Brittany, France - Day 5-8, July 22-25, 2016

Day 5 – France – Friday, July 22, 2016

We packed up early, had another delicious breakfast at the hotel and headed south and west toward Brittany via the narrow, windy, hedge-rowed, narrow back roads through the countryside and many small towns. This area, as well as Brittany, has more hills and valleys than I had thought … very pretty.

Mount Saint Michel - France

Mount Saint Michel … We were here 19 years ago but wanted to stop again to see this magnificent icon of France. It’s hard to imagine how the chapel, abbey, houses and other buildings were actually engineered to create a functioning village on this little mountain which protrudes out of the tidal flat of the Atlantic Ocean.  The church with its high tower with a golden St. Michael the Archangel perched on top, the towering turrets and the spiraling spindles decorating the outside sit on top of the other buildings which are tucked around the mound.  This is considered one of the wonders of the western world!  We didn’t climb all the way up to the chapel … my excuse is we did that last time!  We did go about half way up to get a nice view of the area.  A causeway connects the fortress island to the mainland that is only used by the free shuttles which take us, cyclists, walkers and horse-drawn carriages to and from the mainland parking lot!  When we arrived, it was high tide which meant the water reached right up to the causeway.  An hour later, the tide had receded back several hundred feet … leaving a plethora of goodies for the birds to feed on. This area is said to have the highest tides in Europe. We only stayed long enough to reacquaint ourselves with Mount Saint Michel and purchase a few trinkets for the family … this is definitely a must-visit when in France!

It was another three hours before we got to Portsall, Brittany.  This is where we ran into a snag … the car’s GPS would not, would not, never did recognize the address of the B&B that we are staying at; so it took better than an hour to actually find this sweet little stone farmhouse get-away. Once here, our hosts graciously offered us the local hard cider … so refreshing!  We’re here for another French wedding … this time the sister of the young lady whose wedding we attended last year in the foothills of the Pyrenees of South West France.  Tonight we just drove around to become acquainted with the coastal area and the location of our friend’s house and the church.  Yet another wonderful French dinner consisting of buckwheat pancakes (looked like crepes), mine topped with yummy grilled goat cheese and bacon; Bob’s topped with scrumptious large scallops, shrimp and thinly sliced veggies.  Many of the restaurants in this area are called creperies … and they serve mainly crepes … complete meals … meaning topped with a variety of meats and seafood goodies.  Who would have thought??

Day 6 – France – Saturday, July 23, 2016 … We are enjoying our quaint B & B, a remodeled stone

Breakfast at the B&B

farmhouse with walls over two feet thick! The Continental Breakfast consists of a delicious croissant, baguettes with the tastiest butter and/or a couple of the madam’s homemade jams, fruit, yogurt and tea or coffee.  The grounds of the B & B are covered everywhere with a multitude of plants, flowers, hedges, ground cover, arbors, and trees as well as a vegetable garden tucked in the corner.  The entrance area is the same with the addition of a small pond and a narrow path up to the front door.  So cute and relaxing! 

Tiffany and Raul

Around noon we went to the church in Portsall to help Jeanette (my childhood friend and mother of the bride) decorate the pews.  My crafty friends might appreciate the beautiful, yet simple blue hydrangeas with a white ribbon draping down the stem, tied to the ends of the pews with raffia.  Once again it was a beautiful wedding with a mixture of French and English throughout the Mass. Philippe (father of the bride) surprised Tiffany and Raul with a three-piece “band” … a flute, a drum and a bagpipe … playing local Celtic music as they exited the church …PLUS a cute horse-drawn carriage!  The front of the church is on the hill overlooking the bay dotted with many sail boats.  A beautiful site, but unfortunately it was low tide so all the boats were sitting in the muck at that particular moment as the entire bay empties itself every ebb tide!

