Mont St Michel, Honfleur and the Somme

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Hi Everyone

Well I have been slack posting something on here as Julie has pointed out so I will have 2 or 3 updates over the next three days. We have just arrived in Aix-les-Bains but I will update up to the Somme in the north of France.

We had a great three day stay at La Thiaumere (photos below). It was a great base to visit Mont St Michel, Honfleur and Bayeux. Sean was impressed with Mont-St-Michel. It is quite impressive driving up to it as you can see in the photos. Once inside the bottom area, it is just full of tacky tourist shops and eating places, which we avoided. The actual monastery up the top is more interesting, though I found it quite austere - though as Sean pointed out, it was a monastery. The tide was out when we were there, with people walking on the flats. Apparently the tide comes in very fast, and has caught a few people trying to walk across.

We also went to Bayeux where the ‘tapestry’ depicting William the Conqueror’s invasion of England. I was most impressed with this - it is actually an embroided cloth 70 metres long. It is like an 11th century cartoon strip. Bayeux itself is a nice little town with a very impressive cathedral. Just to note, ‘cathedral’ is the only word Sean can say with a French accent! We also went to Honfleur, of the famous coloured harbour buildings. I was surprised how small this area actually is. We had a lovely meal in a restaurant there - Sean is now a fan of Créme Brulee and orders it for dessert whenever it is on the menu, though none have been as good as the one in Honfleur.

We also visited one of the D-day beaches - Utah - and the town of St Mere Eglise. Sean visited the American museum there, but I declined after seeing the dummy of a parachuter hanging from the top of the church. The Americans love this and were there snapping away - apparently an American really did get caught up on the church tower during the Second World War. The beach was very calm and peaceful, no Freo doctor blowing in!

We then drove to the Somme, staying in a Chateaux originally built in the 1700’s - it was completely destroyed in the First World War and rebuilt in the 1920’s. Only the bridge (photo below) is original. Our balcony is in the very centre. This was a good base to visit a few museums around the area. The Australian Memorial at Thiepval is impressive. It is hard to imagine how it must have been during the First World War - the towns in the area are quite ugly, having been completely destroyed during the war. The Canadian memorial is also interesting to visit. They have left the trenches intact, both the German side and the Allies side.

We then drove to the Burgundy region but I will talk about that. and where we are at present, tomorrow.

My understanding of French has improved slightly, though speaking is still a problem. We haven’t met any arrogant or rude French people yet - they have all been helpful and polite. We do get great responses when we mention we are from Australia. Most of them are amazed at how far away it is (in terms of how long it took us to fly here).

We have had great weather. Last week it was cool but pleasant and now it is sunny and around 25 degrees. Cant ask for much more than that!

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Comments

[Pamela]

Nice to see Sean is making friends!
Hey guys, Sounds like all is going well. Photographer is doing a great job. Keep up the good work. Take care, lots of luv. P