irishface

Thanks for continuing. I have enjoyed your report! You are so right about the American cemetery! It is very moving. When I was there, some German speaking tourists were also there and laughing, carrying on as if it were a party. I wanted to paste them one, but knew that I would not come out of that in one piece.

annhig

irishface - my experience with german guests was very different - watching my pen friend's father crying in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral was very moving.

2010

<<It's a moving experience to be on these hallowed grounds ... It gives a new meaning to Memorial Day.>>

I agree. I felt the same as you after visiting the Normandy sites & the Vimy Memorial in the Somme. It was a powerful, moving experience - one that I will always carry with me.

I am reliving my own time in Normandy through your stories and I am looking forward to more!

chutney

Modeen14
I think we were there early enough (10ish) that we found parking without much trouble. My recollection is that you go down a small hill and merge into a one lane (each way) road. You see the harbor. We took the first entrance into the parking area. A big lot that runs along the harbor.
Why we go back, someday, I want to spend a couple nights in Honfleur. I think it would be more enjoyable, but is doable for a one day visit. The harbor/marina area is lovely. Picture perfect, as they say..

joannyc

Modeen14,

There is also a parking lot to the right of the Best Western on the harbor. If you are looking straight on at the BW it would be around the right corner of the hotel on the other side of the street.

apersuader65

bookmarking

irishface

Annhig, thank you for reminding me that every national group has a few tourists who do not make their compatriots proud and that most tourists are decent sorts.

Your comment about your friend's father weeping at Coventry reminds me of my father who wept in Cologne and remarked that he was so glad that the cathedral there was spared bombing. He was in the airforce and had bombed several places that made him weep as he and my mom toured Germany with Dutch friends.

annhig

irish - thank you for taking my remark that way - i thought afterwards that I could perhaps have expressed myself with more tact. It's interesting that we have both had similar experiences with the same generation of soldiers, albeit they were on different sides.

Coventry [where I grew up] is twinned with Dresden so it has always been very hot on peace and reconcilliation, and I was really thrilled to be able to go to Dresden a few years ago and see how the Frauenkirche has been rebuilt.

chutney

Well, this is frustrating. I submitted an entire post last night on my iPad but it's not here. I will have to try again tomorrow

Modeen14

Thanks for the parking info, chutney and joannyc. We're anxious to visit the area and explore Honfleur.

Sorry the posting didn't work, chutney. I'm anxious for more of your report. We are staying in Dinan too, so looking forward to what you have to say about that area.

irishface

Chutney, I am enjoying your report and feel your frustration at having it disappear! Hope you can reconstruct it to share with us.

live42day

Thank you for your great report. We are hoping to visit this area in October so it is very timely for us.

chutney

Sorry for the delay. Busy week at work and I just gave my husband a Ragdoll cat for his birthday. We also have 3 Cavaliers, so it's been a bit crazy around here!
I'm going to get on the. Mac today and finish this report.

TDudette

I too just found this, chutney. Late DH and I didn't get to Honfleur so I'm happy to read info about it.

Sorry about you losing part of your TR--why do machines eat our work? More as soon as you quit petting that cat!

chutney

Yes, it's hard to stop petting the cat! She is absolutely beautiful. We formally introduced her today to the gang and it went much better than anticipated.

Well, back to the car parked on the hill. We still laugh about it today. We have always gotten manual transmition rental cars and never had an issue before, but my husband said it was operator incompetence! Early on in our week in Port en Bessin, we had come back from sightseeing and found the town packed with people. Our spot in fron of our apartment was gone. We drove up a road that took us to a bluff overlooking the town, the channel and the entrance to the harbor. Spectacluar view! It also provided a great view of the German pillbox tucked in the cliffs.

My husband parked the car along the bluff where other cars had parked. The problem was that there really was no guard rail. The only thing separating us from crashing down the hill was a large thicket of trees. Everytime my husband tried to push on the gas to back up, the car lurched forward. I saw my life flash before my eyes! At one point, I even tried getting in front of the car and pushing but that didn't do a thing. My husband should shook his head at me and said to get back in. We kept inching closer and closer. I finally jumped out and refused to get back in! My DH teases me to this day that I was going to just let him go over by himself! I guess I wasn't able to fight the primal urge to survive!

On our last day, we walked the sea wall and went into Bayeux to see the Tapestry, which I have already discussed. For dinner that night, we went in to Bayeux to a place called L'Alchimie which was recommended by Trip Advisor. It's a small husband and wife team. He cooks and she serves. It is just a couple doors away from La Rapiere. It was a lovely evening, so we ate outside. We had a 7:30 reservation and were the first guests of the evening. The food was good, but I don't recollect what we ate. It is not at La Rapiere standards, but the prices weren't either. What made it special were some of the people we met that night. Next to us was a young British chap and his 90 year old Grandmother. It was obvious they were well positioned in life. They were celebrating her birthday and making their annual trip to see where his grandfather was injured during the war. He was "blown up" but survived and was helped by a french family that they have stayed in touch with over the years. His grandfather passed away recently and his Grandmother still wanted to make the trip. It was so nice to see a Grandson dotting on his Grandmother. The British accent didn't hurt either!