 The reception was at a Maison, or country house, which was simply charming with its vine-covered

17-Piece Celtic Band at the
Reception

stone walls and huge blue hydrangea bushes surrounding the little courtyard where the festivities began. The dining room was narrow but had a few ocean blue silky banners hanging down the walls with blue lighting accenting them, and the tables were covered with white linen cloths, a blue silky runner, blue candles and a small white bouquet of flowers on a mirror in the middle.  This time there was a locally renown 17-piece Celtic/Brittany band to greet the bride and groom … Brittany is the area where the Celtics originated, and people here are proud of that and do keep up many of the Celtic traditions.  This portion of the reception in the courtyard consisted of either wine, Champaign or a Blue Lagoon (blue for the color theme of the wedding!), and, of course, many simply scrumptious little appetizers. 

After a couple hours we sat down to dinner … a four-course dinner that lasted for about four hours.  I should have remembered this routine from last year’s wedding … the French have this wonderful tradition of lingering over and thoroughly enjoying their meals, one course at a time!  And all the while the Champaign and wine were lavishly being poured! The toasts to Tiffany and Raul were heart-felt, especially the slide show by her dad, Philippe . By time the dancing began, about 1:00 a.m., Bob and I were ready to call it a day!  (We are told the dancing went on until 4 a.m.) What an honor it has been to be invited to participate in this special day.

Day 7 – France – Sunday, July 24, 2016 … I took this opportunity to sleep in a bit while Bob enjoyed the Continental breakfast, with two other local guests here at the B&B.  We easily found the church in Ploudalmezeau (try wrapping that word around your tongue so you can communicate with the locals!!!) and attended 10:30 Mass.  It was another lovely, ornately decorated French church with a tall steeple, a stained glass crucifix behind the Altar and many beautiful stained glass windows throughout the church.  The afternoon was spent back at the Maison of last night’s reception, this time for the traditional day-after-the-wedding lunch. 

So wouldn’t you know that Jeanette and Philippe pulled off yet another wonderful gathering for about 40 of us guests.  First we were served either Blue Lagoons, red wine, or an aperitif made with white wine and black currant kir called Crème de Cassis (tastes almost like port), while some of the smaller children passed around a few munchies.  Oh, and Philippe was dressed in his sailor’s uniform …red suspenders, blue and white horizontal striped shirt with a unique round white sailor’s hat with a blue head-band and a red bob on top (you have to know that he loves to sail and has sailed his boat all over the North Atlantic/English Channel area).  Lunch

Frying galette --
our lunch

was a variety of crepes, prepared to order for us as we waited in line by two people who were dressed in traditional wait-staff from old Brittany.  First course was thin buckwheat crepes called galette that were topped with an egg, cheese and ham, eaten with a vinaigrette salad.  The second course was another galette, this time with bacon, cheese and mushrooms.  If you were still hungry, next course were crepes for dessert … wheat crepes topped with flaming Grand Mariner, and you could also add your own caramel, chocolate, Nutella and/or assorted local jams and fruit.  Plus, of course, all served with hard apple cider for which this region is well known.  Oh my … LOVE French food (though I have to say it would have been nice to have maple syrup as a choice!!)!

We stayed on to help a bit with the cleanup. Then we drove to the beach along the Atlantic, which is less than a mile from where we are staying.  It was again low tide, so the beach was very, very wide, though there was the pervasive smell of low tide.  There were a couple of wind surfers in wet suits, as well as a few ruminants of concrete German bunkers remaining from WWII, part of the “Atlantic Wall”.  It’s a bit cool today, so we didn’t stay long.  It’s been an enjoyable, relaxing day visiting with the many family and friends we’ve met in the last two years … so I don’t know why I’m so tired this evening.

Day 8 – France – Monday, July 25, 2016 … This has been a nice leisurely morning beginning with breakfast here at the B&B and having a lovely conversation with the owners, who do not speak a word of English!! But Bob stumbles through with the French he does know and they are very patient with us, so we were able to talk about our families and the climate and flora differences between Brittany and ours.  It was also a time for repacking for the remaining few days in France and planning our route through the Loire Valley the next two days. 

Le guilliguy
Portsall, Brittany, France

We climbed the hill beside the bay in Portsall called Le Guilliguy, a Place of Meditation, dating back to the Bronze Age before Christ.   Perched on top of this large rock is a 15’ cross carved as one piece out of stone. The site provided a great panoramic view of a large portion of the coastline, plus there was a small stone-henge type structure close to the base of the cross where it is presumed someone was buried hundreds of years ago.  We also viewed the anchor on display of the Amoco Cadiz, the ship that broke  up close to the bay dumping over 200,000 gallons of crude oil into the bay and surrounding water in 1978.  It was the largest ecological disaster of the 20^th century … but you wouldn’t know anything happened today. 

