Trip Report/Photos: Paris, Brittany, Normandy (65th anniversary of D-Day)

Your photographs are absolutely stunning! I loved them. Please continue with the story!

I absolutely love your pictures, and am so looking forward to the rest of your report!

Beautiful pictures. What camera do you use?

Friends stayed at Hotel des Grand Hommes several years ago on their honeymoon and really liked it. Another friend is currently asking me for recs for a Paris trip he is taking with his mother next spring. I think I might tell him about this hotel. Do you recall which room(s) you were in?

You have such a great eye for taking photos. Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

Your photos are amazing! They make me want to go back just to take better pictures. I'm always so busy gawking and aaahhhing that I don't pay enough attention to details as you clearly have done. Beautiful! Thank you! Can't wait for the rest of your report.

Hi,

Thank you for the compliments - glad you like my photos!

Leely, I have a Canon 30D but more importantly a nice lens - the Canon 24-105 F4L. I don't recall the room numbers, I'm sorry! I can tell you they did not face the front street (Pantheon). I would definitely recommend this hotel. The rooms are well appointed, with a good sized and modern bathrooms (not massive bathrooms but quite acceptable in size - you're not stepping over the bidet in other words, haha). I didn't take photos of the rooms, alas, but I think you can find them on the website. You also cannot beat the location. You do have a little bit of a hill to descend/climb if you are walking towards Notre Dame, so if his mother has difficulties walking that may be a consideration but the metro is just down Rue Soufflot towards Luxembourg Gardens, not too far. My Dad has knee issues as I mentioned and had no problems getting around whatsoever so it's not a dreadful climb - just a hill.

I'm actually heading out the door soon to cheer on several friends for the Marine Corps Marathon today, so I will post more of the TR later. Thank you so much for reading and I am pleased to hear you like my photos.

I just want to put a marker down here so I can read the rest of your trip report, flygirl. You're off to a great start, and the photos are stunning.

By the way, there is something about taking a parent on a trip that strikes a particular chord with me. You pretty much had me hooked right there.

Anselm

love the photos... can't wait to get back to read more.

thanks for sharing.

Flygirl, it's not the camera and lens! Though they may help, it's your eye for details and angles, the ability to see the essential picture and cut out extraneous pieces, and making the best use of the controls that your camera has. Keep snapping that shutter.

Also continue the story! thanks!

Anselm, I spent some time this afternoon admiring your own photos! I see you had a trip to visit the WWI battlefields - in November I will be in Belgium and at least will make my way to Ieper.

I had been discussing this trip with my Dad for some time. He is a history buff but primarily the Civil War - and a voracious reader he is. I'm not exaggerating when I say he could teach college classes in the subject and you should see his Civil War library at home. He visits the various battlefields regularly (they live in PA so it's a nice weekend trip) and I wanted to show him some of the WWII battlefields as I knew it would spark his interest greatly. I'm also very aware that time passes too quickly. Both of my parents are late 60s - chipper and in good health (despite his challenges, he gets around very well) and I simply don't want to wake up in 5-10 years and realize the window for traveling with them has closed. Carpe Diem, and "someday is NOW".

surfmom and irishface, thank you, you are too kind. irishface, I appreciate the encouragement! Photography is turning into quite the hobby for me.

Here is the next installment:

After three nights in Paris, we took the 9 AM TGV to Tours and picked up a car upon arrival. Before our trip, I lent my Dad my copy of the book, "Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure" and as a result he wanted to see some vineyards on this trip. Perhaps you may have read my threads in the Spring regarding the possibility of visiting Reims, which actually did figure into that book. I do wish we had more time on this trip as I think a visit to Reims would have rounded out the WWII theme - not to mention the champagne!

