies.  But everyone one was so nice, friendly and warm.  We did not have one nasty situation the entire trip!!!!

3)      Paris is very easy to get around….the metro is very easy….AND IS IN ENGLISH!!!! 

4)      Prices are very high…..you just have to bite the bullet and do it if you want to enjoy the country.

5)      The wine was very very good AND CHEAP.  WE never bought a wine more than 3.50 Euro and most were 2 Euros.  Even beer was relatively cheap too.

6)      People are much more relaxed there than here…..cafes, restaurants are always full….all day and night. 

7)      French drivers are very good……they do not speed or are not nasty out there on the road.  We drove over 1000 miles and never had any problems with arrogant or nasty drivers.

8)      Driving is easy in France…..the roads are very well marked, the speed limits are relative and gas is available often.  WE had a diesel car and it got incredible mileage having to fill up only 3 times and the last simply to top off the car to return it to the rental office.

9)      Food is really good, especially the breakfast pastries.  The dinners were excellent (we did not have a bad one) and the selection of types of food were really good.  Lots and lots of fish and shellfish.  The muscles were the best we all have ever had…..ever.  So we had them several times…even for appetizers.  When you get muscles, they come in a huge pot and you use the lid for the wasted shells.  Cool idea.  The fish were unique to area being ones that I had never had before….and the meat (especially the duck) was just outstanding. But to say that the best  the most famous…..the true French food is their French baguette.  We had it every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner……they were always perfect and of course they are fresh EVERY DAY.  WE want out every morning to a local bakery (there are thousands of them) and bought 1 or 2 for the day.  I must admit that I plan to do the same as long as I don’t get lazy.  WE have a local grocery here 5 minutes away and they have them.  But the couisonts were also outstanding and always warm and fresh.  We had crepes also a few times and they can be eaten anytime with any filling….really cool.  So cool  that I bought a recipe book for making and different fillings.

10)   We often thing that we have the best of everything and the most modern, but they have a lot of things we could definitely copy.  They also have more design oriented items and equipment and utensils.  They just have some great creative ideas for designing things

11)   Lastly I noticed that almost everywhere we went (and we did go almost everywhere) everything was clean, neat and very nice…..they recycle more than we do, they use items of less energy than we do and they definitely are thinking of the effect on the environment more than we do. 

All in all it was a fabulous and incredibly interesting and informative trip.  I strongly recommend this trip to anyone, rookie or experienced traveler….especially Normandy and the WWII history.  It is just incredible what the allies did that year…..1944!!!!!

Day 15

Day 15

Our last full day to roam!!!!!  WE decided to take it slow and easy and just go to the nearby city Bayeux.  It is only 7Km away and is a gorgeous small city.  If you remember we went there a few days ago to see the cathedral and tapestry but did not go downtown.  Sunday is a bad day to go because only a handful of establishments are open for business, but we did find a wonder bakery with all kinds of French pastry and also a really beautiful coffee shop where we stopped for a cup and to relax.  We walked the streets and “window” shopped…..just slowly walking and enjoying the gorgeous sunny day.  Did I mention that no matter where we go we see post cards and all kinds of signs noting that rain is a given fact in Normandy but we have been soooooo lucky that it rained only a few minutes just one day.  Some days have been some clouds but most have been sunny and bright…..nice.

So once back to the car we got our homemade lunch and found a nice park bench to eat the baguette sandwiches and those wonderful French pastries we bought…OMG were they wonderful.  We knew the British cemetery was nearby and it was the only one we had not visited, so off we went.  It was only a little out of town and just like all the others were sooooooo moving.  This time 6,000 British soldiers and sailors are buried.  And like the others it is so well kept and gorgeous. As they say….WE SHALL NEVER FORGET.

Annnddd, next door just down the road is the Normandy museum which covers the invasion and all the battles after to liberate France.

