Au Revoir Normandy – Home Again.

After two weeks of fine weather, scrumptious food and great company, we left our gites in Normandy yesterday morning and finally arrived home here in Wales at just after 1.00 am this morning. After such a great holiday it’s difficult to look back and pick out the highlights because there were so many – but I’ll have a go.

Normandy was a brilliant location to visit with a variety of attractions to suit everybody’s taste from ancient monuments…..

to modern history,

from picturesque chateaux……

to resplendent cathedrals,

 

from beautiful coastlines……

to rolling countryside,

and a selection of foods to suit all palettes.

 

We spent a fortnight travelling down the long, straight and mainly empty French roads,

visiting castles, lovely small towns, museums and [much to my delight] cheese factories, but we could have spent much longer as there was so much more to see. Normandy we will return!!

 

The gites in which we stayed, Domaine de la Hamberie, formed a perfect base for our adventures, being located only 5 km from Falaise. This was a charming little town which had all the facilities that we would want plus a couple of incredible museums and of course William the Conqueror's castle.

The gites themselves not only provided plenty of room and all mod cons for 17 guests from around the world but also had the added bonus of the play barn. Here many a happy hour was spent by the children…..

…of all ages!!!!

An added bonus was the ability of all of us to share a table each evening and recount our adventures of the day or merely pass the time away with memories of previous happy holidays.

 

A great location for a great holiday, have a look at their website which gives full details.[www. hamberie.com].

There is one thing that changes a good holiday into a great holiday and that is the company that you are with, this was a GREAT holiday.

Thank-you all for travelling from all over the world but most of all thank-you Lorna and Patrick.

Now where next?????????????????????????????

Normandy – Day 13 – The Sun Returns.

 

After the rather damp start to yesterday, we were pleased to awake to another glorious sunny morning. The boys [and Naomi] had decided to spice up their holiday with a visit to the near-by “Le Parc Acro”, a tree-top adventure playground with rope climbing, abseiling and other such activities. You can read about their adventures on Oliver’s blog [www.olivershingler.co.uk]but if you want a quieter time stick with me.

Victoria decided that as she had not driven in France this holiday  this would be a good opportunity, so while Sylvia and Helena had a quiet day around the cottages, I went into Falaise with Victoria and the children. First stop was lunch at “Le Gars de Falaise”, a lovely little restaurant set on the square in  the centre of the town.

I had the plat de jour, an interesting dish that looked like haggis and chips but I don’t think was[I missed the name given to it by the waiter – any suggestions?].

We sat outside on tables surrounded by what seemed like predominantly British voices, with the wind picking up slightly. This resulted in several glasses being blown over and smashing on the floor much to the amusement of Poppy and Joseph.

After lunch we took the short walk across town to the intriguingly titled “Museum of Window Actors”, a celebration of the animated models that graced the shop windows of the Parisian stores leading up to Christmas between 1920 and the early 50’s. After a short introductory film we were led into a small but very well presented mock-up of the streets of Paris and over 300 automated models doing their thing. From seafarers feeling a little sea-sick…….

to Aladdin and his magic lamp.

 

The children were absolutely fascinated even though they had just spent three days in Disney and Joey couldn’t wait to get up close and personal.

 

Poppy loved this depiction of a dance marathon with a large lady spinning around a much thinner man.

She also suggested that this model resembled our next door neighbour “Uncle Roger”, I’ll find out what he thinks when we get home.

 

Another great visit and it made a change visiting a museum and not being reminded about wars.

Oh, and by the way , Victoria’s driving was superb before anyone comments!!

Only one more day left before the journey home.

Normandy – Day 12 – A Rainy Day.

The poor weather that we had been expecting on Thursday arrived a day early with heavy and persistent rain lasting all morning. The facilities in the “play barn” really come into their own when the weather’s like this , with Diarra, Helena, Sylvia and I taking the opportunity to improve our table-tennis skills.

The  other activity that wet weather is good for is visiting museums and Sylvia and I took the short trip into Falaise to visit the “Musee Aout 1944”, a rather uncared for place that had many relics which told the day by day story of the Battle of Falaise Gap. Taking place between 12-21 August 1944,this was the final and probably most decisive battles in Normandy which resulted in the destruction of the majority of German forces and equipment west of the Seine. In fact two days later Paris was liberated. The number of troops killed in this area was staggering and with over 85% of the town itself being destroyed it really brings home the reality of war. Although not a good looking museum it is well worth a visit for the way it is laid out and the thoughts that it evokes.