The /Atlantic Coastline in
Brittany, France

Chapel of Saint Samson

Jeanette and Philippe were gracious enough to have us over for lunch, and then Jeanette took us on a little tour of the coastline.  This area of the Atlantic is very interesting with its high rock sea wall in many places, rocky areas along the sea wall, many inlets and bays, and many protruding rocks and islands as one looks out to sea. Then, of course, the inlets and bays are dotted with many sail boats and other watercraft that sit on the ground during low tide and sway in the water during high tide. Of course we had to visit the local little chapel, The Chapel of Saint Samson, the Welch missionary who brought Christianity to the Finitere region in the 6^th century, whose legend is that of many miraculous healings. The chapel has been beautifully restored inside.  By then it was tea time, and we stopped at a boat-turned-tea house and shoppe, Fleur Des Thes, where I had seaweed tea with cinnamon and cardamom … not bad!  Bob played it safe with Café au lait. Then it was time to bid farewell to very good friends, promising to come back again soon!

After another great French dinner of smoked salmon, we are getting ready to leave early tomorrow.  It has been fun and interesting to learn more about Brittany, its history and culture, its climate and vegetation and its magnificent sea coast.  Yes, we will be back some day.

Normandy, France - Day 4, July 21, 2016

Day 4 – France – Thursday, June 21, 2016 … It’s a day for exploring on our own. 

Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry … After breakfast we stopped at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum.  It is an immense embroidered cloth known to the French as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde.  It is 230 feet long and is one of the largest and most detailed in the world.  It tells the story in great detail of the events leading up to the Norman invasion and conquest of Saxon England in 1066 by William the Conqueror, who then ruled England for about 20 years. It was the last successful invasion of Great Britain.  It is thought tapestries such as this were created to tell the story in pictures to the common people who were mostly unable to read. The vivid colors even 900 years later, the ships, horses, expressions and actions of the people … it is an amazing piece of work!

The White Chalk Cliffs and Arches at Etretat … Next we drove east, about 100 mi, to the little town of Etretat seated at the edge of the white chalk cliffs and arches along the English Channel.  These are world famous, over 100-foot tall sheer limestone and chalk cliffs similar to and across from the cliffs of Dover.  The beach is all white, chalky rocks and pebbles … very difficult to walk on!  There are three natural arches in this vicinity created as the limestone washed away … we were able to see two of them from our vantage point.  Beside one of the arches is a pillar of limestone rising out in the water. The white bare sheer cliffs are also layered with what looks like rocks of opal … interesting.  We also saw many climbing up the steep trails to the top of the cliffs for a birds-eye view of the channel, town and arches.  Walking along the pebbles was hard enough … This time we chose to simply watch others make the effort instead!

White Chalk Cliffs of Etretat

The town of Etretat is cute with its typically French narrow streets, flowers, flowers and flowers everywhere and many small shops and restaurants.  The ice cream was delicious!  But what I enjoyed seeing the most throughout this entire region was the hydrangeas … hundreds and hundreds of hydrangea bushes.  Not like we have at home, but vivid purple, bright or light blue, pink or dark

A graveyard at a small
church in Etretat

fushia … simply stunning flowers so thick you could hardly see any leaves.  I’m envious that we don’t have these at home.  I’m guessing the color comes from the limestone soil of the region. Another interesting find was the cemetery by which we just happened to park the car.  A closer look showed many of the graves have cement crypts the length and width of the grave site … some with one, two or up to six and eight people … several generations of a family buried in one grave site.  Fascinating.  While it was a long day getting to Etratat and back, to me it was worth the effort … but don’t ask Bob!