WE stopped thinking, “oh an hour so here” and it turned out to be incredible.  By far the best museum on the war we had seen so far.  I had EVERYTHING.  The bios of all the leaders on both sides, a movie of all the battles to liberate the country, walls and walls describing all the battles, how they were fought and won and in between we saw cabinet after cabinet of how they the soldiers dressed (both sides) and many pieces of equipment including many weapons vehicles, trucks, tanks and even a bulldozer.!!!!!  We ended staying almost 4 hours there!!!!!  It was just soooo interesting.  As one of our friends noted that “it was overwhelming”!!!!

Back home in a few minutes we decided to shop one more time downtown and I found a couple nice gifts for my grand children……and a few more pictures of the beach, the caissons still stranded on the beach and the surrounding town from the low tide points way out to sea.  More great photography.

Now home and we plan one more nice meal downtown to celebrate a wonderful and truly educational trip and to get some more of that wonderful seafood!!!!

Tomorrow we wanted to stop at Govern on the way to the airport but found it is closed on Mondays….so we will plan something.  Then to the airport hotel to overnight and catch our plane home tomorrow. 

IT HAS BEEN A TRULY AN INCREDIBLE TRIP…….GREAT FRIENDS, GREAT FOOD, GREAT SIGHTS AND GREAT WINE!!!!!!

Day 14

Day 14

 

Today we were off to the east and to try to follow both the route de frommage and the route de cidre….which is the route of cheese and the route of cidar.  We followed a website article which named the routes and towns one would pass through.  It was not so much like a wine tour but to just see the country and towns where a lot of the raw materials, like milk and etc.

The towns are SMALLLL AND OOOLLLDDD.  But very beautiful in their simplicity.  We did not get too far after traveling through several villages.  But we did find at one village factory and store and bought a couple types of cheese, camonbert a famous type only found here in this area.  But we bought a couple other cheeses to accompany the camonbert. 

Once done, we decided to go the cider route and followed the road signs through the area.  This was the real treasure.  We came upon one town which on its name sign it was “ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TOWNS IN FRANCE”!!!!  And it was!!!!!  We must have spent almost an hour just walking all round, in front and behind the buildings to take pictures.   It was absolutely gorgeous.  Others must have felt the same because there were a good number of French tourists stopping by too.

WE worked out way home driving through many towns and villages.  All, so old and beautiful buildings.  It was truly a photographers dream……just like the day before at Deaville and Honfleur.

Home, relax and we fixed our own dinner with pasta, sauce and some wonderful salads and wine!!!!

Bed early because we were all tired.

Day 13

Day 13

Today was the eastern part of the Normandy……..First was Deaville and finally Honfleur!!!

Both are about an hour’s drive away and of course no main road does the GPS take us.   But the ride was nice and OMG the weather has been fantastic for us….today it was in the mid 70s and all sun.  So the ride was nice and scenic as usual.  First to describe the area a little.  Around us the land is flat, super flat and all farms and pastures with hedges to block the houses and to divide the properties.  But as we worked our way east the landscape changed to become more hills and rolling farmland.

We reached Deaville around 11:00 and the city is right on the water and quite large for towns on this shore.  But what we noticed the most was the area had very large luxury housing, all along the beach line.  Large gorgeous older style homes that must belong to the wealthy and their second homes, because 90% were boarded up for the winter.  And as we drove we saw very few people…..like the city was abandoned.  But as we got into downtown it became livelier and more city-like.  We parked and walked along the main streets and found a flea market.  It had almost everything from clothing to shoes to gloves to food and wine.  It was fun just walking around.  Deaville is a large city and downtown is not quite on the beach like other towns and cities.  We finished and ate lunch in the local park with our usual sandwiches, cookies and chips.  Then it was off to the one spot we all wanted to visit…….Honfleur. 

