On our last night in Paris, we wanted to eat at a restaurant reveiwed in the NYTimes, but they were fully booked. Our second choice turned out great though - good service, "country" food and the delight of meeting an elderly pair from England who were celebrating his 75th birthday and their 45th annniversary. They were sweeties!Next morning, we packed and waved goodbye to the Marriott and all its luxury. That was truly a treat.
Since we had to navigate the Metro to get to the station, we left plenty early, which is just as well. Shoving suitcases through the gates and turnstiles is no easy feat! But we made it, settled into our seats and enjoyed the ride to Caen.
Caen was a bit gray, a little cool, and A LOT smaller than Paris. The Hertz place was directly across the street from the station and - CLOSED for lunch! You know you're in a small town. No choice, so we pulled our suitcases and wandered a bit looking for a small place to sit and have a bite.
What luck! A small place, simple, and the host comes over to greeet us and says very earnestly, "I'm sorry, we don't have any food!" How very weird for a restaurant. How very not true. We ordered something to drink and watched people come and go - with FOOD! It seems it was a co-op for the disabled and designed to serve them, not folks off the street.
What luck! A small place, simple, and the host comes over to greeet us and says very earnestly, "I'm sorry, we don't have any food!" How very weird for a restaurant. How very not true. We ordered something to drink and watched people come and go - with FOOD! It seems it was a co-op for the disabled and designed to serve them, not folks off the street.
The car was comfortable and roomy, an Opal minivan, and we tried to leave town and the non-food-serving-restaurant, but had to return via a circuitous route (they have a thing for one-way streets in Caen, it seems) as we forgot all the papers! Finally we were really underway and headed generally in the direction of the Chateau where we would spend the night with stops along the way in La Normandie.
There are so many of these "Tudor" style half-timbered houses, some with thatched roofs, that look just like old England, though the tour book said the style originated here and was carried back to England by the Normans.There were apple trees still in bloom, cows in the fields, and signs over all for Calvados and Camembert - what the region is famous for. Below the wall of a farm with all the medals won for their Calvados over the years. It would have been fun to take some back, but bottles and liquids are heavy and we were already fully packed.
I'm still surprised how little distance you have to go to be in a region that has a totally different look, both in architecture and landscape; travel is so much more interesting that way.
We accidentally found a little surprise along the way for Larry - the Pegasus Bridge. No apologies necessary if you don't know that it was a bridge airlifted (I think) to the area in order to help the Allied forces get over a river and spread their forces in Europe. The area is rife with World War II memeorials and sites. More of that later.
So, the grand adventure of the day: finding the Chateau St. Gabriel. It had started to rain, was significantly cooler, and the "federal highways" in these rural areas of France are a lot like the ones in Germany - NARROW. No speeding along here!
And there it was, the Chateau. Sorta intersting and sorta strange. We had immediate reservations - somehow it didn't quite match the images in the internet - more Shabby Chic than Patina. Julia said "Munster Mansion" - we didn't know how close she was to the truth!!
We unloaded, shook our heads and after a brief discussion opted to stay the night but not more! Off to the coast for food and back to sleep and plan our escape! In all fairness, Veronique, the owner, did her best, but they simply don't have the money - obviously - to do proper up-keep and upgrading. It was built in the 17th c. and restored in the 19th c. We decided that was the last time any serious work was done.
Breakfast was modest but sufficient. Veronique apologized profusely for the flies, but sadly, there was no way to change the facts. Facts is flies.
Bayeux
First stop of the day, Bayeux, famous for the tapestry that tells the story of the Norman conquest of England, William the Conquerer and the Battle of Hastings in 1066. I'll get to see it on my next trip to Bayeux.
There were of course many old structures there as well as a charming shopping area where we found Julia's shop. And we found a window of some of the things Julia liked best to buy: Pastries. In Paris we had sampled a local version of a macaroon cookie, Tarte Tatin, Lemon tart (I guess a few others as well). They were all beautiful and all delicious.
And the market - huge, wonderful! They are 10 times what we have here in Bremen, with so much wonderful stuff to buy or eat right there. Here's the take-away Paella stand. We really need to bring knives and forks and bowls next time. 
The Beaches
Next, to the Beaches - that is Omaha Beach and Juno Beach. I'm not a WWII buff, but it's clear that the whole region caters to veterans and those who are interested in these historical places. Many windows have little signs that say "Welcome Liberators" and they don't mean just Americans: there were people of all ages and many nationalites at all the sites where we stopped.
The most impressive was our stop at the American Cemetery. You've all seen pictures of it, but the view of thousands upon thousands of crosses and Stars of David on this immaculately trimmed bluff is moving.
Ah, yes, then to the hotel (Hotel de Paris, ironically enough) we'd booked the night before. Here's Larry all dressed up in his best Paris fashion!
For dinner that night, I had the local specialty: Moules Frites. That's mussels and fries, here offered with 10 different sauces. I got the traditional leeks and white wine sauce, Werner the camembert sauce, Larry a fish combo - all DÉLICIEUX. Unfortunately, fish and shellfish don't like Julia, so she ordered duck - also very good.
OK, got to wind this up. Since Werner and I had to take the train at 5PM from Caen, we decided to stay there for the day. Once again, we came across a market (!) - Sunday morning, yet, the biggest we'd seen so far. The visit to the old fort and castle was interstesting - a special family day was going on with lots of things for the kids to do. Unfortunately, the rain returned in sheets making it a bit muddy.
We arrived at the train station and got a German (!) to take our picture here in front of an OLD steam engine that a club of enthusiasts operates. Looked a lot like the Hogwart's Express! And absolutely last, the train leaving the station, not of course the one that took us back home but you get the idea.What a wonderful trip, and wonderful to relive it a bit through these pictures and words. Hope you liked it and got to this point without giving up.
