TravelRibbon

Just returned yesterday from a wonderful trip to the Brittany and Normandy regions. I will post the report soon, but wanted to thank all who responded to my questions re: lodging, itinerary tweakings, etc.

MichelleY

Looking forward to your report!!

MY

TravelRibbon

I loved the Brittany and Normandy regions; however, I have to admit that Normandy was my favorite. Not sure why, but each town I visited was simply wonderful.

The weather: I had rain showers, major wind gusts, and cool, chilly temperatures. BUT, there were bursts of sunshine (I even got a slight tan on my face in Etretat). Dressed in layers and that helped.

THE FLIGHT: I flew Air France on an overnight flight from JFK. Even though I live in Boston, at the time of my booking the airfare, it was cheaper The flight itself was uneventful (just the way I like it). I landed at CDG safely and a bit early due to a strong tailwind.

Took the RER to Paris (8,00 Euro one way) and then hopped on the subway to arrive at Gare Montparnasse. I was able to secure a PREM fare from Paris to Vannes. I was beginning to get a bit sleepy by this point in time. The time change was catching up with me.

I tried to sleep on the train to Vannes. I was only a bit successful. It was hard in that my mind was racing with various thoughts. The cafe cart came through. I got a hot tea. I was slightly a bit out of it because when she told me the price, I only heard "quarante." When in fact, she said "deux cent quarante centimes." I was a bit stumped. Jet lag had completely taken over. Fortunately, my seat mate was way more alert than I was. I held out all of the Euros I had (which wasn't much) and she got the correct amount! Egads.

Arrived in Vannes safely and started to look for the hotel. I had booked a room at the Villa Kerasy based on the recommendation of other Fodorites. The hotel is literally behind the train station. A gorgeous place. The room was huge!

Got cleaned up and walked around the town. I think I was still in a bit of a stupor. What I remember of the town, it was nice. Bought a few postcards to mail and keep and then grabbed dinner. I had a pain au chocolat, jambon et fromage sandwich, and an Orangina. Obviously, not a gourmet meal, but it satisfied my hunger.

Day 2: Picking up the car, Carnac, Pont Aven, and Quimper

So, I had rented a car for this trip. I was going to be covering a lot of miles (or in this case, kilometres). I used Kemwel and the company was Europcar. I picked up the car at 10:00 a.m. from the local office. It was a somewhat smooth process. I was a bit surprised when the agent put a hold on my card for 830 Euro! What??! There wasn't anything in my voucher that made mention of this. If there was, it was in really, really fine print. She calmly explained to me (I think my shocked expression gave away my discomfort) that it was a deposit in case I damaged the car. Oh, OK. Still not happy, but what do you do?

My car was a very cute Peugeot 1007. It electric sliding doors. Sweet. The guy explained a few of the features to me. However, I forgot to ask him what fuel I needed (this will be an issue in Bayeux). Now mind you, there were "signs" that clearly stated what type of fuel the car took.

I was a bit nervous at the start, but once I got in the car and got situated, I was off! Woo-hoo. I had purchased the Michelin maps for both Brittany and Normandy. They were very helpful. Great detail. Plus, there are signs that point you in the direction you should head towards. That was also helpful.

Day 2 - to be continued. The megaliths of Carnac, Gaugin's old stomping grounds, and a few turns in the roundabout trying to find the hotel in Quimper.

cigalechanta

Hi, from another Bostonian. We love Brittany and Normandy also. We loved our Stay in Pont Aven and the many places in Normandy.
Looking forward to read more of your time there.

CarolJean

Hi We are going to Brittany and Normandy in Sept. so I'm looking forward to more installments. Thanks, CJ

TravelRibbon

Thanks for the encouraging words.
I want to apologize for the typos. I just reread my first post and noticed a few words missing as well as punctuation mistakes! Oops.

Day 2 continued:

I arrived in Carnac with ease. The signs were very helpful and I just followed them. I had also "plotted" my course out the night before by looking at my maps and knew what routes I should take/look for.
I made my way to the museum and looked for information re: tours. Unfortunately, they weren't happening at the time I needed it, so I grabbed an English guide and set off on my own.