The next morning, we left our wonderful apartment and headed off to Dinan, Brittany. I had read a lot about Cancale and the oyster industry there, so we decided to stop there for lunch. Neither of us are oyster fans, but wanted to see the oyster beds. Also, I had read about the Breizh Cafe and wanted to have lunch there. It is a sister restaurant to the one in Paris. This one is better known for its gourmet Japanese influenced upstairs restaurant, but we were both more interested in crepes. That lunch ranks in the top 5 meals we had in France. The buckwheat crepes filled with smoked salmon and creme fraiche were out this world. We finished off with a salted caramel crepe (and cidre, of course) I was in heaven!

Luckily, we had gotten there early becuase that town filled up FAST. Parking would have been impossible if we hadn't gotten there when we did. The restaurant was right on the main harbor, so the people watching was great. The tide was out, so we didn't see any boats coming and going. Its so strange to see all these boats just sitting out there on the sand. The beauty of low tide, though, was that we were able to see the oyster beds and even walk around them. There was a small outdoor market set up where people came up and bought various types of oysters and ate them right there. They were provided a paper plate, lemon and a napkin. There was a bin to throw in the used up shells.

After lunch, we headed to Dinan and Hotel Larvor, which is right in the center of the historic part of town. Very close to the bell tower. As we were getting close to the hotel, we kept hearing a voice over the loudspeakers. Turns out there was a marathon that day with all different races going on throughout the day. Needless to say, the town was packed! We settled in to our nice corner room with a view of the bell tower. We thought we'd stretch out for a few minutes and sleep off that filling lunch, but as soon as we layed down, the loudspeaker started blaring. We had no clue what the announcer was saying, but it became evident after a while that he wasn't going to shut up, so we got up and walked around the town. It was difficult to find our way around due to the crowds lining the narrow medieval streets cheering on the runners. We finally made it to the fort and climbed to the top. There was an excellent view of the valley and river. It also offered a birds eye view of the runners. Turns out the were doing a circuit around the town, so they would periodically pass by again. There were loudspeakers all over town. We never could figure out wehre they were broadcasting from. There was a very festive atmosphere in the town and made for a memorable day.

That night, we ate at another favorite of the trip, La Lycorne. This was recommended by our hotel. It had a funky contemporary vibe with a young, friendly staff. It was sort of mixture of ancient and modern. Lots of purple in the room. There was a huge fireplace too. It would be a great place place to get the region's famous mussels or any kind of shell fish. We opted for a smoked salmon plate with all kinds of garnishments. The place filled up after we got there. Good thing we made reservations because they were turning people away.

Speaking of the bell tower, it went off every hour .....

The next morning we left for the splurge part of the trip. Two nights at Manoir de Lan Kerellec with half board. It is a Relais and Chateux hotel with a 1* restaurant in Treburden. It is situated on a bluff overlooking the sea on the edge of the Pink Granite Coast. They upgraded us to a large room with a sitting area, balcony and a wonderful bathroom that looked like a stateroom on a ship. There is a ship theme throughout the hotel. The dining room has a wood beamed cathedral ceiling with a wooden ship hanging from the peak. I do plan on posting pictures. We were there on a Sunday/Monday, so the menu was very limited. It was like a prix fixe with a couple different options per course, but it was all fabulous and beautifully presented. The only disappointment is that we never had the opportunity to have a table by the window, but that is a small thing. We did have breakfast by the window and enjoyed the view.

We lucked out with wonderful weather, even warm. We spent that next day hiking along the pink granite coast form one end to the other and back. We probably walked for about 3 and 1/2 hours. It is hard to even describe the scenery. The coastal walk is lined with pink and orangish colored boulders that have been formed into all kinds of shapes by the wind and the sea. Truly breathtaking and worth the trip. We loved the buckwheat crepes so much that we stopped for lunch at one the creperies in the little coastal Perros-Guirec.

The next day we packed up and headed to Rennes to return the rental car and take a train to Paris for the last leg of the trip.

I will post a separate part on Paris and try to get a link to our pictures posted.

chutney

Before I go on to the Paris leg, a couple things to point as as an FYI.
1. The Rennes auto rental return was very difficult to find. The entrance is off the one way street before the train station. the entrance will be on your left.
2. This train was not a TGV, so the seats that Train Capitaine assigned us turned out to be random. We wasted time and effort going against the flow to try and get to what we thought were our seats. the main issue was the luggage. John had it all set, then we moved it becasue our seats weren't available. A stressful start to the journey to Paris.

