Bayeux

Unfortunately our visit to Bayeux, a medieval town with cobbles streets and half-timbered houses, was a rainy day: and a Monday, which in France means limited shops are open. 

However it didn't spoil our day, the houses are amazing as they expand outwards as they go upwards. The reason ... taxes! Something we all have to, but don't like to, pay. Housing tax was on the footprint of your property so having a small ground floor lessened your tax, quite a clever idea really.

French towns and villages always amaze me as walking amongst the shops and commercial buildings you often discover a river or stream. The waterways always seem to be as important as the buildings around, not something we do here in the UK. 

This watermill was just opposite the large museum building and town offices. It was quite tranquil amidst the busy town. 

Bayeux Cathedrale stands on a slope as you can see from the bottom layer of stones being different quantities to give a level floor at the top of the first arch. The stone was a beautiful yellow, the rain made it stand out even more against the grey sky.

The frontage was magnificent, such intricate carvings on it's arches and high towers. once inside the height of the ceiling was even more impressive. 

I am often surprised by the interiors of churches and cathedrals, some are quite cold in both temperature and atmosphere. This Cathedrale was full of warmth, the decorations on the walls and floors showed great wealth and importance. It was touching to see the Memorial Plaque, thiss is in other Cathedrales and churches around northern France. 

Our main reason for visiting Bayeux was to see the famous tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings. We have seen it before when our children were young but this time I had chance to concentrate rather than answering lots of questions. 

Earlier this year we visited Battle in Hastings so now we had bee to the location of the battle the tapestry was even more interesting. For understandable reasons no photos can be taken of the tapestry, I would certainly recommend visiting if you are in the area. 

We had a super time in Bayeux even if it was a little wet. 

Normandy Beaches WWII

Breathtaking, the Normandy beaches are just breathtaking in so many ways. Although early October the weather was superb, the blue sky and blue seas amazing. 

I knew about D-Day before our holiday but being honest I did not really appreciate just what a task it was. I haven't watched many war films so just thought it was a major war operation in size ... it was much much more than that and I haven't stopped thinking about all those involved.

From the direction of inland France, so looking out to sea to England, this plaque shows how huge the operation was. To the west the US army attacked Utah and Omaha beaches including Pointe du Hoc. 

The British army attacked Gold Beach and Sword Beach whilst in between the Canadian army hit Juno Beach. 

Although named beaches the terrain is not smooth sloping in all places, and even where it is there are high cliffs as Normandy land sits high above the English Channel.

It is incredible how all the troops attacked these beaches and cliffs, standing on the top of some the sea was a long way down, steep too.

Gold Beach is a wide bay beach that does have inviting sands, especially on a sunny day. The small town of Aromanche lies at its centre, now full of restaurants, souvenir shops and WWII museums its beach is marked with huge reminders of the events of June 1944. 

A huge Mulbury Harbour was constructed to aid the landings, the huge construction can be seen out at sea and closer inland. As the tide went out more and more structures were revealed, showing their enormous size. 

Sitting high above the town, with spectacular views across the artificial harbour, sits a M4A2 Sherman tank. It is positioned half way up a steep cliff and is on top of one of the many large German bunkers that are dotted all over this French coast.

Can you see them? Sitting in line in what now looks like an ordinary farming field at Longues-sur-Mer is a German artillery battery. Set slightly back from the 60m cliff these gun emplacements formed a part of Germany's Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications.

The four gun emplacements bring mixed feelings: they are huge structures, amazing how they got the materials and guns there: they were built to cause harm to our country but were manned by humans from another country. War brings strange feelings, whichever side the people fighting are someone's relative and often there unwillingly under pressure from those in charge. 

It is quite eerie seeing the guns still in place and walking round the inside of the bunkers seeing the various rooms. They really are huge structures. 

One gun had exploded, listening to a guide who was showing a group around it was caused by the Germans lighting a fire inside to cook on and it caused a shell to explode. Parts of the gun are still visable embedded in the ground. 

The concrete structures are huge, and built to be lived in by the German soliders. I didn't go inside, for me it was a little bit too unsettling. 

Pointe du Hoc is a small peninsula between Omaha and Utah beaches. It's 30m vertical 

white cliffs were scaled by the US Army, an unbelievable feat when you see how far down the sea is.

The monument, erected by the French, depicts the height of their climb and is a tribute to the American Second Ranger Battalion who seized the German artillery and thus protected the US troops landing on the beaches. 

It should not be forgotten that firing was from both sides, the craters from the Allied Forces are still visble in the surrounding area.

6th June 1944 is a day etched in history; a day which holds both sadness and gratitude.

We will remember them!

Le Treport and Honfleur

It would have been easy to stay on the A16 autoroute and zoom along through Abbeville, Rouen and Caen to our holiday house. We could have had an extra night there but we would have missed seeing some beautiful coastal places, and cost €20 in tolls.