What I didn't realize is how far the menhirs stretched-it covers 4 kilometres. Wow. I started out on foot. Neat stones, but they were smaller than I had anticipated. Oh well. The menhirs are grouped together by location. As I'm walking, I don't see a lot of others doing the same. Maybe the weather held people back.
I noticed a couple had stopped on the side of the road and were looking at a sign. I asked them if they thought it would be better for me to drive to the different sites or if I should walk. Since my French is a bit rusty, I'm sure I botched up what I was trying to say. However, I think they got the idea. The man ran to the intersection (I'm not sure why and neither did his wife!). He came back and we chatted and from that point, I decided to drive to the rest of the sites. The couple were most helpful if not fun!

The Kermario site was where I saw the menhirs that looked like what I had imagined them to be. Some were huge, some were stacked on top of one another, and some were just in lines. Very cool. I've never seen anything like this before so it was a good experience. Driving around the area wasn't bad either. I did get a bit lost and wound up driving by a stable where you could ride horses.

On the road again - I left Carnac and headed towards Pont-Aven. As I drove along, I noticed the signs showing how far it was to Brest. I was originally going to visit Brest, but decided against it. That would have been a long drive.

The lunch break was still happening when I arrived in Pont-Aven. I found a free parking lot and parked there. The sun was struggling to come out from behind the clouds.

I loved Pont-Aven. It is a very lovely town. I would recommend this as a stop. There were a ton of art galleries! Of course, all out of my price range! Oh well. It was fun to look, though. I ate at a cafe - ham sandwich, coca. Nothing special, but it satisfied my hunger.

Once everything reopened, I walked around. The sun had come out by this time. It was just lovely (did I mention how lovely it was already?) and it wasn't terribly crowded. It did appear, though, that there were a lot of school children in the town. I spent almost 4 hours in Pont-Aven.

Got back on the road and headed towards Quimper. I took a few backroads and then hit the National Hwy. Not a bad drive. Ran into a few rain showers, but for the most part, smooth.

Now, once I arrived in Quimper things got interesting. I had a hotel already confirmed (Hotel Gradlon - recommended quite frequently on this board), but had no idea where it was located. Fortunately, there were signs that pointed you in the right direction of the hotel you needed.

The centre of town is lovely. The river Odet flows through town and there are several bridges that cross it. I wound up missing the turn for the hotel so I had to swing around and come back again. There aren't many places to do a "legal" U turn. I found the hotel, but didn't see any parking options. I eventually found a parking spot on the street and parked there.

The Hotel Gradlon is a nice hotel and is in a good location (despite what I just wrote). There is no elevator so you have to carry your own luggage. The front desk agent actually carried my suitcase upstairs for me. The room was nice - had a TV and own bathroom.

For dinner, I went to a creperie that the hotel recommended: Creperie au Vieux Quimper. I had a galette with onions and tomates provencale. Good, but different. For dessert, I had a galette with bananas and chocolate. Yummy. Total cost for meal was 13,20 Euro (had an apricot juice as well). This restaurant doesn't open until 6:45 p.m.

I walked around a bit more and then headed back. I had been on the road a lot and needed rest.

Next to come: day 3, more of Quimper.

vedette

Based on my experience, the concept of a "legal U-turn" in France is hilarious.

Sue4

TravelRibbon, thanks so much for posting your report - looking forward to the rest! I'm planning the exact same kind of trip, solo, so I'm really interested in your every detail. I also will have about 2 weeks. I was going to do this in May, but had to cancel for health reasons - but am definitely going next year. I was going to start in Rouen, but will have fun now re-planning the trip! Please report on all your hotels for the rest of trip. Can't wait for the rest!

blh

Bookmarking for trip next Srping! Thanks for the report - and interested to read more!

Nikki

Hi, TravelRibbon, sounds like a great trip. I'd love to do that some time also.

TravelRibbon

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry for the delay!

Day 3: Quimper.
Originally, I had "marked" this day to head towards the parish closes that were nearby or head to another town close by. I changed my mind and decided to stay in Quimper. The weather wasn't that great and I think that the thought of losing my parking space made my decision easier.