This place was just like the travel books say it is…………absolutely beautiful.  Probably the most beautiful town we have visited in both Normandy and Brittany.  It was breathtaking as we drove into downtown  We parked (which was warned to be very difficult) and ran to the water ‘s edge to take photos.  The sun made it even more beautiful.  WE walked to downtown area where all the action was and there was certainly action.  There were people EVERYWHERE.  But the way the town was laid out and next to the water was incredible.  Also it must be noted that the houses and buildings are much different than all others in Normandy.  They were like Netherland buildings….narrow and tall and all next to each other.  Oh Diana and I were in photograph heaven.  We just kept taking photos….IN ALL DIRECTIONS.  WE then spent most of the day just walking around and noting how beautiful and old the buildings looked….they will definitely be part of my year’s calendar.  WE shopped, window viewed, people viewed and just enjoyed the area.  But we did have things to see.  Our first stop was Boudin Museum…..he was the father of Impressionalism…..the style that Monet, Renoir and others took up .  But he was really the first to use it.  We saw many of his works at the museum plus others similar to him.  Then we went to the cathedral…..what a surprise….NOT LIKE ANY OTHER CATHOLIC CHURCH WE HAD EVER SEEN.  It was old and really neat looking.  After all that it was around 4:00 and about time to head home.  WE decided to take the faster route home using the major highways…..which there are not many up here.  Most roads are narrow, windy and made for local traffic.  OUR HIGHWAY…..Route 514 is the road that covers most of the Normandy coast….so we are on it a lot.  WE got home around 5:30 and relaxed…..a big night tonight at our favorite restaurant in town.  We ate there the other night and liked it so much we wanted to eat there again.  WE had reservations for 8:00 so we did a little shopping downtown at a great clothing store prior to going to the restaurant.  Diana bought some stuff while I strolled down to the beach to just wonder at the glory of the sea and beach and town.  Ammoraches is a gorgeous gorgeous little town…..we are so glad we decided to us it as our base of operation.  It is large enough to enjoy but small enough to feel comfortable and the people are soo  great.  To give an example we walk to the bakery every morning to get baguettes for breakfast and lunch.  It is that kind of place.

 As usual the meal was wonderful, the wine and even the aperitifs were great.  AND VERY REASONABLLYPRICED.  We walked home and everyone is in bed right now.

Tomorrow we try the market in Bayeux and maybe drive to see some places we missed so far.  It will be Saturday, so it is more relaxed day.  We have only Sat. and Sun. left before we drive back to Paris.  We want to stop at Giverny on the way to Paris to see Monet’s gardens……

Night all!!!!

Day 12

Today was Mont 'St. Michel day......it is a monastery located in Brittany an area of France just west of Normandy.  It is about 50 miles away from our home base but took us a couple of hours to transverse  across the land because our GPS would not take the main roads.  WE have a Garmin which I call Jane and our French one in the car dash that I call Francois.  Well, they both wanted to take us on the longest most indirect route one could do.  they disagreed a lot but got us there after a tour of every small town in France (it seemed).  WE finally arrived and saw our hotel which was just a mile or so from the famous island.  The hotel is right across from the bus stop that picks people up to take them to the abby and town.  WE ate a delicious lunch we made ahead and headed for the bus and the monastery.  One thing, lets say we would hate to be here in HIGH SEASON because it was very very crowded IN SEPTEMBER......believe it or not, 80% were Japanese!!!! 

WE entered and walked up that famous "street" up to the Abby.  Up, up and up.....stairs and ramps and more stairs up to the abby.  Once there we paid our fee and got the self direct audio sets and set out.  It was quite interesting and to hear about all their different constructions dating back to the 10th century!!!!!!!!

After a great tour we walked down and down again past all kinds of souvenir shops and restaurants back to the entrance and back to the hotel....around 4:00. 

Our original plans was to drive over to a small town about 30 miles away for a very very famous dinner at a Michelin 4 star place but when we looked at the map we saw it would take over an hour....more like 2 hours to get there.  So we called and cancelled and figured we could eat nearby.

We relaxed with our friends over a glass of wine and cheese and decided because we walked so much to just eat in the hotel restaurant.  We wanted to eat outside and the menu was extensive especially guided to seafood.  WE all got the fixed menu which was 5 course meal.  For starters we got what they called "fruit of the sea" or fruit de mer!!!  Which was a HUGE dish of all types of seafood.  It was incredible....so gooooood.  Then we moved on to the entre, then the apple sorbet with calvato, then a huge cheese plate and finally with dessert.  OMG were  they all good.  So we did not feel any guilt missing out on the fancy meal over an hour away. 