At any rate, once the plans coalesced I decided upon the Loire because you aren't going to find many vineyards in Brittany or Normandy and using the TGV made the Loire to Brittany drive reachable in a day. We drove along the Loire on our way to Saumur. We stopped for a brief visit in Candes St. Martin on the way. Take note: you won't find a meal in Candes St. Martin, apparently the only restaurant has closed and our wander around the little village didn't unearth anything else. We then drove on and finally found a small nondescript place on the river where we were promptly ignored - and I have to say in all my many visits to France I've never had that happen before. The food was unremarkable to boot, ah well. As our "quick lunch" took so very long (40 mins wait even before we were asked our meal preference) we unfortunately couldn't tarry too long in Saumur as we still had to drive to Fougeres. We did stop at one winery named "Domaine de la Bessiere" and enjoyed a tasting. We bought 3 bottles - the one that was supposed to go home to Mom was unfortunately left in the trunk of the rental car but the other two were enjoyed at the Chilcott's B&B in Normandy. After a very quick photo-op stop at the chateau in Saumur we were on our way again. If I could have a do-over I'd have dropped Candes St. Martin and headed straight to Saumur and after a few wineries would have had lunch and actually visited the chateau.

We pressed on and reached our destination for the next two nights near Fougeres, a B&B which is just outside of a tiny little village called Landean. This B&B was recommended by Coquelicot here on Fodors and I'm so glad she directed us to it! My Dad loved the place and dearly wants to take Mom on a visit there sometime soon. Below is the link to the B&B and you'll see the owner (Paul Renault) is quite a good photographer. He even showed us the personal books he made showing the various butterflies and moths which frequent his elaborate gardens. His books not only had beautiful photos but quite a bit of information about the entomology of the bugs - you could tell he used to be a school teacher. I booked the "suite" which had two bedrooms with a shared bathroom. The breakfast featured their own homemade jams (cinnamon-pumpkin: TO DIE FOR) and he made crepes for us as well.

Their home was a little "off the beaten path" and took a little bit of sleuthing to find the first time. For this trip I bought the Pudlo guide for Brittany and Normandy. As luck would have it, for all that this village was so tiny, it actually had a Pudlo's pick. The owner recommended it even before I consulted Pudlo and I was happy to find a reference for it. I can recommend taking Pudlo on a trip to Brittany with you. It's not only small and easily packed, I can vouch from personal experience that researching restaurant options ahead of time is advisable as my last trip to Brittany in 2004 saw me living on crepes and salads because I mostly relied on what was in walking distance in the little towns I visited. The link:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/la-perouse-du-mitan/accomodation-bretagne-home.htm

to be continued...

Thanks, flygirl. My interest is WWI (or the Great War, as it was referred to in my house), hence the photos from various places along the Western Front. I am planning a return visit to the Meuse-Argonne area to look at the places where the American Expeditionary Forces fought in September-November 1918.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report ...

AA

Thank you Anselm! When are you going to the Meuse-Argonne?

I will put up the next installment tomorrow.. a glass of wine and dinner are in my evening plans...

Great trip report and stunning pictures, Flygirl! It does indeed look like we both traveled on a similar itinerary. The Hotel Saint Jacques must be right down the street from the Hotel des Grands Hommes. Looking forward to reading more.

What a great report and pictures! Very nice!

Thanks Rumseydog and Davis!

I wonder if your hotel was next door to the Grands Hommes. That name rings a bell.

My update will have to wait until this evening - I didn't get up early enough to write the next installment this morning.

Wednesday morning dawned bright and sunny. In fact, from notes to friends home I said:

The weather has been simply perfect, if having a very intense sun - very little clouds! No humidity and a good breeze and the first few days was mid 70s - I think Monday must have been 80. Here in Brittany the sun seems even more intense for some reason. In fact, for all that we were wandering all over from Saturday to Monday in Paris, I was fine.. yesterday we spent much of the day in the car and I got the first sunburn I've had in years, just on my upper left arm, from driving! I had sunscreen on but missed the bicep I guess. Odd.

We had only one spit of rain on the whole trip, and that was on June 6 in the afternoon. You will know how lucky we were if you've visited Normandy before.