It was a good decision to stay. Again, the weather was most uncooperative - wind, rain, and just cold temps! Ick! I left Boston where it had been raining for about 4 days straight. Oh well. I visited 2 museums: the Musee des Beaux Arts and the Musee Departmental Breton and toured the Cathedral. The Musee Departmental Breton was very neat. It had period costumes from various Breton towns. Sometimes I wondered how the women were able to walk around with those tall hats!

The Musee des Beaux Arts was lovely as well. Hey, it kept the rain off me and it was warm!

The Cathedral was really interesting. I paid 1 Euro to get an English guide that discussed the history of the church as well as the stained glass windows.

Checked email in a photocopy/internet place on Boulevard de Kerguelen. Other than the museums, the church, and some shopping, it was a relaxing day. Quimper has some beautiful buildings. Of course, I took lots of photos!

In one of the shops I visited, I met a woman who was originally from Connecticut but had been living in France for the last 30 odd years.

Dinner that night was at another creperie. I couldn't decide where to go. Oh the frustration of being indecisive. Arrghhh! I imagine that people who were "people-watching" or just happened to be in the same areas I paced back and forth in got a good laugh at my rantings!
The restaurant was Creperie du Salle.

Day 4: From Quimper to Dinan to Le Mont St. Michel -- or in other words, the LONG day

So, I got up around 7:30 a.m. this morning and packed my stuff. This drive was going to be about 2 1/2 hours long according to viamichelin.com. I started out and wound up going out of Quimper the same way I came in! Ooops. Let's just say it wasn't a brillant move. Of course, I blame it on not having eaten anything yet or having any caffeine in my system! hee, hee.

Once I got going in the right direction, the drive itself wasn't too bad. Since I was primarily taking the D routes or N routes, there wasn't a lot of traffic, but I did get behind some slow drivers. They're in every country!

When I got on the National route towards Dinan, I saw some gorgeous emerald green fields. The wind was strong enough so that the blades of grass were almost flat. Very beautiful. This was the beginning of me seeing very many French cows.

Once I got closer to Dinan, the signs kind of dropped off, so to speak. I had a moment of panic when I didn't see Dinan on the list of places. Yikes! However, all was not lost. I did make it to the city and found parking in the Hotel de Ville. An FYI - if you do visit Dinan on any day except Thursday (Market Day), there are two parking lots near the Tourist office. I'm not sure, though, if it's a paying lot or if it's free.

As soon as I got out of the garage, the rain came. It rained about 10 minutes. Just a spring rain. The sun struggled to come out, but the wind picked up! I found the tourist office by asking a couple of French people who were also taking cover from the rain. I got there in time before it closed. I got a map then set out to find lunch.

I found one place that a few things on the menu that I recognized. It was Sarl Creperie-Pizzeria d'Arme. I had a roasted chicken leg and thigh piece, fries, a coca, and a slice of tarte aux pommes for dessert. Very satisfying - remember, I left Quimper very early and had not eaten anything since the night before.

After the lunch, I just walked around the town. The map that the Tourist office gave me had 3 different routes one could take: 1) Old Dinan, 2) Religious Treasures, and 3) the ramparts. I started off on the Religious Treasures walk, but wound scrapping that and just walked. Again, loved the half-timbered houses in Dinan. There were some that looked like they were about to topple over!

I went inside St. Saveur Church - it's a huge church, but has a simple interior. The stained glass at the top was amazing. It was very peaceful - not a lot of tourists or parishioners.

Outside, there was the English garden. It didn't have any flowers in bloom, but the views were amazing! I went into the Chateau de Duchesse Anne. The museum was actually free that day! There wasn't a lot left in the castle, but again, the views were spectacular.

My next mission was to find the post office. I needed stamps. I looked on the map and saw where it "should" have been. Now mind you, it probably was there, but I didn't see it! Egads. So, I wound up walking all the way towards the highway! Good grief. Oh well, at least it was sunny and there wasn't alot of traffic! I made my way back to the center and bought stamps from a tabac even though they weren't international stamps.

I left Dinan around 3:30 p.m. with the intention of heading to either Dinard or St. Malo, but wasn't 100% sure I wanted to do either. I was getting tired.