We all wanted to see the Mont St. Michel by night, so we grabbed our cameras and went to the best viewing spots for pictures.  Now we are back in our hotel room relaxing and I am finishing up on the blog.

Tomorrow we plan to visit some towns nearby and head back to our headquarters in Ammeraches.

I think was plan to work east to see more towns and cities on the east side of Normandy.....in the days to come.

See ya.

Day 11

 

Today was finishing off WWII!!!

 WE headed west again for about 25 miles to Utah Beach the final big beachhead that was part of the big invasion and was to be the most elaborate museum we have seen.  I drove today for the first time and the car is incredible…..it is a Peugeot 308 SI (I think) and it is HUGE in caparison to the normal European model.  But comfort is a theme.  It has all the modern conveniences.  Perfecto!!!!!!

WE drove to Utah Beach and it truly was the most elaborate.  The museum was absolutely awesome.  It was very large and truly covered all the branches of service involved…..Navy, Army, Air core, Medical care, Engineers……everyone, with vehicles, pictures, movies and even a plane.  IT WAS INCREDIBLE.   It is interesting that the Utah part was very successful and really assisted in the success of operation.

We also watched several movies which told even more details of the operation.  It was great.  Once done we traveled into the nearby town (no idea the name) and ate lunch and  walked around and came upon all kinds of small signs that told unheard of stories of what happened in that particular town during the invasion….it was really cool.   This was the area where the paratroopers landed and all kinds of situations occurred.  Some cool, some cruel.  We wanted to see the town where the famous paratrooper dropped and got caught other church steeple.  We found it and they ACTUALLY HAVE A REPRODUCTION OF THE PARATROOPER HANGING FROM THE CHURCH STEEPLE……cool.   WE walked the town and also read small signs that told unheard of stories of what happened.  It is sooooo cool that one could spend days traveling the area town to town researching the history.  But we had lots to do, so we were off to Bayeux to see the famous tapestries.  It was only a few miles away and we arrived and parked near the place, which happened to be right near the huge Notre Dame of Bayeux.  So we visited the tapestry museum which was really good. ….not at all what I expected.  It is a like 100 foot long tapestry that they made in 1060s to celebrate the victory of William the Conqueror over his brother at Hastings.  It was really interesting and quite informative.  After we walked over to the cathedral and went in…..it was really a nice example of ancient churches.  Back to the car and home……we got home around 5:30 and OOOOOH YEAAA….relaxed with wine, cheese and tonight a delicious hard sausage.  WE sat outside on our picnic table and really enjoyed this wonderful warm and sunny day end.  For dinner we had a wonderful salad with local veggies and chicken we bought cooked.  But dessert was a real treat.  We bought strawberries yesterday and with some cut up apples (from our back yard) and nectarines we enjoyed a wonderful local meal.  Now they are watching FRENCH TV while I type and off to bed soon.  NO ENGLISH TV HERE!!!

Tomorrow we are off to Mont St. Michel the famous monastery west of us.  We plan to stay overnight there so we will have to pack nights worth of clothes.  WE want to get the most out of it plus we have reservations to a 5 STAR restaurant on the water nearby…..for you Anthony Berdain fans, it was on one of his shows.  It will be a real treat to our trip. 

I must say now that we lost our internet about 30 minutes after it was restored and so now I am doing it on WORD and sending it later.  WE, I guess just gave up on it after awhile.  They are just not into the internet like we are. 

I really cannot say much about the local color other than everyone we meet are sooooo nice and 90% speak English.  WE got gas (really diesel) today and every customer at the pumps helped us out getting filled up.  Oh by the way for you gasoline (diesel) fans…the bill was around $70 for alittle

over a half tank to fill!!!!  So be happy you live in the US and have our prices!!!!

One really negative thing is that our cards just do not work here in France….IN MACHINSES.  I have one with the new “chip” but it did not work either, so cash is the main go here!!!!

So maybe tomorrow in our new hotel in Mont St. Michel will have WiFi and I can send these out…..we will see.

Good Night!!!