Never thought I’d ever make it to Mt.St.Michel…such an amazing, fairytale destination. Medieval town on a lone rick island with a church and abbaye sitting atop.
Follow that with fresh, raw oysters from world famous Cancale and the day was set…et un tout petit peu de vin!
Took the day to explore the Contentin peninsula in Normandy. First stop was Barfleur. Low tide so harbour had no water and boats just sit in the muck. Nice little town, great bakery.
Then to the lighthouse at Gatteville which is very tall.
A swim at a random beach along the coast and Isaac was able to do some snorkeling…a little colder than he had anticipated by doable no the less.
Drove through somw amazing towns and stopped in Carteret which was amazing. Cliffs above amazing sanding beaches that go on forever. Great place to end the day with a quick dip in the blue waters.
Started the day with a visit to a local market. This town is coastal (Grandcamp-Maisy) so there was a lot of fish along with everything else we could want… and more.
Bought some fish, cheese, sausage, veggies, etc… For an awesome dinner.
Then explored the low tide pools for crabs and other critters. Found a green grass snake against the water break and carried him to dry safety!
Drove a few towns over to St.Mère Église where the WWII paratrooper was caught on the church steeple. Neat little town with more war museums and memorabilia, but the best part was that the kids got to watch the staff of the museum move a WWII Sherman tank through the parking lot. Very cool to see as this was what my Papa directed during the war.
Afternoon by the pool and playing with the goats.
Monday was a busy day trying to see as much of the war landing beaches as we could. We started with a visit to Juno Beach and toured the museum and the bunkers. Stopped in at Canada house to see the first house liberated in France..still standing and is one that is shown in many historical photos. Then headed west to Arramanches which has amazing cliff-top views. They have left the landing craft barges in the water as a way to remember and recognize what happened in 1944.
Dinner was our first moules-frites of the trip, then an evening stop at the Pointe de Hoc cliffs. So many bunkers, old gunner positions and bomb craters. The kids loved exploring it all and we loved the cliff top views.
A long day both physically and emotionally. Hard to image what went down 75 years ago.
Kendra and one of her buds!!
From what was intended to be a chill day in saint fromond turned into a very memorable and unique experience in Normandy. This day July 7th was the 75th year anniversary of the liberation of this town and the allied capture of the bridge. So we went to the celebration and the kids got to place flowers at the memorial. A band played the Canadian anthem (and the other ally anthems) and we met a British veteran whom landed at Juno beach with the Canadians them liberated the bridge with the Americans. Very cool to talk to him. Afterwards was a celebration with local food and drink!
Left Paris early in the morning and arrrived at Giverny by 930am to explore Monet’s gardens and ponds. This was one of Kendra’s bucket list musts and was really cool to see.
After a good walk around the gardens we hit the road to Normandie where we arrived at our Farmhouse Airbnb….it is fantastic! So much space, peace and quiet, goats, orchards and even a pool to cool down in. Could definitely move here. Out host Adrian is a rerired British officer who has a wealth of knowledge about the war and the whole area (La Rougerie farm).
Took an evening walk to the end of the road to the castle ruins of La Rivière (built by William the Conqueror brother – Odo of Bayeux, where there are a half dozen Storks nesting on the turret ruins.
Agnes and Voytek joined us that evening after a long day of travel from Calgary.
Our first metro ride was today. Got off near Notre-Dame and started a long day of walking. Our first stop was Shakespeare and Company. Had a quick stop there and then continued on to Notre-Dame. After Notre-Dame, we walked to the Louvre, where we walked around and took pictures around the Glass Pyramid. We tred to stay in the shade as it is very hot! Then we ealked through the Jardins de Tuilleries to the Place de la Concorde. Then along the Seine to le Tour Eiffel. Metro home. Off to Normandie tomorrow.
P.S- The highlight of the boys day was seeing a McLaren sports car. À plutard!
Post by: Ava
Left home…2flights…some slept…some did not:) quick nap amd off to tour the neighborhood. Cimetière Montparnasse et Jardins de Luxembourg…très jolie! Oh and you can’t forget the ice cream. Crêpes for dinner and early to bed!
Coppingers in France