I chose St. Malo, but the signs were worse in this town! Egads. I followed signs to the centre ville and then, there were none! And no, I don't think I was in the centre ville because I had consulted my guide (while stopped at traffic lights or waiting for my turn in the roundabout). I knew there was a specific thing I needed to see.

So, I literally zipped through parts of St. Malo. Oh well. This is one of the 2 places where another car honked at me! I may have gone out of turn when going through the roundabout.

Now I was on my way to Le Mont St. Michel.

More to follow. I need to get back to work!

TravelRibbon

Mont St. Michel

I got on the right highway towards the Mont. I saw the name on the road signs. All is well. Not quite. I go a bit further and notice that Le Mont St. Michel has been blacked out! There is a deviation I must take.

I followed this deviation and it took me even deeper into the French countryside. Very picturesque with small towns and even narrower roads! As I got closer to the Mont, I noticed that there wasn't any signs. Uh-oh, started to panic. However, I stayed the course and went through Pontroson and eventually got to Mont St. Michel.

I drove a bit slower than normal due to the fact of not knowing where the hotel was. I saw it on my left and realized I had missed the turn. I trained my eyes towards the front and I saw IT. The Mont took my breath away. It was magnificent. I made it back to the hotel.

I found this hotel through the Logis de France website - De La Digue. It's nothing fancy, but it served its purpose. I was 2 km away from the Mont, I had a wonderful view from my window, and there was parking so the car was safe.

Mind you, there aren't a lot of restaurants nearby so I ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. Not bad, but interesting. I ordered the Vegetarian Lasgne, not a complicated dish by any means, but for some reason or another, my meal was delayed. A problem in the kitchen. They brought out an appetizer. Since I'm not a foodie, I have no clue what it was, but it was good. Either that or I was so hungry that I inhaled it.

Day 5 - visiting Mont St. Michel

Many people have strongly recommended that one arrives at Mont St. Michel early in order to avoid the hoards of tourists that come each day. I totally agree with this recommendation.

The abbey opens up at 9 a.m. so unless you're staying at a place very far away, you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn.

I walked to the Mont and noticed that even at 9:30 a.m. tour buses were pulling up! Even though they couldn't hear me, I yelled: No, you're not supposed to be here until 10:30 a.m.!

The walk was nice. I walked in the marshy parts - very peaceful and relaxing, but very windy. I also had to sidestep the horse droppings along the way.

I had read about the Mont in my guidebook as well as on this board, but it still took me by surprise. The Mont has a lot of restaurants and B&B's on it. It's compact, but stuffed. They even have their own post office!

I walked up the many, many stairs to the top. Yes, it is steep, but there are places where you can take a rest as well as the fact that you can take your own time in getting up there.

I bought the ticket and wound up doing a self tour. The English tour that day started at 11:00 a.m. I didn't want to wait around. As with the menhirs in Carnac, I picked up an English guide and started walking.

The abbey is huge! Oh my. Not a whole inside (or at least that we could see). I did see a few nuns walking about. The room where they had their meals was really, really huge! And the fireplaces were gigantic.

The views from the top are amazing. I could see sheep grazing. Very cute.

I ate at La Croix Blanche. Call it mutiny or what have you, but I ordered Spaghetti Bolonaise. It was surprisingly good. I had a great view of the marshes from my window.

As you're walking towards the abbey, there are TONS of souvenir shops. This reminded of the street that leads to the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic. A tourist trap? Perhaps. You had to shop around to find good bargains on things such as post cards and such.

After lunch, I visited the Church of St. Peter. I couldn't go in before due to Mass (this was a Sunday). Inside was interesting. Small, but nice.

I left Mont St. Michel around 1:30 p.m. By that time, the crowds were starting to get thick.

On the way to Bayeux.

TravelRibbon

Day 5 continued - On the road towards Bayeux.

Left Mont St. Michel and headed towards Bayeux. Now that I was in the Normandie region, I needed to be careful about getting on the Autoroute where there was the possibility of tolls!

In Brittany, no tolls/taxes can be collected due to an agreement the crown of France made with the dukes of Brittany.

