Blogs from Upper Normandy, France, Europe - page 11

Last night’s 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 can’t get in England – walnut cheese being a prime example. Rat poison was also on the shopping list as Mr English Rat seems to respond better to the French variety and by that I mean once eaten, hopefully can be forgotten. We managed to fill the trolley and then the checkout counter with a reasonable quantity of bottles as we get quite irritated paying UK wine prices ... read more

I awake and anxiously board the train to Bayeux. This is the meeting point for the D-Day 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 point. I had directions on about how to get there, but I was still a little unclear. Off I go. I found my first marker which was a sign that points to a specific hotel. I make the turn, and I am in the town of Bayeux. Now I had to find the meeting point.I walked around ... read more

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 Monet’s 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 Rouen to our B & B, located in a 14thcentury half-timbered building in the heart of the historic centre of Rouen. Today, we explored all the sights of Rouen. These included Notre Dame Cathedral (nearly every cathedral in France is called Notre Dame), the Abbey of St Ouen, the Church of Saint Maclou, the Great Clock and its tower, ... read more

"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 Jasper or Banff, but still very beautiful and unique compared with Alberta. I am sure you would see a lot of this type of thing maybe in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia, but I have never seen anything quite like it. Essentially it is limestone cliffs on the ocean with a picturesque town on the ... read more

Bin heute späterer Nami in Yport (bei Fécamp) angekommen. Gestern war ich so unfit und irgendwie passte die Fahrerei einfach nicht, es windete teilweise stürmisch und bin in krasse Platzregen hineingeraten. Plötzlich 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 hübsches Hotelzimmer. Und so war's dann auch, in Mons, Belgien, habe ich in einem hübschen Hotel übernachtet. Jedenfalls bin ich seit heute auf dem Camping Le Rivage, die Plätze befinden sich wie auf Terrassen und man hat Aussicht aufs Meer und die steilen Felsen, ebenso auf Fécamp. Die Franzosen sind sehr freundlich, die grüssen immer hier. Habe ein Plätzchen neben einem holländischen Pärchen, die sind total nett. Fühle mich sehr wohl. Hier oben hört man das Meer rauschen.. und ... read more