http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , France , Upper Normandy en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 11:18:00 +0000 Fri, 24 May 2013 11:18:00 +0000 This week has been a barrage of different emotions It started out with both of us adjusting not only to the time difference but also to speaking French all the time. If you havent ever been in a similar scenario just think of it this way. Youd be tired if you walkedjogged around all day right Your body would be exhausted Well thats what the first couple days were like for us mental http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-786864.html Well we made it. Thats a bit of an accomplishment in itself Id say. The kids are off at cool the grownups are off to work and somehow Im supposed to be included in that work status as well. That is to say that the work has finally begun. I guess theres some first post explanation that needs to happen First Rachel my beautiful girlfriend and I are unofficially in Diepp http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Dieppe/blog-785830.html The day started with an even better breakfast. Eric the owner laid on the same spread as the previous day but added softboiled eggs and tea to the breakfast. We were stuffed even more than the previous day. How we could work up the stomach to return to LeClerc for the third time for more food shopping is beyond me.It was already getting very difficult to load our luggage. Our purchase of the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-768881.html Whenever we travel I always prefer to stay in the same accomodations for as long as possible. Packing up and moving every morning is a pain. Because we were covering so much territory on this vacation we didn39t get to experience that luxury too often. But here in St. Valery we were booked for two nights. That meant that today we could spend the whole day doing whatever we found interesting ra http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Saint-Valery-en-Caux/blog-766659.html As much as I endedup loving France I mean Normandy on this trip there is one aspect of travel where the French fail miserably against their Germand and English competitors breakfast. The French breakfasts were very good when we chose to have them but whereas the Brits and Krauts offer breakfast as part of the hotel or BB price the French choose to tack on the cost as an extra. 8 Euro per pe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Dieppe/blog-765807.html Our plane actually landed at Paris De Gaulle Airport a few minutes early. Perhaps the bumpiness was the result of strong tailwinds. In any case I made it across the Atlantic in one piece and without using the barfbag. Like all European airports customs and immigration was quick and painless. It was a pretty nice hike from the arrival gate through immigration where the bored agent didn39t even http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-765208.html I39ve been told that we get but once to celebrate our 60th birthday and since the end of 2012 would usher in that formidable milestone in my life I wanted to do so in style. I was given the opportunity to pick where we would spend our Christmas Holidays this year and I opted to choose a place we had never been to before. Last February in my efforts to avoid doing the taxes for as long as possi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-765027.html The weather was going to be cloudy with a chance of rain so we decided to take a drive to see some of the sites in Normandy. Our first stop was in Honfluer above the town to see Cotes de Grace. This site provides a beautiful view of Honfluer below and the Normandy Bridge. There is a tiny chapel built in the 1600s by mariners and the people of Honfluer Chapel of NotreDame de Grace. Outside http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-749383.html The Air France flight from SFO was nonstop and for the most part uneventful. Two and one half hours into the flight a crewmember made an announcement asking if there was a doctor on board. One of the passengers became ill but as far as we know she was OK by the time we got to Paris. They seem to enjoy serving alcohol. The menu had champagne as an aperitif. After dinner was served the flight atten http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-749069.html Last nights thunderstorm had abated by morning but was replaced by very strong gusty winds. Decided not to walk up into town as I normally do to get bread as likely to get blown away.We did stop at the Intermarche on the edge of town for our take home shop. For Bob this means bottles of wine. For me it means some of the foods which I cant get in England walnut cheese being a pri http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Les-Andelys/blog-745615.html Here we go again Another tour another blog http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-743789.html I awake and anxiously board the train to Bayeux. This is the meeting point for the DDay tour I booked and I was so excited I could hardly stand myself. On the train I met two other gentlemen a father and son that were also going to do the experience. Their tour was not until the next day and we had good conversation concering what we may see.Upon arrival I had to make my way to my meeting p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-743112.html Monday Day 14We started this day in Reims and drove north to the port city of Dieppe. It is in the eastern side of the Normandy coast. We wanted to visit here for a special reason.The Dorsey family has an interesting history. My cousin Jimmy Dorsey has a coat of arms that indicates the family came by way of Dieppe. His father and my uncle Sanford Dorsey gave it to him years ago. Jimmy visited http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Dieppe/blog-736628.html On Friday we left Paris for Rouen. We picked up our hire care a BRAND new Golf and on the way we stopped at Giverny to see Monets garden and house. The gardens were in full bloom which was a bonus. We both felt that the best parts were the waterlilies pond and the famous bridge with the wisteria. We then went to the local village church to see where he was buried. When then proceeded to Rou http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/blog-733399.html Day 8 Rouen France and Mantry France Middle of nowhere Revenge of Weird Beard We woke up this morning nice and early so we could get a good start in Rouen France. Rouen is an interesting town with a lot of history. Most recently it was one of the most devastated French cities during WWII. Nearly 50 of the city was bombed and the city was completely on fire in 1940 for a period of 48 hou http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Rouen/blog-730979.html If I were to show the ocean to a friend for the first time I would show them Etretat We left the hotel this morning a littl elater than we wanted to as we are getting a bit tired so we slept in a bit. We then proceeded to drive about 400km from Gent Belgium to Etratat France. Where is that you say Only one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is not more beautiful than lets say http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Etretat/blog-730795.html Hoi zmeEine kleine Auswahl an Fotos der letzten Tage poste ich hier fr Euch Vorgestern bin ich von Yport weg und habe zwei fast durchgehende Regentage erlebt. Das ist schon etwas bel die ganze Zeit im Bschen dies durchzustehen... Und jetzt sitze ich in einer lustigen Bar mit Wifi Zugriff in Carnac Sdbretagne. Jaja auch hier gibt39s lustige Bars hab ich gestern noch nicht geglau http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/F-camp/blog-729635.html Bin heute spterer Nami in Yport bei Fcamp angekommen. Gestern war ich so unfit und irgendwie passte die Fahrerei einfach nicht es windete teilweise strmisch und bin in krasse Platzregen hineingeraten. Pltzlich dachte ich weshalb stresse ich mich denn so.. Ich muss gar nicht mehr weiterfahren sondern kann ja tun was ich will.. und ich wollte ein hbsches Hotelzimmer. Und so war39 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/F-camp/blog-729136.html The most beautiful place I saw this year so far was definitely Giverny to wit Claude Monets house and gardens. The idea of visiting the house came unexpectedly at first I planned a trip to Chantilly for me and Luda but then I learned that they were closed on Tuesday and it was our last day in the French capital. So Chantilly was left aside for the time being. I browsed here and ther http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Giverny/blog-728760.html A brief history of 7 weeks in FranceFirstly we never made it to Croatia or any other part of Europe except France. Wet weather in the east of Europe and hot sunny weather in the Mediterranean kept us in the south of France for most of the time. Highlights of the trip have been cycling in the Camargue and Aquitaine regions where the flat salt marshes with lots of exotic birdlife and the gentle pac http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Upper-Normandy/Dieppe/blog-726234.html