In Normandie, that's not the case. I knew the routes I wanted to take - in this case, I went a bit out of my way to get to Bayeux. I went by towards St. Malo. I took the "D" routes which led me through small country towns.

Now, the issue of petrol. I was getting a bit low on petrol and needed to fuel up. I forgot to ask the guy at Europcar in Vannes what type of fuel my car needed. Now, the fuel type was clearly marked on the gas door as well as on my keychain. Yet, I was still uncertain.

I fueled up near St. Malo. However, what happened next wasn't the most brillant thing and could have cost me a ton of money. I put in 3,67 litres of unleaded when in fact my car took DIESEL. OK, real dumb move.

Fortunately, I only had 5 Euro on me so I couldn't fill the car. The unleaded didn't do anything to the car so I was very thankful that I had the small amount of money that I had and nothing more. Yikes! To think of what I could have done. . .

Anywhoo, I headed towards Bayeux and found the hotel. My stay in Bayeux would be for 5 nights. I stayed at Le Hotel Bayeux. It's on a quite street and isn't terribly far from the center of town.

Found parking on the street - their private driveway only held 5 cars. And entered into the place that I would call home for the next 5 nights.

Since this was my first glimpse into the Norman life, I was enchanted by what I saw. After unpacking, I hit the street and went into the Cathedral.

Oh my goodness. It's huge, but oh so beautiful inside. Now, I've visited many cathedrals throughout my travels and there have been some grand ones and some not so grand. The Cathedral in Bayeux ranks as one of the grand ones. I went inside and sat there. When I think about what role this cathedral may have played during WWII, I started to cry. Not great big tears, but tears. To think of all the prayers that were lifted up in that place during the time of war moved me in ways that I've never been moved before.

I felt a bit embarrassed and looked around. I noticed another woman crying as well. Hmmm, there's something about the cathedral. They were also playing some music (or there was choir practice going on). Very peaceful and relaxing.

I left the Cathedral and went in search of dinner. Again, it's Sunday night and I wasn't sure what would be opened. I found this cute restaurant called L'Assiette Normand. When I arrived, it was fairly empty. I went with the Menu a 16 Euro. I had the chevre chaud, lardons, et salade verte. The main dish was Fish (cod, I think) in tomato sauce with noodles. The dessert I selected was a chocolate cake with a chocolate and vanilla sauce. Can you say Yummy??? Oh yeah. Everything was great. This was to be the first of the many great meals I had while in Bayeux.

While I was eating, a tour group came in. Yikes! There were only 4 waitstaff for the entire restaurant! They did a good job, though. The tour group that came in was the group the 3 people I met at La Croix Blanche restaurant at Mont St. Michel! It's a small world.

I had a skylight in my room and had great views of ever changing weather. I chilled out and relaxed. Watched some French TV.

Day 6 - Caen and the Memorial for Peace

Sue4

Still enjoying your report! I can relate
to some of your driving experiences, like driving out on the wrong side of town. My navigating skills are terrible, even with tons of maps (and studying them for months ahead of time!). Also I had to laugh at your gas mixup. That almost happened to me, even tho I knew I had a diesel car, never seem to be able to remember which is the diesel tank (is it the green one??).

By the way, were you glad you stayed right in Quimper, or would you have rather been staying outside town?

TravelRibbon

Sue4: Despite the chaos of finding the hotel in Quimper and the lack of a specific parking area, I was very glad I stayed in town. I had the freedom to walk back to the hotel to take a nap, drop off packages, or do whatever. If I had stayed outside of the centre, I may not have been so inclined to give Quimper a full day to explore.

I'll finish posting later today. I left my trusty journal, notebook, and other things at home! Oops.

kansas

Please, TravelRibbon! Continue your trip report! You were just getting to the part I was most interested in!! I am planning a trip to celebrate our 40th Anniversary next year. Tell us the rest of your story!

TravelRibbon

I'm sorry for the delay! So, here's the rest of my trip.