Cathedrale Notre-Dame
Bayeux

Cathedrale Notre-Dame – Bayeux … This was a little treasure that we stumbled upon.  I knew there was a cathedral in Bayeux but it was not high on the priority list.  However, after seeing the steeple and outside façade, we simply had to explore further.  And what a gem we found!  It had many beautiful side altars.  One side chapel was dedicated to St. Philomena … my grandmother’s name and a patron saint close to my heart!  It had a very large nave, a replica of the pieta (Mother Mary holding Jesus’ body when he was taken down from the cross), other statues of Mary plus St. Francis of Assisi, lovely Stations of the Cross and wooden chairs instead of pews.  Every evening there are lights outlining the outside features of the church which change colors periodically.  Very pretty.  We were told they have a light show when it gets dark every evening … 9:45 and it was still light … and we decided to call it a day!

Once again we enjoyed an excellent French dinner.  A salad with goat cheese and duck breast, haddock served with a cream sauce, rice and green beans, and Crème Brule for dessert.  Bob had barbecued pork, which was outstanding.  I don’t understand why food at home isn’t prepared to be so scrumptious!  Good night now … another early morning tomorrow as we leave our adventures in Normandy behind. It was definitely very educational, rewarding and enjoyable! 

France -- Day 3, July 20, 2016

Day 3 – France – July 20, 2016

I have to say that breakfasts in France are simply delicious.  The hotel served a buffet consisting of scrambled eggs, sausage, scrumptious croissants and breads, delicate, tasty crepes, cheeses and lunch meats .. oh my!  Our guide picked us up just before 9 a.m. for the day’s tour of the American battle sites that took place here in Normandy.

The day is June 6, 1944 … D-Day.  British, Canadian and Americans troops along with the French Resistance have been planning, plotting and practicing for this day … the invasion of France to liberate the people.  It was a sobering day to walk the areas and beaches where these brave men fought and died. It brought reality to the many war movies Bob made me watch!  This is reality.  This is history.  This is monumental.  This is also joyous and full of gratitude!

German Cemetery in Normandy

The German Cemetery … 21,000 German soldiers are buried here, where they died, two men per grave. Each grave site has two flat markers stating their name, rank, birth date and date of their death.  The youngest soldier was 14, the oldest 75.  100 of them were Jewish.  Scattered throughout the cemetery, marking the sectors, were groups of five crosses as ornaments, plus a commemorative monument upon a hill of the unknown soldiers toward the middle of the grounds.  The cemetery is privately owned and maintained with only a small dollar amount provided by the German government.  Money was raised by people buying and planting small maple trees which surround the area, and the large oak trees within the cemetery itself represent peace.  It was interesting to me that most of the soldiers in Normandy at the time of the invasion were not SS soldiers, which was the Nazi Army, but from the main German army, which were not affiliated with the Nazis. That makes a huge difference to the French, even to this day!

Replica of the invasion, a paratrooper
tangled on the steeple of the church
in /Sante-Mere-Eglise

Sante-Mere-Eglise … In the hours prior to the invasion, thousands of paratroopers dropped from the airplanes to do the strategic work necessary for the success of the venture. Weather played havoc on the plans of not only the paratroopers, but on every aspect of the invasion. But for the paratroopers, gliding down from the sky in darkness, it meant not landing where expected.  Many where shot as they came down, some drowned when landing in surrounding marshes and swamps, and some had the misfortune of landing in the town square of Sante-Mere-Eglise where the towns people and German troops, who were supposed to be asleep, were awake due to a burning house.  One soldier’s parachute, John Steele, got caught up on the church steeple and hung there for several hours “playing dead” after he was shot in the foot.  After the Germans took him down and realized he was not dead, he was imprisoned, only to escape a few days later!  (Red Button played this character in the move The Longest Day) Today a parachute with a replica of a soldier hangs down the side of the church steeple in Sante-Mere-Eglise … always a reminder to them of their intense gratitude for the sacrifices made to liberate them.  Stained glass windows have been installed in the church over the years by both the townspeople and GIs again to show their gratitude.  This was the first town to be liberated by the 82^nd Airborne Division.

The Airborne Museum in town was also very interesting and brought me to tears a couple of times.  What these men went through, their valor and courage, their fears and their faith … simply incredible. Our travels through this area, which encompasses about 50 miles from one end to the other, was quite beautiful … very hilly, many fields, rolls and rolls of baled hay, high thick hedges along fields, along both sides of the roads and between properties (which, by the way, made it extremely difficult for the solders to fight in 1944). This region is known for its dairy, horses and cider brandy! 