Paul (the owner) pulled out a map to show us how to find a laundromat in town. It was a full service dry cleaner in the Carrefour and they did our laundry (to the tune of 45 euros). I dropped it off with a promise that it would be done in 24 hours as we were off to Normandy the next morning. Quick tip: If you can find a Carrefour, there is a good chance it will have a dry cleaner/full service laundry there. Not cheap, but better than sitting around waiting for your laundry on vacation.

We then took off for Mont St. Michel. I especially wanted Dad to see this. Given that this is one of the top ten of tourist attractions in France I suppose I don't need to go into its history or explain what it is! On our way there we overshot a main turnoff by about a mile so instead of backtracking we reviewed the atlas and decided to take a one lane country road to get us back on track. I didn't post the photos (I tried to edit, really I did!) but it was a pleasant diversion with a tiny little village and church where we stopped briefly on our way. I rather like that we did this diversion because instead of taking us into Pontorson and then straight up, we ended up driving on a road that approached MSM from a different direction and got a much, much better view (and I did post those photos!).

The view from this road (and I can look it up and post it later if you like but it's quite easy to find, being the closest road to MSM that is not going directly straight into but rather parallels the bay behind it) is incomparable and I have to again state how perfect the weather was. Full sun but no humidity and on the cool side with a light breeze. An absolutely perfect morning to wander around gazing at one of the wonders of France. You can see the cows are enjoying their meal and my understanding is that the mutton from the sheep who graze here is a delicacy given how salty their diet is from the tides.

We made our way in and spent the next few hours climbing up and up and wandering around Mont St. Michel. My Dad, as you can imagine, was utterly awestruck. He was like a little kid peering into every crevice and looking over every view and dropoff. As you can see from some of my photos, you are QUITE high up when you reach the top! Take a look at the photo of the guy wandering around in the sands below - he looks like an ant.

and now I realize the time and have to update yet again later....

After a few hours at Mont St. Michel we left to find something to eat. Paul had mentioned looking for a meal in Pontorson on our way home and we realized we were pushing it, timewise. Many places will close in France at 2 PM or so until dinner. I didn't want to chance it (especially with my Dad's diabetes) so we picked the first roundabout into town and parked and wandered a short time. We found a bar which had outdoor seating (and umbrellas! really important with that sun) and had a seat. After a meal and a glass of wine we meandered back to the B&B.

That evening our host gave us another meal recommendation. It was a cheerfully decorated (I remember a lot of purple and even some gold) bar au vin in Fougeres called Terre Happy and we had an excellent meal there with a few glasses of wine each. Here is their brief blog below. Terre Happy is the French pronunciation of the word therapy, by the way!

http://terrehappy20.blogspot.com/

This wine bar is a close walk to the St. Leonard Church, which looks down (and practically across – that is how large it is) to the Chateau de Fougeres. This medieval fortified castle was the main reason I chose this town for a brief visit and a base for Mont St. Michel and we both wanted to walk its ramparts at dusk. On our walk, we saw that St. Leonard's has a large public garden which was already closed. It is a treat to finish dinner when it's full sunlight and after 9 PM - I could get used to that. Nonetheless it was a shame the garden was closed as you'd have quite a good vantage point to see the castle. Dad and I wandered through the quiet center of town on our way down the hill to the based of the fortress and happened across a man just coming home from errands. My Dad has never met a person he doesn’t want to talk to, so we spent some time chatting with him. My Dad is a real charmer! We even got invited to come in for a drink (this was very near the guy’s house – his wife joined us briefly too) but since dusk was rapidly approaching and we still wanted to walk down the hill to the castle we reluctantly said our goodbyes. Had it not been our last night in town we would have had a different ending to the evening – how often do you have locals invite you in for a drink?

We continued our walk down the hill (and one of my favorite photos from the trip is of my Dad, walking ahead of me down the hill – I posted it) and eventually made it to the ramparts where we walked along the top and peered down the side – a dizzying view and a long drop. I’m glad we made Fougeres our base and wish we had more time there because in my research we had so many options for nearby villages to visit.