Day 6 - Caen - Memorial for Peace and the Abbaye aux Hommes

On the road again. I got up this morning and got the road to Caen. Signs started to appear for the Memorial. Things were looking up. Well, I missed the turn for the Memorial and had to use the roundabout to get back in the right direction. Something went awry and I found myself nowhere near the place I needed to be. Hmm. Frustration started to set in. However, the next thing I knew, I was at the Memorial and all was well.

I had read about this Memorial in the guidebook and I watched a Rick Steves' special on Normandy. The building itself is non-descript from the front. The weather wasn't that great so there weren't any flags waving. Not sure when those flags are flown, though. The Memorial itself is built on a place named after General Eisenhower and is right above the place where Germany had its headquarters in 1944.

The admission fee is rather steep. I had heard that it was the most expensive museum in Europe. Wow. You have a choice to pay just the admission fee or do a combo of museum fee plus food. I chose the museum & the self serve cafeteria. Total price was 28,50 Euro. Steep, I say.

The fee was well worth it, IMHO. There were a TON of students visiting that day and if you could manoeuvre yourself around them, there was a lot to see. It starts off with the treaty that ended WWI. There are picutres and other pieces of work that described what happened to Germany. You are walking down and around (in a spiral) and when you almost leveled off, you look up and there is this huge picture of Hitler. Woa.

The heart of the museum was about WWII. It had pictures, short films, and other paraphernalia associated with the war. The curators did a very good job of arranging each piece they had.

The Memorial didn't go into the technical aspects of war. It didn't dwell on certain parts (i.e., the concentration camps). It mentioned them but didn't devote a lot of time on it. They had one great movie called: D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. Very good. Silent film, but it showed all that happened on that day and in that battle.

As I walked around, I moved from the WWII portion to the Cuban missile crisis. Wow. I continued to walk through and saw something that brought tears to my eyes. The U.S. had donated 4 pieces from the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Ate a rather so-so meal at the cafeteria. The steack hache wasn't all that great, but the fries and chocolate mousse were good.

I walked out of the museum to visit the gardens and the Nobel Peace Prize area. An ultra-modern elevator took you down to the ground level or you could take the stairs. I didn't visit the gardens, but chose instead to go to the Nobel Peace prize area.

It's a small building that lists every single Nobel peace prize winner since the inception of the prize. It gave a bit of the story and conflicts that arose when committee chose that year's recipient or recipients. There was also space dedicated to the future winners as well.

I stayed at the museum a lot longer than I had anticipated. With lunch, I wound up staying there for 5 hours. After the memorial, I headed towards downtown Caen. Parked at the Hotel de Ville garage and went inside the Hotel de Ville. I noticed a tour of the Abbaye was to begin at 4 p.m. I paid 2Euro and waited. A good chance to dry off. By this time, the rain had started again.

Our tour guide came to our waiting area. He was very cute and reminded of a friend in Scotland. This tour was in French! The English tours weren't available until July and August! Hee, hee. Let the fun begin. My French is decent, but not that great. I did understand a good part of the tour, but tuned out certain parts. Oh well.

We got to go in certain parts of the Hotel de Ville that isn't open the public. The Hotel de Ville is pretty much inside of the abbaye. When we arrived in the abbaye itself, it was amazing. Very simple design and a peaceful place.

Afterwards, I walked outside the abbaye walls and around a bit of Caen. My sole purpose in coming to Caen was to see the Memorial. I didn't feel any desire to see the rest of the city.

I returned to Bayeux and had dinner at Le Petit Normand. It's a great restaurant. On the window, the sentence "Welcome to our liberators" really struck me. Wow.

For dinner, I chose the 19Euro fixed menu. Starter: salade paysanne. This was to become my favorite salad. Main course: Farm chicken in a bernaise sauce - good, but they gave me 2 huge pieces of chicken! The dessert: Tarte fine. All in all it was a great meal. When I arrived, the restaurant wasn't crowded. As the evening progressed, it more and more crowded. There were only 2 waitstaff. A party of 5 or so came and went upstairs as well as one of the waitstaff. The remaining person worked like a madman trying to meet the needs of the patrons in the main dining room. He did a good job, but I could tell he wasn't totally prepared for the crowds.

All in all, it was a good day. The memorial was a sobering reminder of what has happened in our world since WWII.

