This may be a record for me: a trip report, with photos, written and posted in the same year as the actual trip! For instance, see my very recent posting of my trip report and photos for Portugal, a trip taken two years ago (laziness - it%26#39;s a curse).
I took my Dad on a trip to Normandy this year for the 65th anniversary of D-Day. No, he%26#39;s not a vet - he was three at the time and no doubt sleeping snugly in his bed as it was occurring. That is the very first question I am asked when I tell others about the trip so I thought I%26#39;d get it out of the way!
Here are the photos in case you would like to follow along. Some of them are from Paris so if you saw my other recent photo-set you may have seen those particular ones.
flickr.com/photos/…
In Paris we stayed at the Hotel des Grands Hommes which is adjacent to the Pantheon (and if you look at the Pantheon you will see %26quot;AUX GRANDS HOMMES...%26quot; written across the top). This is a great location and a lovely hotel which looks quite traditional but has all mod-cons including wi-fi. It is an easy walk to the Luxembourg Gardens as well as Notre Dame.
http://www.hoteldesgrandshommes.com/
Here is a quick summary of what we%26#39;ve done (taken from my emails to friends so it may sound a bit chatty):
On our arrival day, Saturday, despite the jet lag, we did about 8 miles of walking in total including a WWII guided walking tour. We wandered around on the Ile St. Louis and of course had Berthillon ice cream. Our day%26#39;s walk took us from the Pantheon, down to the Luxembourg Gardens and then down to Notre Dame and from there all the way to the Louvre, Tuileries, and Place de la Concorde. We wandered back to the Pantheon through the 6th arrondissement, going up and down the side streets. Part way there we stopped and had a Kir Royale - in fact each night we had one as an aperitif. Dinner was at the Restaurant Perraudin and the 30E pp menu was a very good value - the entree was easily a meal in itself. The main course put me over the top but I had dessert anyway.
Neither of us could believe we walked so far on the first day with only about an hour of sleep. Dad is a real trouper - despite his double knee transplants (yes, he has fake knees - and they set off security bells wherever he goes) he has been keeping up just fine.
On Sunday we headed over to Saint Chapelle and I bought 2-day museum passes. These are a decent value at 32E per person, but, to be honest, you%26#39;re better off getting the 4 or even 6 day pass because you simply won%26#39;t see more than a few museums a day.
Over Sunday/Monday (from the pass) we visited:
Saint Chapelle: you can%26#39;t believe it until you see it - someone went to heaven for sure after building this.
Musee d%26#39;Orsay: Dad is diabetic and had a sugar crash and we saw little of this - we went to the top floor first and at least managed to see the Van Goghs and Whistler%26#39;s Mother... and then we left to find him some OJ and crepes.
Arch of Triumph: We climbed this and enjoyed the view - as far as the eye can see - Dad exclaimed over this the most.
l%26#39;Orangerie: Dad was thoroughly impressed not only with C. Monet%26#39;s paintings but that the space clearly was designed just to show them off.
Cluny Museum: We spent over 30 minutes talking to the curator about the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and in fact when I get home I am buying the Tracy Chevalier book about them - apparently she weaves a novel/story into the history of them.
Pantheon: right next door, how could we NOT? Dad was really impressed by Foucault%26#39;s Pendulum.
We also visited Notre Dame. Just the church itself and not the Towers (which are on the museum pass) because the line was not only very long it was also in full sun - neither of us wanted that. Of course, finally, the Eiffel Tower.
We did not get into the Louvre, as I told him that Monday would be a good day to visit just the Louvre and Les Invalides (both on the pass)... until at dinner Sunday night we realized that Monday was Pentecost.. you guessed it, CLOSED. Bummer! He was more interested in Les Invalides (Napoleon%26#39;s tomb, and the Musee de l%26#39;Armee) and we visited neither.
Sunday%26#39;s dinner found us sitting outside at Le Petit Pontoise, which was very good but very spendy - I paid 115E for the both of us (do the math - yes, yipes). I guess the de rigeur Kir Royales with three courses and of course espresso after that did the trick. Monday%26#39;s dinner was on the Rue Cler before the walk over to the Eiffel Tower - decent but nothing to recommend although we did sit outside which was wonderful on such a nice night.
Quick tip: not far from St. Sulpice is a mecca to pastries and chocolates called Gerard Mulot. I bought croissants, pain au chocolat, macarons (which were heavenly and in fact I think they are famous for them) and some chocolate squares with spices mixed in (cardamom and nutmeg and a few others, maybe pepper?). We walked back to the Luxembourg Gardens and sat on a bench for a while eating some of our goodies.
to be continued...
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Your photos are stunningly beautiful beth. I was intending heading south after Paris for my next trip but after seeing these I think I%26#39;m being swayed to Normandy. Thank you.