To be continued..

I'm following this with interest. I really admire your photos.
Would you be the official photographer on our next trip?

Glad you liked the the Landean B&B. Was there much in bloom when you were there? I remember the owners fondly, and their little fox.

I'm hoping your next installment will include a meal at the Pudlo pick in Landean,since we didn't get to eat there.

Thanks Coquelicot! I was hoping you'd come across this - thank you so much for your recommendation of the B&B.

I didn't see a fox - was he a pet?

I was going to put the restaurant details at the very end of the report (for maybe the first and probably the last time I paid actual attention to not only ALL of the restaurant names but even in many cases what I spent). I can say though that it was Au Sellier, right there in Landean (tiny village that it is) but I don't remember what we had - just that it was excellent food and well deserving of Pudlo's attention. I really should take photos of dinners, at least (naff though it may be) because I always enjoy good meals but rarely take notes or remember exactly what is was that I ate (unless of course it was superlative or a special meal). I'm usually pretty simple to please with food.

flygirl, I just looked again at your photos, lingering a bit over the military cemeteries. You illustrate beautifully the differences between the German cemeteries and those of the Allies. I find both quite haunting. (I was delighted, too, to see Canadian headstones, with our maple leaf carved into the stone.)

Missed your earlier question about the Meuse-Argonne trip: spring or fall of next year.

AA

Flygirl, I'm talking about the wise-looking stuffed fox in the dining room.

I can't take photos of restaurant meals either and wish I could because they are works of art. Maybe in a tourist restaurant a person could get away with it, but if you're surrounded by French diners, you'd feel really foolish. I do take photos of patisserie cases, though--with permission.

Anselm, thank you so much. The German cemetery was a somber and almost eerie place, for all that it was a bright and sunny day. Imagine seeing those black basalt statues, hight on the hill, on a stormy evening... I find that the Commonwealth cemeteries are the most approachable and much like an English garden - flowers growing around every grave. I've also been to some English war cemeteries but not on this trip, for all that the British cemetery in Bayeux was walking distance from the Chilcotts. The Commonwealth ones are similar to each other.

La Cambe (German cemetery) seems to say in a guttural voice "don't MESS with me", even in death and defeat: all those black crosses and precise lines. In their own way, the Allied cemeteries likewise seem to say "don't MESS with me (we have triumphed)" but it's a much more uplifting message to see white crosses in their own precise lines and of course the setting is stunning. With one you get the message of the prince of darkness and with the other uplifting bands of angels. I wonder whose idea it was to use the black basalt for the crosses and statues (i.e. who designed that cemetery there on French soil...).

Have a great time on your trip, I will watch your reports.

Coquelicot, we didn't make it into the formal dining room. I don't recall a fox in the breakfast room! We took a number of photos of the B&Bs but I didn't post them (I did try to edit, really I did) but I can start a new set and post B&B photos here later. I have a funny story about taking photos of food though. On my first visit to Monte Carlo with friends, we wore evening clothes per the dress code. My friend Glenn was much more of a camera-head than I was, back then, and he had to lug his camera along. I don't recall what he did with it during our meander through the casino but afterwards we sat outside - a beautiful evening. Glasses of wine all around and he ordered dessert. Well this sundae was no ordinary sundae, with streamers and sparkly things on it. You guessed it, the big camera came out of hiding (and this was in the film days when the portable flash option was the big one you put on a hot shoe - not built in to the camera) and he went into full pro mode with close up shots of the sundae and everything. SIGH. So much for being cool cats slinking through Monte Carlo. He may as well have had a baseball cap on. HAHAHA

Hi everyone

Anselm gave me a good idea.

I tagged the three military cemeteries and here is the slideshow of only those three cemeteries. This will show you directly the contrast.