Utah Beach … Of the five beaches stormed by soldiers on D-Day, Utah Beach is the farthest west and was the easiest to take by the American 7^th Army Division in spite of the weather. That probably is because the embankment just beyond the beach is not as high as the others, and overall the Germans were not expecting an invasion in Normandy and had pulled most of their troops back.  Today there are monuments honoring the US Navy and others, a replica of the landing crafts on display and a museum on site.  We also enjoyed a French lunch of egg, tomato, lettuce, onion sandwich on a baguette with a hint or horseradish … yummy and filling!

Monument dedicated to the Navy,
Utah Beach

Utah Beach

The steep cliffs the Rangers had to climb
at Pointe-Du-Hoc

T

One of the German bunkers
remaining at Pointe-Du-Hoc

The Pointe-Du-Hoc … This is the point, literally, between Utah and Omaha beaches.  The vertical cliffs snuggle right up to the English Channel, and they are about 100 feet high.  The US Rangers were responsible for taking these cliffs and taking out the six French artillery cannons the Germans had commandeered.  It was from this German bunker that one young soldier, looking through the one-foot high opening, saw the ocean filled horizon to horizon with a convoy of our invading ships.  Imagine the fear he was experiencing at this time!  What once was perfectly flat land is now pocked with deep craters from cannon fire from those ships.  The bunkers are now empty and mostly battered, but you can envision the formidable obstacle they were for the Rangers.  One ammunitions building with about 3-foot thick walls was exploded with such intensity that three of the walls can still be seen blown away from the original building … incredible.  Entering these bunkers, viewing the craters, imagining the Rangers climbing those steep cliffs while under fire makes the battle real.  Lives were lost and men were maimed, but all fought on, believing in their cause of freedom to liberate France.  A sobering yet inspiring place!

Omaha Beach … The most difficult battle the Americans faced was on Omaha Beach, east of Pointe-

Omaha Beach

Du-Hoc  (the three other beaches of the invasion included Gold invaded by the British, Juno, invaded by the Canadians, and Sword, another British invasion point).  Omaha Beach itself is about four miles long and more than three football fields long at low tide, then a very high embankment, all protected by German soldiers, cannons and other artillery.  Plus the beach was “protected” by thousands of mines on steel posts or sharp metal barricades to prevent tanks and other artillery from coming ashore. Because of the weather, the landing parties did not come ashore where originally planned, but everyone ran bravely across the sandy beach up to the embankment, then up the embankment to capture the German stronghold … again, all while being shot at!  It took all day.  Walking the beach where so many died that day also brought reality to the war that was fought before I was born.  By the end of the day, the area was secure, but victory came at a terrible loss of life. I was extremely moved by the impassioned plea of our guide, who was born and has always lived in Normandy and whose grandparents suffered the occupation and the

The sculpture honoring the D-Day Soldiers
on Omaha Beach

subsequent bombings destroying everything they had … but that ultimately resulted in freedom. Her message to us was first, they were and still are extremely grateful for what the Americans, British and Canadians did to liberate their country.  They know without a doubt that even though most of their human and material losses resulted after the invasion in the quest to drive out the Germans was done for the greater good. Yes, many French civilians lives were also lost in the quest. And second, that we must always remember what we did here, we must always remember our history, and we must always remember the importance of being free!  Personally, it made me sad in a way, as I feel many in our country do not remember, plus our freedoms in the US are being taken from us one freedom at a time. 

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial … Oh my, what a beautiful, peaceful site.  The

Mosaic ceiling in the chapel
at the Normandy American cemetery

cemetery is located along the coast of the English Channel,Overlooking Omaha beach, and among the 9,386 crosses or Stars of David (149) markers on the graves are beautiful flowers, lush trees, a lovely walkway along the high ground along the beach, a beautiful monument honoring our fallen and a lovely rose garden honoring those lost in the battle of Normandy.  In the center there is a small chapel with a lovely mosaic on the ceiling of angels caring for the wounded and the dead during the battle.  Only about 40 percent of those who died in the invasion effort, dated from approximately June through September of 1944, are buried here.  The rest are buried in the US as requested by family members.  The men who fought and died here did so for a noble purpose, a purpose still worth defending.  The loss of life is sobering … may their lives, given freely, never be in vain!

