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France Day 8: Mont Saint Michel

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Today we woke up around 7:30 and had breakfast at the house. Then Don and I went to the store to get snacks for the bus. The bus picked us up at 10 am and we had a different driver named Damien. He was very nice and spoke very good English. He also was more of tour guide and told us a lot of information about everywhere we went. He was very good.

We stopped at a rest stop that put all USA rest stops to shame. It was like a palace—there was a restaurant with roasted pork shoulder, amazing looking sandwiches, a very nice gift shop, and of course a Starbucks.

When we got back on the road Damien asked if we wanted a surprise and we all did. So he stopped off a road that had a view of Mont Saint Michel in the far background. In the forefront were pastures with sheep everywhere. It was very beautiful, like a postcard; in fact I’m pretty sure you can get this exact view on a postcard. We took a lot of pictures here and Mont Saint Michel just looked like a castle.

Before coming to France I did not know much about Mont Saint Michel. I had really only seen pictures, and funny enough, one time when we were playing GeoGuessers it dropped us at Mont Saint Michel. Basically Mont Saint Michel is a commune that sits on an island off the mainland of France. The tides around the island are also interesting because it made it accessible but also stranded enemies. The low tides protected the island and it was never conquered. We took some pictures of people walking on the sandvery far from the island during low tide.

When we made it to Mont Saint Michel we had about a 20 minute walk to get there. It was a beautiful walk and we took a lot of pictures. Damien guided us up to the top of Mont Saint Michel and told us a lot of history on the way. It was a very good tour.

Once we made it to the top we walked back down to the town for free time before we had to head back. I think we had almost an hour of free time and of course I was hungry. We found a sandwich shop and got a sandwich. We walked around the town a bit but what we saw of it was so crowded and touristy so we decided to stop at a place with a view and get a drink (wine).

After an hour we all met up for the trek back to the bus. We wanted to take the shuttle back to the parking lot but it was so crowded and we waited 20 minutes and still were not able to get on the shuttle. So we started to walk back. The walk felt long and it actually got hot!

It was a long but fun day. On the way home we stopped and picked up some sandwiches because we would be getting home late. When we got home we all just relaxed, ate, and talked. Around 11 pm I got some news about work from a coworker and it was pretty exciting so I went to see if Julie was still awake to talk about it! She was!

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Day 7: Honfleur

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Today was scheduled as a free day. Most people decided to take a bus to the town of Honfleur. We wanted to do that also but we woke up really, really late–like between 9:30 and 10. Everyone else was pretty much out the door when we got up. They walked to the train station for the 11:05 train. The next train to Honfleur after that was around 1 pm and the train back was around 4 pm so if we wanted to go we needed to hurry.

We were determined to make it to the the 11:05 train. We got ready super quick and we took an uber to the train station. The line to get tickets was making me a bit nervous because we arrived around 10:45, but we got the tickets and met the others in line. Many jokes were made between us and Kevin pertaining to The Amazing Race. We were the last team to arrive but we definitely were not out!

The bus ride was around 30 minutes. Honfleur is small, cute harbor town. We walked around looking for food and decided to eat at a place right on the water called Le Marin. Here we tried escargot. It actually was pretty good. We also had croque madames. It was funny, while we were sitting at this restaurant we saw almost everyone in our group. They would walk by and we would call out to them. It was like we were seeing someone we hadn’t seen in awhile.

The day was absolutely beautiful, the warmest day so far here in Normandy. We met up with Greg and Patty. They had drove to Honfleur after visiting the town of Bayeux. We walked around a bit and did a little shopping. Then we split up again. I was wanting a snack before we had to leave so we went back to the water and found a restaurant called 42. I had a cappuccino and ice cream. Don had a beer.

We walked slowly back to the bus station for our 4:15 train. This time we were the first to arrive. I’m really glad we made it to Honfleur because it was such a cute little town. Once we got back to the house we prepared a dinner to have outside. We worked on cleaning the tables and chairs, then we relaxed a bit outside since it was so nice out. Dinner was great. There was chicken, salad, green beans, potatoes, and a tart for dessert.

It was getting chilly so Don started a fire for warmth in the grill area but there wasn’t much to burn. We walked to a gas station to get firewood. After hanging out for awhile I was pretty tired so I went upstairs to bed.

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France Day 6: Normandy

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Today we got up around 7:45. I made some eggs to share and had some toast and coffee. We were preparing to go on our tour of Normandy. Our bus came to pick us up at 9:45. The bus was really nice and it had wi-fi. The driver was very nice too and knowledgeable about everything.

It was about a 2 hour drive to our first stop the German cemetery. The cemetery is located near Omaha beach and is maintained by Germans today.

Next we stopped at Pointe du Hoc. Pointe du Hoc is on high cliffs of Normandy and it was occupied by the Germans until the U.S. army scaled the cliffs on D-Day and captured it. Now there is a memorial and a museum there. You can also still see and go inside some of the original fortifications and bunkers. There are also still bomb craters to see. It was an interesting place to see and the cliffs were very beautiful.



We loaded back in the bus and went on our way to the American Cemetery. The American Cemetery was busy with decorating and organizing for the upcoming 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Next we had lunch. Don had a galette and I had fish and chips. At one point during the meal Greg took a mayo packet, opened it, and sucked out some mayo. I forget what prompted this, maybe the fact we didn’t have a lot of mayo. An older French couple saw this happen and they just looked appalled. We had a good laugh though. I stole a mayo packet to give Greg a snack on the long bus ride home.

After lunch we checked out some intact German bunkers. That was pretty cool to see.

