The reason I haven’t been as fluent with my posts – our family went to France during the American four-day Thanksgiving weekend in November. I left a little piece of my heart (and apparently, my productivity) in the absolutely breathtaking countryside of Normandy.
I’m so very thankful my husband and I choose Normandy as our destination. Normandy was on the top of our list, as our son has been begging us for the last three and a half years to please, take him to Normandy (yes, worthy of bold –and- italics!) None of us have ever been to Normandy, we both have family members who landed on the beaches on D-Day (and thankfully, survived!), and we were ready for a bit of French cuisine.
Our only disappointment: we arrived in the off-season. Many shops, restaurants and places of interest were either closed or operating on limited hours. Totally our fault, however, we were able to see almost everything we hoped to.
The next morning, we jumped into our rental car and drove out into the most gorgeous, green countryside that is Normandy. It was easy to see how Monet, Renoir and the many French artists were inspired to paint the lush landscapes surrounding them. We arrived at Chateau d’Audrieu, our elegant, home away from home, for the next four days. We chose the Chateau, as it was centrally located to the sights we hoped to see and offered a dining room, which turned out to be fortuitous on our part.
We then drove out to Omaha Beach. It was the most perfect location for a family to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day. I tear up just thinking about it. Our family members and thousands more sacrificed so much for us all to live the life we are fortunate enough to be living. It was a bit overwhelming, and I wouldn’t have traded places with anyone, anywhere on Thanksgiving Day.
The Chateau has a very comfortable bar where we relaxed with our first taste of the local apple cider. The kids were thrilled to be able to have Shirley Temple’s! Then we wandered into the dining room for our nightly feast. We ate the grandest meals, with dessert, every night. I’m glad we only had four days scheduled, as I would have gained massive amounts of weight if I had stayed!
Giorgio, our server, took such good care of us our entire visit. He’s originally from Brazil, lived and worked in Sun Valley, Idaho for a while, married a French gal and has made a home for them and their two-year old in the Normandy countryside. My daughter asked Giorgio if there were ghosts in the Chateau, as it was such an old residence. He made one up for her, but then told us later, no, he was just storytelling. Then my daughter started telling us all of these stories about these haunted hotels she would watch on the Travel Channel. Very spooky!
Well that first night, we woke up to a fire alarm at 2:00 a.m. There was no sign of fire in our floor of our wing. A ghost? We called the front desk, but they had retired for the night, and a message told us to call another number. I called the number and while I was trying to converse with a French woman regarding our situation, our kids came to our room. We decided to go, together, on a tour. A door opened all on its own. A ghost? No, an automatic door for the kitchen staff. Thankfully, we bumped into a hotel employee. It was a windy night so the smoldering fireplace in the lobby created enough of a fuss to set off the fire alarm. We all went back to bed. No ghosts!
Sainte-Mère-Église was the first town we went to, as it’s the sight of a costumed replica of Private John Steele, a paratrooper who was caught on the church spires on D-Day, played dead, and lived –and- home of Musee Airborne. The town was very quiet, just about everything was closed for the winter, but we were able to tour the small, 12th century Catholic Church and museum. We were shocked by the flimsy material that covered the Waco Glider. I would have been terrified to be in that plane! They have done a great job displaying the many items and artifacts our service men and women needed while deployed.
We drove to Carentan, and toured Notre-Dame de Carentan, an 11th century Catholic Church. Carentan is a small, bustling, French town, filled with typical French merchants. They had hung lights for Noël in the streets and the storefronts were festively decorated. There were no big box stores – well maybe out on the périmètre. We enjoyed our brief experience in that charming town!
Then, into Bayeux. We were hoping to see the 920-year old, famous Tapisserie de Bayeux, a 20-inch by 230 foot long embroidered linen, depicting the events leading up to, and including, the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror. It was not to be. The museum had closed for the day. So, as usual, we walked over to Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux, consecrated in 1077. Unfortunately, there was an event in the church, so we were only able to stand in the back to marvel at its beauty.
Saturday, we drove out to a stunning Mont-Saint-Michel. There were inhabitants living on Mont-Saint-Michel in the 6th century. In the 8th century, a monastic order built a chapel and since, layer upon layer has been built over that original site and massive fortifications have surrounded the island. It’s a glorious view as you cross the saltwater marshes of the low lands. We spent a somewhat wet day touring, and stopped for lunch at a very festive La Mère Poulard. We ate dishes typical in the region – omelet with fresh mushrooms, lamb (which grazed in the salt marsh), apple tarte tatin, apple cider – yumm!
We returned to the Chateau and a brisk walk was taken around the town. We learned a very sad story on a memorial plaque in the village. The back acreage of our Chateau was the site of 19 Canadian POW’s, gunned down by Nazi troops on June 14 – a week after D-Day had begun. The countryside of Normandy is amazingly beautiful, with many sad stories in each and every town.
Sunday morning, we sadly bid Adieu to the Chateau staff and went to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Over 9,000 service people who were killed during WWII are buried there. It’s a peaceful final resting place, overlooking Omaha Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.
I don’t know when we will return to Normandy, but I’m hopeful we will someday soon.
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