As we did in 2008, we spent the Holiday season in France this year. This time we explored the north of France in Normandy and Brittany. We left Aber in the pouring rain and drove to Bristol for J&H to get their Siena fix. We had to sneak out in the early morning (6:00!) to make sure there wasn’t a dog-napping.
We drove to Heathrow to pick up my parents from their red-eye from Chicago, headed straight to Folkstone, and boarded the Euro Tunnel. I thought my parents would be excited to have the experience, but they both slept through the entire journey because of jet lag. Once on the other side, we immediately headed west to our cottage in La Manche, Normandy.
On Christmas Day, we stayed in, enjoyed the fire, each other’s company, strange classical music on French radio, and ate a big Christmas ham (with Champagne glaze!) that was brought all the way from Aber.
The weather on Boxing Day was fantastic in the North of France. It was clear and in the low to mid teens (Celsius). Our first sightseeing stop took us to Mont St. Michel at low tide.
The approach to Mont St Michel
The views provided were just as stunning as the photos we had seen. The street was narrow and remarkably crowded for a December morning. After reading that 3.5 million people visit every year, I couldn’t begin to imagine the place during high season.
The abbey itself was quite unusual compared with other abbeys we have been to. No two adjoining rooms had the same floor level. There were always a few or many steps between rooms. Also, the abbey was quite bare; there was not much of an artistic touch in the rooms. I guess that is the result of using the abbey as a prison in its past.
After having a lunch of a galette, we left Mont St Michel and drove into Brittany and the town of St. Malo. IAC and I were hoping to suddenly start seeing Breton on the road signs so we could see how close it was to Welsh, but we apparently didn’t go far enough west. Following the advice of our friend E, we did some shopping in the old town and then joined the rest of people and soaked up the sun on a walk on the old walls. When we were trying to understand the meaning of a French sign saying no dogs (or no dogs on the loose), I walked up on the walls to see if I could see any other dogs up there. Lo and behold, the first dog I see is none other than a Brittany! So we spent the next hour working our way around the town and overlooking the bay.
The next day we drove back east to the town of Bayeux. We started our day with a tour of the tapestry. It’s quite a strange feeling to finally see the 1000 year old piece of cloth that you hear about in middle school and have the year 1066 drilled into your head. Sure, you may think you know what a 70 m long piece of embroidery looks like, but 70 m of hand stitching is quite the feat! The level of detail and the preservation of the colors are truly stunning.
After a wonderful French lunch, we were picked up and taken on a half day tour of the D-Day beaches. Getting in the van, we met another family going on the tour with us; they were from Chicago. Yes, my parents flew 10 hours across an ocean, drove another 7 hours, went under the English Channel and proceeded to get into a van with a family from the suburbs of Chicago.
Our first stop was Pointe du Hoc and the site of a battle of US Rangers trying to neutralize gun positions which could fire upon Utah and Omaha beaches. The interesting thing about Pointe du Hoc is that the French government left the area exactly as it was after the war as a reminder.
Craters at Pointe du Hoc
The point is riddled with the partially filled in craters of the bombing that took place as well as the partially destroyed bunkers. Even the barbed wire has been left. Next, we drove to the west side of Omaha beach (Dog Green), the same section of beach depicted in the film Saving Private Ryan and the deadliest landing point. The tranquility of the beach that day with the sun descending in the west made it hard to imagine the horror of that June morning only 65 years ago.
Leaving the beach we drove to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial where the majority of American WWII who died in Normandy are buried. With its finely manicured lawn and endless rows of white marble crosses, the cemetery serves as a reverent memorial to the US troops who fought in Normandy.
Our last stops on the tour were a view from the east side of Omaha beach where German trenches can still be seen in a French farm field and the gun battery, with another series of ruined bunkers complete with guns lying between Omaha and Gold beaches. We finished the day back in Bayeux with some more fantastic French cuisine. Thank you, France, for letting us bring Siena into your nice restaurants.
Our last two days in France were spent near Calais. As we drove from Normandy we stopped at the cathedral in Rouen and saw the site of the burning of Noah’s wife, Joan of Arc. We also met up with M&T’s family at the Christmas fair in the town of Bethune. Thanks for the wonderful lunch T!
We returned to England and again, my parents slept through the bulk of it. We took a slight detour and stopped to look at the cliffs around Dover before dropping them off back at Heathrow for their return to the US. We had a great time, learned some history, ate fabulous food, met some friends, and spent quality time together as a family.
To an exciting 2012!
