We took the opportunity of a bank holiday weekend to nip across to Normandy, to visit the D-Day beaches and the town Dean’s ancestors come from (the ones who helped to settle Akaroa, New Zealand in 1840). Unfortunately the dismal grey weather followed us there, but no bother, nothing that French food and Normandy cider didn’t fix.
From there it was onto the beaches. We had contemplated joining a guided tour but decided in the end to do travel independently and are glad we did. Given the cold, drizzly day, it was nice to set our own agenda and to travel independently, rather than on a tour. It meant we could get back in the car when it got really cold, and stop for croque monsieur and soup l’oignon when we wanted to. We visited Ste-Mere-Eglise church with its statue of a parachutist hanging from its tower to commemorate the real deal on D-Day; Pointe du Hoc, complete with huge shell craters at the top of a cliff; Omaha Beach; Longues Sur Mer – surviving German gun emplacements; the American cemetery and memorial museum; and Arromanches-les-Bains where we did the Arromanches 360 experience (a film depicting Normandy with a combination of WWII and modern footage). Back in Caen exhausted after waking at 0545 UK time to dock in the ferry, so headed straight for a meal at La Poterne – an excellent three course meal with plenty of Normandy cider to wash it down.
Sunday morning after filling ourselves silly at breakfast we popped to the Sunday market right outside our hotel to pick up supplies for the day, then hit the road on the scenic route to Villedieu les Poeles (literally city of god of the frying pans). The name comes from their association with the Knights of St John (the guys who looked after Malta for a few hundred years who we learnt about in 2008), and their granting of an early tax free haven which encouraged a whole lot of copper work.
The scenic route took us through the back roads of Calvados, passing through some lovely, if wet, countryside. We stopped for a break at Thury Harcourt to check out their ruined moated chateau. Onwards through the rain we passed a number of quaint villages with the final stop being St Cecile just a few miles out of Villedieu, where we spotted some ancestors in the local churchyard.
A short pitstop to check-in and onwards to Mont-St-Michel, a UNESCO world heritage site, and one of the most crowded tourist attractions in France. Worth a visit, it was very crowded on a wet May Sunday, so perhaps avoid during peak times!
Monday we explored the cobbled streets and courtyards of Villedieu, popping into Atelier de Cuivre, the local copper workshop, before getting the last supplies of baguette, pate and quiche Lorraine we hit the road. Finally the sun came out, so along the way we stopped for an impromptu picnic on the sand. 542 km in the car ended in the less charming port town of Cherbourg. Au revoir, a bientot France.
After an excellent overnight Ferry with Brittany Ferries (our own 4-berth cabin complete with ensuite) we docked in Caen, just in time for a breakfast of cafe au lait and croissants before collecting our car.
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| Back streets of Villedieu |
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| Chilling out in style |
From our base in Caen for one night, we visited a few sights, starting with the Bayeux Tapestry: arrived right on opening time and could imagine how packed it would get in the high season. We spent about 90 minutes here, first seeing the tapestry with its excellent audio guide (and spotting the images of King Harold who, according to our guide book, could be picked out in each scene due to his shifty eyes), then visiting the museum and watching a video about the tapestry. Highly recommended way to understand the history of the Battle of Hastings in an 942 year old comic strip. Also stopped into the Bayeux Cathedral, for a change we were the only ones looking around.
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| The view from Pointe du Hoc |
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| A totally preserved German bunker - Longues -sur-mer |
From there it was onto the beaches. We had contemplated joining a guided tour but decided in the end to do travel independently and are glad we did. Given the cold, drizzly day, it was nice to set our own agenda and to travel independently, rather than on a tour. It meant we could get back in the car when it got really cold, and stop for croque monsieur and soup l’oignon when we wanted to. We visited Ste-Mere-Eglise church with its statue of a parachutist hanging from its tower to commemorate the real deal on D-Day; Pointe du Hoc, complete with huge shell craters at the top of a cliff; Omaha Beach; Longues Sur Mer – surviving German gun emplacements; the American cemetery and memorial museum; and Arromanches-les-Bains where we did the Arromanches 360 experience (a film depicting Normandy with a combination of WWII and modern footage). Back in Caen exhausted after waking at 0545 UK time to dock in the ferry, so headed straight for a meal at La Poterne – an excellent three course meal with plenty of Normandy cider to wash it down.
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| Chateau Thury Harcourt |
Sunday morning after filling ourselves silly at breakfast we popped to the Sunday market right outside our hotel to pick up supplies for the day, then hit the road on the scenic route to Villedieu les Poeles (literally city of god of the frying pans). The name comes from their association with the Knights of St John (the guys who looked after Malta for a few hundred years who we learnt about in 2008), and their granting of an early tax free haven which encouraged a whole lot of copper work.
The scenic route took us through the back roads of Calvados, passing through some lovely, if wet, countryside. We stopped for a break at Thury Harcourt to check out their ruined moated chateau. Onwards through the rain we passed a number of quaint villages with the final stop being St Cecile just a few miles out of Villedieu, where we spotted some ancestors in the local churchyard.
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| The Mont |
A short pitstop to check-in and onwards to Mont-St-Michel, a UNESCO world heritage site, and one of the most crowded tourist attractions in France. Worth a visit, it was very crowded on a wet May Sunday, so perhaps avoid during peak times!
Our hotel Le Fruitier doubled as the best restaurant in town, so after discussing the French election with some locals in a bar we tucked into a cracking €27 menu.
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| Our little beach picnic with the locals |
Monday we explored the cobbled streets and courtyards of Villedieu, popping into Atelier de Cuivre, the local copper workshop, before getting the last supplies of baguette, pate and quiche Lorraine we hit the road. Finally the sun came out, so along the way we stopped for an impromptu picnic on the sand. 542 km in the car ended in the less charming port town of Cherbourg. Au revoir, a bientot France.
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| The Bell Foundry - Villedieu |
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