Next: the American Highlights tour.

TravelRibbon

Day 7
I awoke to a gray day with the promise of rain showers. What else was new? The weather forecast didn't alter all that much.

Based on previous posts, I decided to go with Battlebus for the D-Day tours. I emailed the company and was able to get the last spot on the American Highlights tour. This company takes only cash.

The rendezvous point is Place de Quebec. Depending on where you're coming from, Place de Quebec is behind the Churchill hotel and is also just over the bridge near the Cathedral.

This place is where all the other tour companies come and pick up their passengers. There is a huge board that lists all the companies that pick up at Place de Quebec.

The Battlebus mini-vans are easily recognizable. They have "Battlebus" written on the sides. My tour guide for the day was Stuart. He's from the UK. The most a mini-van can hold is 8 and that's the maximum number of people on the tour. There were a few from Canada, one from Australia, and the rest from the US on this tour.

The tour started in Ste. Mere-Eglise. A very beautiful town. The church is in the center and has a dummy paratrooper hanging from it. The movie "The Longest Day" depicts this scene and what happens here. We went into 2 museums - the C-47 museum and the glider museum (or something like that). They're very close to each other.

One of the things that caught my eye was a letter that a man in CA wrote to General Eisenhower suggesting that the military use "dummy" paratroopers among the real ones so that the Germans would be shoot them thinking that they were the real paratroopers. Eisenhower wrote back and told the man that the military was looking into his suggestion and thanked him for the letter. The final letter was from the Adjunct General and stated that the idea was a success. Very cool.

We moved onto Utah Beach. By this time, the weather was downright cold. Yikes. But before we went to Utah, Stuart took us to a non-descript place and told us to get out. We were looking down a dirt road. Hmmm. What we were looking at was a hedgerow. The thing that confounded the U.S. and aided the Germans during D-Day and the rest of the war.

Once we arrived at Utah, I saw the metal "X" things that were used to destroy the LCAs. They also had an LCA. There was barbed wire at the entrance of it, though. All of this was in front of the Utah beach museum. The beach itself has nothing left from the battle. It was hard to imagine all the things that happened on that beach in 1944. Today, it's a very peaceful place.

We ate lunch at the Ivy Manor. Stuart phoned ahead our lunch order so that it was ready for us to pick up when we arrived. Lunch was not included in the price of the tour. Sandwiches, chips, and soda. The couple that owns the place is really nice. He was an extra in a lot of WWII movies that was filmed in either France or England. He is an avid collector of WWII things as well.

Our next stop was Pointe du Hoc. Stuart told us Americans on the tour - Welcome Home. What was amazing about this place was the size of the holes in the ground that are left over from the bombs that hit the earth. Wow. I've never been to the moon, but if the craters on the moon are any where near the size of the craters on Pointe du Hoc - wow.

This is a very beautiful place and of course, it rained on us. There are remnants of German bunkers and other German fortifications.

Since traffic was light due to the weather and other factors, Stuart took us to Angoville-au-Plain. Oh my. I had not heard anything of this place. It's a very small town. The mayor of the town allows Battlebus to go inside of the church. Inside this church an amazing thing happened. I won't go into too much detail because if you go on the tour, the story will sound much better than what I can recount it.

There is a window dedicated to the 2 medics - Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore who tended to the wounded soldiers from the American army as well as the Germans. They also tended to the villagers who were wounded in the fighting. This is a very special place and is often overlooked, but when you go (or read up on it), you will be moved to tears as most of us were.

After Angoville-au-Plain, we went to Omaha Beach. When I got there, all I could think of was the opening scene to "Saving Private Ryan." Wow. As with Utah Beach, tt's hard to reconcile what happened in 1944 on this beach to how the beach looks today.

We had a brief moment where there was no rain. Stuart was telling us all that happened on Omaha and then the rain came. Ick. This was a hard rain shower and we scurried to the van. When I looked at the cliffs the soldiers had to climb in order to secure the beach, I am amazed.

Afterwards, we traveled to the National Guard monument on Omaha. There is still a German gun in the bunker. Just the barrel, though. The rest was either destroyed or was dismantled after the war.