A fruit and vegetable store in
Bayeux, Normandy

Bayeux … It was a long day, and we’re tired and hungry!  After a quick shower, we meandered to the center of this quaint little French town of Bayeux where we picked up a bottle of wine and some water and had a most delicious French dinner.  Bob had duck breast … I had a duck breast, duck pate and smoked salmon salad. It doesn’t get much better! 

France -- Days 1 & 2, July, 2016

Days 1 and 2 – France – July 18 & 19, 2016

After leaving on a 7 ½-hour flight in which there was virtually no sleep, we landed safely in Paris at 8:30 a.m. It took over an hour of standing in line to get through customs, only to have the agent stamp our passports without one single question.  The next hour was spent going through the process of renting a car, which had already been rented, confirmed and paid for!  The next hour’s challenge was to drive out of the airport and through heavy traffic across northern Paris to finally head for the region of Normandy!!

The countryside is beautiful … a patchwork of small fields, a few small towns off the tollway, many trees, hedges and forested areas.  Along the roadsides, whenever there is a site to see, it is depicted by a large beautiful sign with a picture of that particular site … be it a castle, a cathedral, a harbor, etc.  Very tastefully done.  We made a stop at Rouen.  The old town area is set aside for pedestrians only and you enter into the Middle Ages with history at every turn. Many of the buildings, including the churches consist of Gothic architecture, but there’s also an area with half-timbered houses that have a Swiss look about them.

Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen

Rouen ... Rouen, sometimes called the City of a Hundred Spires, has many churches with spires.  The highest, erected in 1876 on the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, is 490 feet high. The Cathedral has three other towers as well containing 56 bells, and looking at the ornate architecture all around the outside is amazing.  But it is even better inside with its dozens of beautiful stained glass windows representing all major art periods from the Middle Ages to early Renaissance, its 14 massive pillars over the choir each with depictions of everyday life and various beasts, the main door 

decorated with sculptures of the Family Tree of Jesus and another door dedicated to the first martyr, St. Stephen, while yet another door depicts the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. The famous Escalier de la Librairie (Booksellers’ Stairway) is adorned with a stained-glass rose window which dates from the 1500s.  Along with the impressive number of statues of Popes, saints and others who are important in Catholic history that line the walls, there is also the famous royal relic of the heart of Richard the Lion-Hearted entombed on the right side of the choir.





As we strolled down the cobblestone streets … soaking in the narrow streets, quaint shops, sidewalk

Gros-Horlodge clock

cafes … there was another massive, ornate Gothic masterpiece, that of the Palais de Justice which houses the Rouen Law Courts and is the meeting place of the Parliament of Normandy. A short walk from there is the Gros-Horlodge, where a Gothic belfry tower houses a very detailed clock that straddles  the street.  Among its symbols is a Passover lamb in the middle of the clock which represents the arms of the city.

One last church not to be missed is the Englise Jeanne d’Arc.  It is a bold, modern church opened in 1979 with the shape of the roof representing the flames of her martyrdom. It was constructed for visitors to appreciate the invincible spirit of Joan of Arc.  She was burned at the stake in the center of this very square. Inside the church are many spectacular Renaissance stained-glass windows that were taken from the former church. There is also a very moving statue of Joan of Arc enveloped in flames, and the belief is that her message to us today is that God still inspires the most noble and courageous feelings in mankind.

Englise Jeanne d'Arc

Stained-glass windows inside Englise Jeanne d'Arc

Statue of the enflamed Joan of Arc

Okay … it’s 100 degrees outside (very unusual for this area) and we haven’t had much/any sleep for36 hours, so with the little help of a five-hour shot, we drive another hour and a half to our hotel in Bayeux. By 6 p.m. I’m showered and in bed … for tomorrow is an early rise morning!  It’s been exhausting, but extremely fascinating as well.  It’s very nice to be back in France!