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Just got done looking at your beautiful photos, lots of great shots. I was in Paris in 2008 and want to go back. Thankyou for the great memories which you provided
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Gorgeous, Absolutely Gorgeous..I just came back from Paris, your photos make me want to go back again.
AnnaMaria
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What incredibly beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing them. So glad you and your Dad were blessed with gorgeous weather for such a memorable trip.
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sky-thank you for the amazing photos and the wonderful report
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What stunning photos...merci beaucoup! I especially liked the hanging %26#39;21%26#39; and the tiny cat and the timbered houses. WOW.
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did you take them with an expensive camera?
Very nice.
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Beth,
Thank you for sharing the details of your trip with your Dad. The day to day details were wonderful, and the photographs were outstanding. Cant wait for the next installment.
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Wow, thank you so much everyone. I spent part of today cheering on friends who were running the Marine Corps Marathon, what a nice surprise to come home and see so many nice replies. I%26#39;m very encouraged by your compliments of my photos (so watch out lest I post more! haha).
Dinky, when do you visit France next? We got very lucky with the weather, apparently the coast can see frequent rain. We had glorious blue skies for most of the trip.
Liam, I have a Canon 30D but more importantly a top-quality lens. Canon 24-105 F4L. More spendy than the camera itself actually. But it%26#39;s a good all purpose lens and it stays on at all times so well worth it.
Here is my next installment, and thank you for reading!
After three nights in Paris, we took the 9 AM TGV to Tours and picked up a car upon arrival. Before our trip, I lent my Dad my copy of the book, %26quot;Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France%26#39;s Greatest Treasure%26quot; and as a result he wanted to see some vineyards on this trip. Perhaps you may have read my threads in the Spring regarding the possibility of visiting Reims, which actually did figure into that book. I do wish we had more time on this trip as I think a visit to Reims would have rounded out the WWII theme - not to mention the champagne!
At any rate, once the plans coalesced I decided upon the Loire because you aren%26#39;t going to find many vineyards in Brittany or Normandy and using the TGV made the Loire to Brittany drive reachable in a day. We drove along the Loire on our way to Saumur. We stopped for a brief visit in Candes St. Martin on the way. Take note: you won%26#39;t find a meal in Candes St. Martin, apparently the only restaurant has closed and our wander around the little village didn%26#39;t unearth anything else. We then drove on and finally found a small nondescript place on the river where we were promptly ignored - and I have to say in all my many visits to France I%26#39;ve never had that happen before. The food was unremarkable to boot, ah well. As our %26quot;quick lunch%26quot; took so very long (40 mins wait even before we were asked our meal preference) we unfortunately couldn%26#39;t tarry too long in Saumur as we still had to drive to Fougeres. We did stop at one winery named %26quot;Domaine de la Bessiere%26quot; and enjoyed a tasting. We bought 3 bottles - the one that was supposed to go home to Mom was unfortunately left in the trunk of the rental car but the other two were enjoyed at the Chilcott%26#39;s B%26amp;B in Normandy. After a very quick photo-op stop at the chateau in Saumur we were on our way again. If I could have a do-over I%26#39;d have dropped Candes St. Martin and headed straight to Saumur and after a few wineries would have had lunch and actually visited the chateau.
We pressed on and reached our destination for the next two nights near Fougeres, a B%26amp;B which is just outside of a tiny little village called Landean. This B%26amp;B was recommended by Coquelicot here on Fodors and I%26#39;m so glad she directed us to it! My Dad loved the place and dearly wants to take Mom on a visit there sometime soon. Below is the link to the B%26amp;B and you%26#39;ll see the owner (Paul Renault) is quite a good photographer. He even showed us the personal books he made showing the various butterflies and moths which frequent his elaborate gardens. His books not only had beautiful photos but quite a bit of information about the entomology of the bugs - you could tell he used to be a school teacher. I booked the %26quot;suite%26quot; which had two bedrooms with a shared bathroom. The breakfast featured their own homemade jams (cinnamon-pumpkin: TO DIE FOR) and he made crepes for us as well.
Their home was a little %26quot;off the beaten path%26quot; and took a little bit of sleuthing to find the first time. For this trip I bought the Pudlo guide for Brittany and Normandy. As luck would have it, for all that this village was so tiny, it actually had a Pudlo%26#39;s pick. The owner recommended it even before I consulted Pudlo and I was happy to find a reference for it. I can recommend taking Pudlo on a trip to Brittany with you. It%26#39;s not only small and easily packed, I can vouch from personal experience that researching restaurant options ahead of time is advisable as my last trip to Brittany in 2004 saw me living on crepes and salads because I mostly relied on what was in walking distance in the little towns I visited. The link:
pagesperso-orange.fr/la-perouse-du-mitan/acc…
to be continued...
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