Rudders at Home

Ok, so I’ve been sick, and haven’t been in much mood to post anything lately. But, I’m finally feeling normal again and have found some time to write about our recent trip to Normandy.

Paul and I decided to go to France at the end of January pretty much on a whim. Yes, we knew we would end up in France

some time this year, but this was a random decision we made one afternoon and before you knew it we had booked the

weekend. I guess maybe because I was between jobs and had two days off that we felt we couldn’t

waste the time. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter, because off to Normandy we were headed.

To begin with, the weather wasn’t great, and we were soon happy that we had decided to take the car on the train instead of the ferry this time. This is the train which allows you to go to

Calais with your car, which was far easier and faster than the ferry. And, considering the weather I was certainly happy to be below the sea. I think we definitely be doing that again.

We stayed at a lovely hotel called Ferme de la Rançonnière, where we had a gorgeous room and great service. As you can see from the picture, we had a massive bedroom, with beautiful furniture and a canopied bed. The only downside was that the hotel had clearly just opened back up after the holidays and the room was freezing when we got in. It took almost our entire stay before it became a comfortable temperature, but we can’t really fault it. We weren’t in the hotel for very long anyway, as the restaurant was still closed as well. This has been one of our best experiences so far with hotels and France, and I think we may very well stay there again if/when we go back to Normandy.

The main thing Paul wanted to get out of this trip to Normandy was to see the D-Day beachesto and the surrounding historical spots. As you can see, we got to see large guns left by the Germans, and to the right here you can see a shot of Omaha Beach. I would have a picture of Utah Beach as well, but it was dark by the time we found our way there.

We also visited the town of Ste Mere Eglise , which is where the paratroopers landed, and on our way home we stopped by and took in Pegasus Bridge. They had a nice museum there along with the original bridge. We didn’t see everything though, and there are other things in the area that we would like to go back and see. For instance, it would be nice to go closer to tourist season, and make a point to taste some calvados and local cider.

While I enjoyed the trip, I was thoroughly all warred out by the end of my three days and was quite happy to be able to take some pictures of a pretty French village. I don’t have the name of the village with me – but it was a pretty little place.

Also, I guess I would be misleading you if I let you think the whole of the trip was focused on the D-Day landings and WWII. While a large majority of the trip did focus on this, we did see the famous Bayeux Tapestry – you know, the one which depicts the story of why the Normans invaded England in 1066. It was pretty impressive.

And that is Normandy in a nutshell. I’ve uploaded a few more pictures which can be found under European travel in the Gallery.

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Well, for starters, you can leave it, which is exactly what we did yesterday.

I had a day off yesterday, and originally, I wasn’t sure if I would have a day off by myself, or if Paul would take the day as well. By Wednesday, I knew Paul had the day off as well, and we hemmed and hawed about what to do. Usually we have a game plan, but this time we had nothing! I went out on Thursday night to Cubana for a work leaving do, thinking that I had a full day to my leisure on Friday. When I came home though, Paul had a surprise for me. Hooray! We’re going to France for the day!

So we got up early and headed over on the ferry. We only spent the day, but the day was day was a long one. We arrived in France by 10, and we left at 10 as well, so we had plenty of time to have a little look around.

Admittedly, we didn’t do much. It rained for better part of the day, but we did have a nice lunch in Boulogne sur Mer, where we waited out the rain with a three course meal and nice espresso. We wandered around the touristy bit of town there, then headed on over to Le Touquet Paris Plage, which we hadn’t been to before. Le Touquet was really nice, and we’re happy to have discovered it.

On the way back, we stopped off at the Carrefour in Calais, did the whole British thing of stocking up on wine, meat and cheese, then hopped back on the ferry and made our way home. (I also got a madeleine pan ) Back home late Friday evening, and we still had our entire weekend to go!

Sometimes my life here is pretty surreal. Who would have ever thought I’d end up just popping over to France for a day trip, eh? I certainly never did!

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No, Alka-Seltzer is plop plop, fizz fizz. I’m talking pop, as in, yep, you guessed it – Champagne!

As you probably know, Paul and I went to France a couple weeks ago. While we enjoyed the great outdoors that was on offer, we also enjoyed a bit of the fizzy stuff the region produces as well.

We visited the Champagne house of Moet & Chandon, in Epernay. The tour took us down below the building, to have a look at their cellars, and they explained the process it all went through. It was quite good. At the end of the tour they do a bit of a tasting. Well, actually, depending on the tour you choose, you get a glass or two of champagne. We decided to do the Grand Vintage tour, which meant we each got two glasses of Grand Vintage Moet at the end. Fabulous. Who could ask for anything better?

Oh, just one thing could be better. As Paul was driving, I actually got to drink nearly four glasses of the stuff! How decadent!

The grounds at Moet & Chandon were extremely pretty. The house in the picture here was across from the main entrance gates above. The day was so beautiful and warm, with an amazing blue sky. It was probably the hottest day we’ve experienced all summer, and we got to enjoy it in France, wandering down the Avenue de Champagne.

Once we had our tour and left Epernay, we took a drive through the vineyards. We saw the Moet & Chandon vineyards, as well as tons and tons of others. I’ve never seen so many grapes! Lines and lines of vines.

The day was pretty good. Wonderful scenery and a lovely drive through the country. Paul had bought new maps for his GPS, so we were able to take a proper meandering drive without having to get too worried about getting lost.

I absolutely loved this region of France. Plenty of things to see and do. Nice, French towns with interesting and lovely people. Outdoorsy stuff and gorgeous weather. I can’t wait to go back.

Just a few more pictures before I say au revoir! The first pictures grapes from the vineyards, obviously. The second is the lovely little hotel we stayed in. We had a really good reception there. And the final picture is just an idyllic farmland shot. French cows!!

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Paul and I went away for the Bank Holiday at the end of August. Took a trip to France, so we did, to the Champagne Ardennes region. So gorgeous and lovely. Such a nice little break.

Here’s a little pic to tide you over. Such a beautiful green area, with lots of things to do outside – camping, walking, canoeing, etc. I think we’ll end up back there at some time. It was so different from what we’re used to – all that green and fresh air certainly wipes the city out of you quickly. The thing that struck me, and it’s something that has occurred to me on past trips to other places, is how much the area reminded me of home.

I find it strange sometimes how such places in the world can just strike a chord and remind me so much of home and areas that I grew up. This region of France really reminded me of Cook Forest, especially with the river and all the green areas. The drive to our hotel was “just like” the drive by the river there in Cook Forest. Of course it was different, I mean, it was France, for crying out loud, and there’s no way that it can be the same. However, it did have a similar feeling in places, and for what it’s worth, it was really very comforting and familiar, and made the trip that much more enjoyable.

It’s so pleasant and refreshing to get a reminder of home where it’s least expected.

I’ll write a bit more about our trip later, with pictures – I promise!

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So, just wanted to add a link to our pictures from Monaco and Nice. Nothing’s labeled or anything at the mo, but I wanted to get these on. Here’s the link.

We’ll soon also have pictures up from our day out in Windsor and Bodiam Castle. I’m just having some problems with our ISP, bah!

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