The slideshow isn't in chron order, for some reason, so they are a little out of order but you can get the idea.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/tags/militarycemetery/show/

I'm back everyone, sorry it has taken so long for an update. Most of my "home project time" has been making a Blurb photo book of the trip for Dad, for Xmas. I have to get it finished and sent to Blurb for printing before I leave for Belgium. If you've never heard of Blurb, check them out at www.blurb.com. I used them for the large-format photo book of my BMW Euro-delivery last summer and the book turned out beautifully. I'm using the 10x13 format which works very well especially when you want to highlight the best photos from the trip with a full page.

We left Thursday mid-morning for the Chilcott's B&B near Bayeux. Earlier that morning I decided to let Dad spend some time wandering around the Renault's gardens and talking with the owners and so I drove into town alone to walk around the chateau. It was, again, a beautiful morning, crisp, sunny and cool. In addition to walking around the base of the castle I also went back to the public garden in the upper part of town to view the castle "down below". It's such a huge castle you do not feel as if you are looking down very far!

I had the Pudlo guide out and decided that we'd stop for lunch in Vire at the restaurant Au Vrai Normand. I really think carrying the Pudlos along is a good idea. When you are on the road, good luck trying to find a place on your own that will have reliably good food. Don't ask me what we had, the fact that I even remembered to write down the restaurant names on this trip is a triumph! I can just tell you that we enjoyed the meal and Pudlo gave it good marks. They actually have a website: http://www.au-vrai-normand.com/

We continued on and decided that we would do some touring before heading to the B&B. We made a beeline to Caen. I had not yet visited Le Mémorial de Caen but I knew Dad would enjoy the museum. I was right. This museum is billed as the "best WWII Museum in France" and I'd say it lives up to that hype. Your ticket is actually a 24 hour pass (we showed up in the mid afternoon, not sure if that is why it was a longer pass) and if you are staying in Caen it would not be a bad idea to take the museum in chunks over the time allotted because there is a lot to see. We were staying near Bayeux and had limited time so we spent almost 3 hours there all in one go.

After we left, we pulled out the map and decided to meander back roads to the beaches. I also really wanted him to see Arromanches and the Mulberries as well as the 360 degree movie theater high on the bluff above the beaches. I've seen this film 3 times now and it's one of the most interesting D-Day documentaries I've seen. As it is 360 degrees, you get that dizzy sensation that you are part of the action on the boats crossing the channel! This film was made for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Here is the website: http://www.arromanches360.com/eng/index.php After the movie we walked up and down the top of the cliff, peering over the edge. You can see in the photos the people riding horseback on the beach. You can also see Arromanches village down below. We didn't head down into the village that evening because we wanted to get to the B&B and also eat dinner. As it happened we didn't make it back to the little village which is a shame because on my last visit, five years ago, I did visit there with new friends I made at the Chilcott's home. Arromanches has quite a party there in the days surrounding the anniversary of D-Day.

After visiting Arromanches we continued along our meandering way to the Chilcotts.

to be continued...

As always another great report and the time spent with your Dad will always remain a special memory.

I think you just created a new Francophile!!

Avalon

I really did create a new Francophile! Dad absolutely loved the trip and really enjoyed meeting people there.

Lovely report,and your photos are sensational. I was in Brittany last year for 2 weeks, and Normandy for 2 weeks the year before that, and reading your report makes me want to go back. Sounds like you had a wonderful time with your Dad. Great memories for both of you.

Wow, Beth, you really are getting to be very good at this photography thing! Excellent photos.

Sue and Grassshopper, thanks so much! My Dad kept saying "he wouldn't have changed a thing about the trip" whereas I kept fretting that we didn't have enough time, or I wish he could have seen this, etc. We really didn't have enough time but this wasn't meant to be the last trip to France but rather something to give him to look forward to the next time.

I've had an exhausting last few days at work so I don't have a new update yet, but, I did sort the B&B photos and as soon as I write about our visit with the Chilcotts I'll post that set. It's no secret that I love visiting the Chilcotts (third stay in their "Manoir des Doyens" there in St. Loup Hors) and this part of the trip was a lot of fun - a lot of cameraderie. They are a people-magnet.