So after our initial night in Boulogne-sur-mer we travelled through smaller towns and villages. We passed Montreuil which was Victor Hugo's inspiration for Les Miserables. We have visited before but it was still a shame we didn't have time to stop. 

We did however stop for lunch in Le Treport which is set along the Alabaster Coast and is a commercial port, a fishing port and marina. Instead of parking in the town at sea level we drove up to the cliff top. From here there are stunning views of the town and ports as well as the beautiful English Channel.

Parking on the cliff top also means we could take the Funicular Railway down into the town. The train is free and automated as if you were in a lift, you simply press Go. It is a great ride with amazing views and helps keep visitor traffic out of the small town streets.

The lower station is along the promenade side of the town. It was a glorious sunny day, so nice to stroll along past the colourful beach huts to the harbour lighthouse. Turning inland along the main street running along the harbour we passed many inviting restaurants offering my favourite 'modules frites'. Le Treport is a lovely place, maybe one day we'll stay for a night as a stop over.

Our second night's stay was in Honfleur, an hour or so from Le Treport on the French main roads. We passed Saint Valery sur Somme, another beautiful place where we have stayed before. Again it would have been nice to stop for a while, France has so many beautiful places. 

Honfleur lies on the south side of the Seine estuary; Le Harve is on a north, a huge port  and ferry terminal. I love a good bridge and crossing the Seine offers two choices. The huge Pont de Normandie is probably the better known of the two. Opening in 1995 it is 2141m long, 24m wide and the pylons supporting this cable-stayed bridge are 214m high. We have crossed it before, it is a amazing structure. 

However it is on the toll autoroute and costs and additional €5.60 to cross. Our quieter roads took us to the Tancarville Bridge, a suspension bridge opened in 1959. It crosses the Seine at a shorter point; it's span between the 125m pylons is just 608m, quite a difference to the Pont de Normandie. There is also a difference in the toll to cross, the Tancarville Bridge is €2.60. 

Another great feat of engineering the Tancarville Bridge stands tall in the Normandy countryside. It was great fun to cross, great views over the Seine. We crossed this bridge on the way to Port-en-Bessin and on the way back so my photos are taken from different directions. The whole bridge was taken from the south on our way back and the close up views taken from the north on our way in sunnier weather.

Honfleur is a must visit port city when in Normandy. Our Ibis hotel was just a short walk from the centre, it was a beautiful evening giving us a superb view of the Pont de Normandie.

There is plenty to see and do in this ancient port, another location that deserves more than our one night stay. We strolled into the Vieux Bassin (old basin) as the sun was setting. It is the main reason people visit Honfleur as not only are there some super yatchs moored but the basin is lined with colourful buildings.

These half-timbered houses were once the hub of a very busy trading port. Now they are restaurants, bars and shop; it retains the feel of a bustling place with plenty of outdoor seating along its cobbled pavements. As it was turning chilly we decided to sit inside for our meal and chose one of the smaller houses. It's a great place to be, as I mentioned it deserves a longer time than one evening.

A super day travelling through France and enjoying some of its highlights. I certainly do prefer to travel away from the autoroutes if time and distance permits, there is so much more to see. 

Our Normandy holiday

A little overview of our Normandy holiday last month with our friends. We travelled by Eurotunnel as October is not the smoothest time for a sea crossing. It's always a fun moment when you drive onto the train.

We had super weather, just a couple of wet days which we managed to escape by doing indoor visits. Although I said the sea could be choppy in October it was beautifully calm a few of our days.

Our first WWII stop was Pegasus Bridge - we've been here few times but a first visit for our friends.

I do look funny but my sunglasses are distance prescription so I had to peer over the top to see the screen close up 😂

We stayed at couple of hotels on our way to Port-en-Bessin as we were sightseeing too and not zooming down the autoroutes but our main time was staying at Pierre et Vacances' Green Park; a complex set by a golf course with an indoor and outdoor pool. 

Our accommodation was a three bedroom house which was adequate for us but would have been a squeeze for a large family especially as there was no oven or grill, just a four ring hob and microwave. We did have a dishwasher and washing machine 😆 

We had a sunny dry day when we visited the gun batteries on the cliffs above Aromanches. It's amazing that they are still there, quite a moving experience.

Of course a holiday in France means the wine and beer flows. We picked up a bottle of reasonably priced Cremant d'Alsace which certainly got our holiday off to a great start, especially as it was warm enough to sit outside on the patio.

We had a super holiday, I have (will) written about some specific visits as separate posts, this was just our highlights. 

Our final beers in Calais, my favourite Rince Cochon and Hubbies Affligem ... lovely!

And no holiday in France is complete without a Flunch dinner. We enjoyed a great 'piece de boucher' steak and our traditional red wine, Cellier des Dauphins 🍷

Over too soon but great memories made. My favourite picture was our Saturday night in Honfleur. Here's to our next adventure 😁