The rain had stopped as we left the museum so we decided on a drive to the small town of Livarot to visit the cheese making dairy known as “Le Village Fromager”. Unlike the visit to Camembert this was a real dairy making real cheese and apart from the commentary being completely in French was a very worthwhile excursion.

The late afternoon had now turned quite warm indeed warm enough for some to partake in acrobatics in the pool.

 

 

The return of the children from Disneyland brought a noisy end to what had started as a very quiet day, as Joey waved “night-night” from the bathroom window.

Normandy – Day 11 – Bayeux & The Beaches part 2

After the gastronomic delights of the night before Sylvia and I woke up later than normal and as the rest of the party had decided on a day in Paris we had the cottages to ourselves. The skies were a little overcast but it was still warm as we got ourselves ready for our day out. First on the agenda was a trip to Bayeux to view the famous tapestry.

The short trip up the dual carriage way to Caen brought home once again how quiet French roads are. With the traffic flowing freely we were able to cruise along at 65 mph with little bother.Parking in Bayeux however was a different matter as we drove through the narrow streets of the town looking for poorly signposted car parks.

The tapestry is one of the most popular attractions in Normandy and therefore the queues that we experienced were to be expected. The tapestry measures around 230 feet long and you guided along the various scenes by a personal audio commentary. Unfortunately no photos are allowed in the room but here is one courtesy of UNESCO.

This was the first time that I had viewed this impressive piece of needlework and it was well worth the wait. The tapestry used to be housed in the cathedral which was the next port of call.

A beautiful predominantly 13th century building has many English connections including a fresco of Thomas Becket’s murder…….

……………. and a memorial to the dead in both World Wars a theme I return to later.

The town itself is absolutely delightful with beautiful buildings…..

 

…a floral watermill……………………………….

……but I couldn’t work out what these were! [Any Ideas?]

After a spot of lunch in the car, not much was required after last night’s feast, we made our way to the coast and the D-Day beaches.

Having just seen a depiction of a battle fought nearly a thousand years ago it was quite sobering to be on a battle field that was almost in my lifetime. Certainly as a child the 2nd World War was a large part of many people’s lives and without the deaths of hundreds of young men on this and similar beaches, how different would that childhood have been?

Many relics of the conflict are still very apparent such as these bunkers.

 

The fallen being remembered by these monuments

 

It is difficult to believe that over 1500 American soldiers died on one day in June 1944 on this beautiful beach.

Normandy – Day 10 – Suisse Normande & A Gourmet Meal.

 

With Rosalind,Naomi, Matt and Josh deciding on a day at the seaside the oldies [Lorna,Patrick,Sylvia and I] decided that a leisurely drive in the countryside would be more fitting. The area we choose was the picturesque Suisse Normande , the most rugged of landscapes in Normandy.

The road from Falaise gave a different view of the castle which led to the first photo opportunity of the day.

Leaving Falaise and the castle behind us we climbed winding roads to reach the viewing spot of Les Roches D’Oetre.

This high rock overlooking the valley was very reminiscent of Yat Rock near my home town of Ross-on-Wye.

 

It gave the chance for Sylvia to pose for some pictures.

The journey continued to the little town of Pont-D’Ouilly a pretty little place that is well known for sporting activities.

Here after a visit to the baker’s shop ……………………………………

………..we picnicked by the river watching the kayakers doing their stuff.

The final stop on the tour was Clecy, the capital of the region.

 

We returned to the cottages to ready ourselves for tonight’s treat, a gourmet meal in one of the best restaurants in Falaise, La Fine Fourchette.

The meal was delicious, well presented and the service exceptional. After a champagne cocktail[not for Matt & I as we were driving] and a pre-starter of mussels in a pea puree[tasted a lot better than it sounds] the starters arrived. Rather than describe all the dishes here are some photographic memories of the evening.

Joshua showing no ill effects after finishing his ‘escargot’ starter.

Matt looking expectant as Naomi finishes her oysters.

The palette cleanser of apple sorbet and calvados served prior to the main meals, absolutely delicious [Not like our other experience with calvados!]

 

Naomi’s lamb main course, chosen as lamb is so expensive in Nebraska.

Sylvia’s fish and noodle dish [foreground] and Lorna’s duck.

Josh’s “Floating Islands” dessert.

My rice pudding, with Matt in the background now worried that the large dessert may negate the ‘oyster’ effect.

After a final drink of local fruit in alcohol [again the designated drivers missing out], it was time to end a most enjoyable evening.

If ever you are in Falaise, I can thoroughly recommend La Fine Fourchette.