We now headed to the American Cemetery. As you know, in the opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan," there is a shot of the cemetery. This place is simply stunning. Rows and rows of white crosses line the acres of land. All the crosses face west - towards the U.S. There is no "map" showing you where certain people are buried. They're pretty much in the order of when they were received. The cemetery doesn't hold all of the dead from the War. Families had a choice - either their loved ones could be buried in the American Cemetery or be sent home to be buried in their hometown. I saw Teddy Roosevelt, Jr.'s grave.

This place is peaceful yet very sobering. I think this is the 2nd most visited cemetery in the world. The 1st being Arlington National Cemetery.

Taps was played at 4:30 p.m. while the flags were being lowered. I attended a military school as a civilian and everytime we were outside when taps was played, we had to stop and face the flag. I noticed at the American Cemetery not a lot of people stopped. Hmmm.

We returned to Bayeux around 5:15 p.m. It was a full day, but a good one. It was a good reminder of the sacrifice that was made for freedom. The perseverance, the tenacity, the courage, and the iron will of those that fought in Normandy never ceases to amaze me. The lesson I took away from this day was that no matter how awry plans may go, you cannot give up.

Next: exploring Bayeux.

TravelRibbon

Day 8

I had decided I needed a break from the WWII stuff and chose this day to explore Bayeux.

I slept in for once and got ready to explore the town. I visited the Tapisserie - a beautiful piece of work. Just as an FYI, the hand held guide goes through each section the tapestry very fast. Depending on the number of people going through, you may be behind a section or 2. There is a movie that gives the background of the tapisserie - in English or in French.

Walked around a bit more, took lots of pictures, and discovered it was time for lunch. Hmmm. I chose a place called Le Petit Bistrot. It's very near the Cathedral. A small place, but very cheerful. I loved the colors. I had the Formule du midi at 15Euro. It was a great meal! The chef gave the 2 of us that were in there a degustation - creme de carotte soup. It was an interesting concoction. At first, it tasted a bit fishy, but then that taste disappeared. Hmm. Maybe it wasn't creme de carotte. I can't remember!

The main dish was filet de Pieu (?) roti au cumin poelee du tragliatelles de carottes e treme feumiere reduite. It was great! I was becoming more adventuresome in my eating. The presentation was lovely. I even took a picture of it.

Dessert (as least for me) was brounies au chocolat noir et sesame, glace vanille et sauce chocolat blanc. Again, yummy! I also had a coca, a 1/2 litre of Vittel, and un cafe au lait. It was a bit chilly and I needed something warm.

I took a much needed nap and then walked up Rue St. Malo and Rue St. Martin. A lot of cute shops. Very busy. For once, it didn't rain. Just cloudy and a bit windy.

It was a very relaxing day that ended with me eating again at Le Petit Normand. This time, though, I had the salade paysanne and a dessert of bananas and chocolate.

Day 9: the Band of Brothers Tour

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Day 9

I decided to do 2 tours while in Bayeux. This one was the Band of Brothers tour that Battlebus offered.

I had the good intention of watching "Band of Brothers" before I left, but was not able to. So, I came on this tour not knowing a whole lot about Easy Company. I had seen a bit or two of a few episodes but not the entire series. Oh well.

This time, Dale was the guide. He took us to the places where Easy company went and told some amazing stories. Wow. We went to Brecourt Manor where we ran into some family members.

I won't go into too much about the tour. We visited the Dead Man Corner Museum. That was neat. It had a lot of stuff at from Easy Company. Lunch was at Ivy Manor again.

If you choose to do this tour, I highly recommend reading the book or watch the series. I was a bit lost during the tour because I had done neither, but now that I'm back in the US, I am reading the book and will watch the series soon.

Today was Ascension Day - a French holiday. Lots of things were closed. We returned to Bayeux around 4:00 p.m. I did laundry. The dryers confused me, but for the most part, it was a quick process.

My last dinner in Bayeux was a bit disappointing. I had a steak that was very, very tough. I had a salad and a dessert. Not horrible, but not super fantastic either. Oh well.

Next stop: Honfleur.