Wednesday 20 October 2010

Normandie in the rain!

Some weekends ago, we went to Normandie. Although we had been there years ago, Thom was only 3 years old by that time,  it was Thom who asked us to go there to visit the museums and to see all the battlefields much more conscient than when he was 3!
And thus, we went, on a rainy Friday morning, hoping for the best...

Our first stop was le Mont Saint Michel (for more info: Mont Saint Michel). It's a beautiful place, it even got a bit spooky with the rain, the dark grey sky and the strong wind.
Later I saw a placemat somewhere in a shop that stated: 'it only rains twice a week in Normandy, one time for 3 days and one time for 4 days'...

We saw 4 (!) musea at Le Mont Saint Michel in those few hours we spent there (a way to stay a bit dry!) and of course we visited the abbey on the top. In the pouring rain we drove back to Caen where we booked our hotel. Were we ready for a hot shower, a comfy hotelroom and a delicious meal... (Ivan Vautier)


A good night rest & a wonderful breakfast do wonders... Saturday morning we were all ready to go again, we even spotted a bit of sunlight between the clouds. First we went to the Memorial de Caen, very impressive! We spent 4 hours there... not even noticing the time! And then we picked up Senna from the hotel and drove along the coast via Ouistreham down until the Point de Hoc, it got rainier, windier & darker the more south we got...
I really like to show some pictures, but the light was not too good as you can imagine. Anyway, here are some:









After a long day re-living the 2nd World War, we were truly exhausted and instead of opting for another pretentious meal in our hotel, we had a quick 'poulet rôti & pommes frites' somewhere in Bayeux.
By the way, did you know that the French are very welcoming to dogs? Senna was allowed in the hotel (even in the restaurant) as well as in many of the musea we visited.
She definitely enjoyed her day at the beaches:



The next morning, we planned to drive via the coast up north, to Deauville and Trouville. But before arriving there, we passed a very nice seaside town called Cabourg. We all liked it, it was time for coffee, so we got out of the car and strolled around the little town with its market, its brocante and its charming cafes.
We did continue to Deauville, but as it started raining again, we decided to drive back to Versailles where it was gorgeous weather according to Méteo France. And it was!

So we enjoyed the rest of the Sunday afternoon in our own garden with sunshine, coffee & macarons!

Enjoy the week!!
Bisous!
P.S. It might be rather quiet here the coming weeks:
we have a lot of friends coming over to visit us & a week of school holidays too (Toussaint)!!

  

5 comments:

Madelief said...

Hoi Chantal,

Wat een mooie indrukwekkende uitstap hebben jullie gemaakt. Wij zijn vorig jaar naar hetzelfde gedeelte van Normandie geweest. Jammergenoeg is het ons niet gelukt om in de buurt van de invasiestranden & Arromanches te komen. Wij zijn blijven hangen bij Deauville & Trouville. Wellicht volgend jaar, dan willen wij na een weekje Parijs, weer richting Normandie gaan. Ik ben nog op zoek naar geschikte vakantiewoningen. Het valt niet mee! Veel ziet er ongezellig/armoedig uit. Wanneer je soms een goede suggestie hebt houd ik mij aanbevolen.

Een fijne vakantieweek & veel plezier met jullie vrienden!

Lieve groet, Madelief

C@by said...

Wat is normandie toch mooi he ook als het regent, hopelijk heb je een leuke avond gehad met je gasten, zag dat je weer wat gepost had, ik blijf je natuurlijk volgen haha...

fijne avond
Kus caab

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Chantal,

Châpeau for Thom; or hats off to Thom as they say here! What a remarkable young man he is for wanting to see Normandy back to live it more conscious this time... Thanks to all of you for honoring the brave men that lost their lives even before they could start liberating France and later Belgium and The Netherlands, your and our birth country.
They too had to deal with rough weather so this trip made it only more realistic for Thom to 'imagine' how it must have been...
Oh, I love Mont Saint Michel! That is one of the highlights at the French pavilion in Orlando, Florida... That is a showcase of the world. They play great music of the French composers and show Mont Michel as one of the highlights. After the very first time we went there with friends or family, I went to the French guy who did the presentation and asked him about the music. He smiled almost till his ears and came back with a printed out listing of ALL pieces played that half hour or so. Since then we hunted down most all of them. Now you know that I do have a soft spot for France in my heart as well... But you're on that side and are able to live it; enjoy - also on my behalf please!

Thanks for this blog, never mind the clouds and the rain! Enjoy your friends as well, I too understand that aspect as we just have hosted for 3 weeks dear friends; while Pieter had his quadruple bypass done... Everything is possible!
By the way, yes, I am American citizen for almost 17 years now on December 3rd... Am proud of both my Dutch background and of the new title!

Sunny greetings from Georgia/USA

MariettesBacktoBasics

Hillary said...

Sounds like a good trip to Normany. My brother was there about a week before you were. It's so nice you can bring your dog eveywhere. I'm sure he was happy to be with his family too. Hope you enjoyed you macarons. My brother brought me some from France..so delicious!

Kom Achterom said...

Wat een prachtige tuinen zijn dat hé van monet!! Ik kan alleen maar van je prachtige foto's genieten!! Leuk dat je even bij me aan kwam waaien. Wat is Frankrijk toch mooi!
Ik wens je nog vele fijne dagen
Yolanda

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