The last stop on our Normandy Tour was a lookout over the false harbor that was created. The British engineered large concrete pieces to create a port or false harbor to help move supplies and men to and from ships. They even purposely sunk some older ships to help create the harbor. The false harbor was essential in the Battle of Normandy.

Flag of Normandy

It was a 2 hour drive back home and everyone seemed tired. When we got back Jim, Doreen, and Don watched the series finale of Game of Thrones. The rest of us just relaxed, sat outside, and talked. It was a nice, sunny afternoon. We had dinner at 8 at an Italian restaurant called Il Parasole. This was super exciting for me because I love pizza and Italian food way more than French food haha. We were able to pick out an appetizer and pizza or pasta, then a dessert. I had calamari with a diavolo pizza, which is basically pepperoni with peppers. I had ice cream for dessert. I am blanking on what Don had right now but we both enjoyed our meals very much! Best food so far in Deauville.

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France Day 5: Exploring Deauville & Trouville

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Today we slept in until about 9:30 and that was nice. We had some toast and eggs and decided to go out on our own to look around the town around 11. We walked around Deauville. I got a giant pack of travel tissues at a pharmacy because I think I have picked up a cold. The weather does not help because it’s pretty chilly and dreary!

We found a farmer’s market and got some mushrooms and tiramsi. We also saw Greg and Julie here.

For lunch we stopped at a place called La Morny-pizzeria and creperie. I had a pizza with ham and Don had a galette. A galette is a type of pastry made from buckwheat flour. Think of it like a savory crepe I think. It was a pretty good lunch.

After lunch we did some more walking towards the river/canal. On the other side we could see more buildings and a ferris wheel. It was getting colder and raining more so we were thinking of going back, but then we saw a water taxi that would take us across so we thought we might as well check it out!

The water taxi was only a couple euros. On the other side was the town of Trouville. There was a pretty cool fish market right when we got off the taxi. Trouville was really cute. We stopped at a place called Les Artistes for a cappuccino. It was like a French hipster bar.

After hanging out out here for awhile we walked back to the house, it was around 4 pm. Don decided to take a nap while I socialized a bit in the kitchen. Kevin was making white trash punches for Greg and it was pretty funny.

We had to leave for dinner around 6:30 pm. We were planning to take the water taxi over to Trouville, how weird! When we got to the river though the tide had went out and the water was so low! You could see the bottom! So crazy considering a few hours earlier the water was super high. There was a temporary bridge we could use to walk across to the other side.

We had some time before dinner so we walked around with Greg and Patty. We saw our first cats of France here!

We ate at a creperie called Le Vieux Normand. Here we had fondue and crepes, both things I haven’t really had before. This place was also known to have many local ciders. The fondue was interesting and unique. There were savory crepes and sweet crepes. I was really craving a sweet one so that’s what I got. Don had a savory one with salmon. It was a nice dinner, so far French food though has not been my favorite. It is kind of a bummer that I can’t partake in the wine, some cheeses, and some meats. Oh well! Hope baby is enjoying his time in France!

We walked back to the house after dinner. It’s so crazy because it stays light out here right now until around 9:45 pm. We hung out for a bit then went to bed around 11.

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France Day 4: Traveling to Deauville

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Today we woke up around 7:30 and got out of the room by 8:45. We wanted to eat at the hotel but it was crowded! There was a wait for breakfast! So we decided to go down the street and try a breakfast place since we were a little short on time. The restaurant was called Le Pre aux Clercs. It was ok, just an average omelet breakfast. If you’re in a hurry though going to any cafe in France is not the place to be.

Once we were done with breakfast we took an uber to the train station to meet Greg. We all took the train to the airport to pick up a rental car to drive to the house in Deauville. We got a manual van haha—so thankfully Greg had driven a manual in college. The drive to the house was about 2 hours. We really enjoyed the signs on the side of the roads for the towns. It seemed they depicted things the towns were known for. I wish I had gotten a picture of the town with all the science stuff like beakers. Here’s one though:

When we arrived at the house we could not get ahold of the owner to check in early, so we loaded back in the van to meet everyone else at the train station. We put everyone’s luggage into the van and we all went to look for some food, except Greg, he went to get groceries.

We walked around town for a bit and I was getting pretty hangry. Finally we decided on a bar called Le Morny’s Cafe. Everyone started ordering drinks, which was a bit depressing because I could have used one. I had a croque madame which was recommended by Julie. A croque madame is like a grilled ham and cheese with a white sauce and a fried egg on top. It was delicious. Don had a cheeseburger.

After lunch we walked back to the house with Julie. Everyone else stayed behind to look around the town. Greg was at the house sitting outside and he had picked up a few snacks. He still was unable to get ahold of the owner even though it was 4 pm. Julie and I walked to the beach to check it out. It was very pretty, but with the weather only being in the 50s and 60s I don’t see it getting much use! When we got back to the house Greg said someone was coming to let us in.

The house is pretty cool. We drew names for the 3 bedrooms the couples would be sleeping in. We got a pretty sweet room. It has a giant bathroom.

For dinner we walked about 20-30 minutes to a restaurant on a boat called La Peniche. It was nice because the menu was set. We could choose from a few appetizers, main dishes, and then desserts. I had a mozzarella tart for an appetizer while Don had Foie Gras. For main courses I had the steak fillet and fries and Don had chicken with mashed potatoes. The steak was done perfectly. Dinner was very good. Don had creme brulee for dessert and I had something that reminded me of chocolate lava cake and vanilla ice cream.

The walk home was rainy and cold. I went to bed when we got back because my nose was very stuffy and I had a headache.