May 14, 2013 - Dior and cooking pots

Picorette was such a wonderful restaurant that we decided it was worth a trip back to Granville so we could enjoy it again. Our other motive for returning was to visit Les Rhumbes, the childhood home of Christian Dior. It is now a museum and was featuring an exhibit that blended with the Impressionist Festival that is currently on in Normandy. There were displays of Dior dresses from the 1940s right up to today. Some of them were incredibly beautiful-works of art in their own right. The gardens surrounding the house were designed by Dior’s...

May 12, 2013 - Cherbourg

Today, we drove to Cherbourg. Being Sunday, unlike North America, almost everything was closed. We did wander down a few streets to look in shop windows, and managed to find a resto that was open, so we were able to have a coffee. It was a quiet, rainy, windy and chilly day.

May 11, 2013 - Plages du débarquement and tapestry

Our guide today was Vanessa, who we met in Bayeux. She took us to several WWII sites-Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, the artificial harbour in Arromanches, Juno Beach and Centre, and the Canadian cemetery in Courseulles-sur-Mer. There were five sectors involved in the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944-Utah and Omaha (American), Gold and Sword (British) and Juno (Canadian). I was amazed at the organization that this operation involved-timing down to the minute was planned. 1. Pointe du Hoc-located...

May 10, 2013 - Granville

We met our wonderful guide, Christophe Gosselin at Pointe du Roc in Granville. He took us on a walking tour of the city, which was founded in the 12th century. We visited the church, Notre-Dame du Cap Lihou, that was built in the 13th century. It had later additions, and the difference in architecture between parts of the church is quite noticeable. The town is also home to Christian Dior. There is a museum in his family home, but we didn’t get a chance to visit. We had lunch at the most marvelous restaurant, Picorette....

May 10, 2013 - le Mont St Michel

After lunch we continued our drive down the coast to Mont St Michel. This monument is a world heritage site and probably one of the most photographed sites in France. Building was begun in 708 after Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches (a nearby town) had 3 dreams in which St Michael appeared to him. It is built on a rock that is situated on a flat plain, that would be completely surrounded by water when the tide came in. There is a causeway to the island now, so access is not limited to walking out at low tide. The sand is very dangerous –...

May 9, 2013 - Montchaton and area

The rooster crows at dawn, and apparently for at least another 3 hours. The one in our village is very persistent, still squawking in the afternoon. With shops closed yesterday for the VE Day holiday, we had no groceries with which to make breakfast, so we made a trip into Coutances to see what we could find. We had brunch at a nice restaurant and then headed out to the shops. They were all closed, and not just for the lunch hour. It is typical for stores to close between about noon and 2 PM. We discovered that it is the national religious...

May 8, 2013 - London to Montchaton

We took the Eurostar to Paris this morning. This was a great way to travel. Board the train, have breakfast and a short nap, then wake up in Paris. May 8 is a holiday here (VE Day) so we had to pick up the car in Paris, as the smaller locations were closed. Graham has one more to cross off his bucket list, if it was even on the list-driving in Paris. There was a large market set up just outside Gare du Nord, and it was in the process of closing when we were trying to leave. It took an hour to go 2 km. This section of town seems largely...

Nov 8, 2012 - Remembering D-Day

Our guide was Anne Marie and our bus driver, Benny, looked like Chef Robert Irvine from the Food Network.Today was a bus trip to the beaches of Normandy. We drove from Rouen to Caen passed Juno Beach where the Canadians came ashore. 924 soldiers were killed on this 3 mile stretch of beach.Went to Gold Beach in Arromanches where 30,000 British came ashore. This stretch of beach is 6 miles and here we could see some of the remains of the mulberries used to establish the port that was built to bring in supplies. We visited the D-Day Museum...

Sep 16, 2012 - Loire Valley, continued.....

We take Oliver's ( our host) recommendation for dinner and eat at Auberge de Launay. The restaurant is just perfect and the food was the best we had. I didn't think it could get any better! We like to order food from the region - I started with melon soup then had pork shoulder with mashed eggplant for the main course, followed by a cheeseboard, which had about 10 varieties to choose from- you pick and they serve you a slice from each. We used the cheese as a palet cleanser! Of course we had dessert. I had green figs w/ raspberry sorbet and...

Sep 15, 2012 - Arriving at Mont Saint Michele

We have our first situation of the trip. Tired and hungry (we didn't eat lunch and that is becoming a pattern we have to break) we don't know exactly where the hotel is located. Our original hotel, Le Mere Poulard, located on the Mont emailed me to say there was an error with our booking and they could no longer accommodate us. They booked us instead at Relais Saint Michel Hotel (which is the last hotel at the foot, closest to the Mont). Not knowing exactly where we are going we find ourselves on a road for "authorized vehicles" only. I...

Sep 15, 2012 - The Abbey and Leaving Normandy for the Loire Valley

Saturday15/9 Neither one of us slept well so getting up and out early was not a problem. Finally, the weather is nice, the sun is out and no rain in sight. On the shuttle, we are back at MSM, in line to enter at 9:30, when the doors open. Because today is jour de patrimoine it's a free day ( usually cost 9€ - audioguide was 4.50€). The history of MSM dates back to 708 when Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, had a sanctuary built on Mount Tombe in honor of the archangel. The Mont became a major focus of pilgrimage. In the 10th century, the...

Sep 13, 2012 - Friday - 14/9 D-Day Beaches

Friday, 14/9 Another great night sleep - short night! Rise and shine up at 7:30 we get ready for breakfast. I can't wait to see what the table setting looks like as this place is so beautifully decorated. Other people in the house with us include people from Va and SC (I think are parents traveling with their married kids) arrived after us and will follow us to Mont St Michele. Breakfast was the typical European breakfast consisting of meat, cheese, yogurt and cereal. Choice of coffee (rather strong coffee, tea or hot chocolate). The dining...