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!!!!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
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 10th 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 9th
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.
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.
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!!!!
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