Well, just a small blip. When we arrived in paris we caught a cab to our apartment in the 2nd. We had never stayed in the 2nd, but I had read good things about the area. We were on rue Tiquetone, a half block off rue Montorguiel. We liked the area so much that we are staying in the same area this coming September. The apartment was adorable. We were there for only three nights, so didn't get a chance to enjoy it that much, but it had everything we needed. The tiny street has a few bars on it, but it wasnt an issue. I loved being able to walk along rue Montorguiel and pick up baked goods, fruit, etc. It's a thriving area and feels very local, even though you are in the center of the city. There were several metro stops close by, including Les Halles, although we walked most everywhere from there. We rented the apartment through homeparishome.com.

Our close friends from Florida were in Paris for two nights. The first night, we met at St. Chapelle for a classical music concert. We have gone to numerous concerts and this was the first one that was not Vivaldi or Mozart. It was the entire Ave Maria chamber piece. The vocalist had a beautiful voice and the chamber ensemble was great, as always, but not what we had expected. We can't even count the number of times we heard "Ave Maria"! we love St. Chapelle (one of my absolute favorites places in all of Paris) so I'm always happy to be there. Just an FYI, it was FREEZING in there. If you go in the spring, winter or fall, bring a wrap or coat!

After the concert, we walked over to one of our favorite restaurants, Pirouette. It is not far from Les Halles. The setting is contemporary with lots of light wood and wine stacked around. The food would be in the contemporary French category. I'm a big follower of Chowhound and this restaurant is always on the favorite list. Our friends are not in to food like we are, but they seemed to enjoy it.

The next day we met and just did some walking around and visiting some of our favorite food places when we are in Paris. We went to the Maille mustard shop for our fresh mustard, chocolate from Patrick Roger, among others. We also stopped in the 6th for a few petite chou and tea. We tried to go to Laduree but never got waited on, so we left. Our friends aren't big foodies so it was a bit of a different trip than we normally do. We walked along the Seine and did the normal touristy things. That night we had dinner in their neck of the woods. They were staying in the 11th. I had gone to Chowhound and asked for a recommendation near their apartment and a very respected "hound" recommended Le Chemise, which was a real find. it is on rue Malte. A smallish place with VERY comfortable seating, kind of loungy feeling, but with the exposed stone walls, etc. The food was excellent and the staff very friendly and accomodating.

The Air France strike was in full swing (we had hoped it would be over by the time we were ready to fly home) so our last day, we got up and headed to an Air France office next to the Jardin Luxembourg. We waited outside about an hour, but once in we were escorted up to the 2nd floor and helped by one of the managers from their corporate office. She got us on a US Air flight the next day. It was not premium economy, but they did send us a refund for the difference in the fare. She was able to get us two seats together in a two seat configuration. The bottom line is, if you are faced with this situation, forget the phone lines and go to one of their offices.

After we finsihed with that business, it was about lunch time. We spent the rest of the day running errands. Picking up HBA items from the City Pharmacy on rue du Four, hebs we like from the grocery store and more chocolate!

We had dinner that night at a place my DH wanted to go back to. La Saotico. It is in the 2nd. It was enjoyable for dinner, but think I like it better for lunch.

I will wrap up tomorrow with final thoughts and tips.

chutney

I just remembered where we had lunch after our morning dealing with the Air France strike. We had an excellent lunch at Little Breizh in the 6th. I dont think there is any connection between this place and the Breizh Cafe. It appears to be family run. It filled up with tourists and office workers. Our crepes with a side salad were wonderful. Its a coze little spot and I highly recommend it.

irishface

I was interested in your adventure and frustration when depositing your rental car in Rennes. I was picking up a rental car in Rennes. I came out of the train station and saw the office right away. All went smoothly with the reservation and they gave me directions to the car park. Walked a long way (well, probably not as long as it seemed) and then the other direction. Finally went back to the office and the woman at the desk assigned a young man to escort me there. We went behind the desk, through a warren of offices and got into a beat up van. We jounced over a pot holed area at the speed of lightning and finally got to my little Fiat. Also had trouble with the ticket to get out. Now I laugh, but at the time I was steaming.

indyhiker

Chutney, thanks so much for taking time to do your trip report I've really enjoyed it.

My husband and I are thinking of Brittany/Paris for 2016 and would likely rent our car in Rennes. What car rental agency did you use? I see that Avis and Europcar are both near the train station, so I'm assuming it was one or the other.

TDudette

Neat apartment. Was there a lift? Add me to your St. Chapelle fan list.