It’s impossible to come to Normandy or Brittany and not include Mont-Saint-Michel on your itinerary. It’s a double UNESCO World Heritage Site and every tourism office is filled with brochures suggesting a visit. This was the first property in France to be listed as a World Heritage site in 1979. The subject of the second listing is as “a pilgrimage…
August 6: St Malo
I will admit that the reason I chose to stay in St Malo for the next 3 days is solely because of the book “All The Light we Cannot See”. It’s the intersecting stories of a young blind French Girl and a German soldier during the occupation of France in the 1940’s, and the description of the town had me,…
August 5: Bayeux & a long drive west
Today I left Normandy and headed to Brittany — Bretagne to the French. On the way, I wanted a stop in Bayeux to see the famous Tapestry on display there, as well as the Cathedral. I was surprised at how charming the town is — since it’s one of the larger in the area, I had assumed it might be…
August 4: La Cote Fleurie
Today was my last full day in the specific part of Normandy, and therefore it was the right day to head east — to La Cote Fleurie — from the Orne River to the Seine. There are several lovely villages along the coastal route, but my first stop was the Pegasus Bridge Memorial — a tribute to the British 6th…
August 3: All about D-Day
Not surprisingly, this part of France is notable for it’s place in the history books. Also for it’s Calvados. What I noted today in my tour of the various battle and monument sites is the degree to which the the invasion is memorialized. At most places, both large and small, there are flags of the Allied countries waving on tall…
August 2: Rouen and beyond
A rainy day suggested one spent on more indoor pursuits so I decided to make the long drive to Rouen to see the Cathedral and other sights in that lovely city along the Seine. My host at the B&B where I’m staying suggested a scenic route through the Natural Park that hugs the Seine as it curves it’s way to…
August 1: Portsmouth to Caen, and Lion-Sur-Mer
Time to say bonjour to France! I had a ferry crossing booked from Portsmouth to the port near Caen, and with the need to check in early I was unable to fulfill my quest to do most of my traveling via public transport — the train couldn’t get me there in time! So, I had the luxury of Steve’s Taxi…
July 31: Solva to Westminster
Although the day was spent largely driving from Wales to Westminster, we had the good fortune to have dined in St. David’s last night, and I had posted before that, so I can now share some bits about that interesting place. Lying on the River Alun on St. David’s peninsula, it is Britian’s smallest city, in both size and population.…
July 29 & 30: Pembrokeshire, Wales
We began our drive west to Wales on Saturday morning, with an intent to stop for lunch near Swansea, to spend an hour with a family friend who runs a pub there. When we arrived in Skewen, Anna had prepared a lovely spread for us — exactly what we all needed after the previous night of a bit too much…
July 28: Bath
Another day in the SW of England, but time to move on to a new locale, for new experiences and views and places to explore. Lucy had arranged for a day in Bath, so we set off by 10:30 for the 2 hour drive through the Hampshire and Somerset countryside to this lovely city. It continued to be dreary and…