We have spent the last week showing Al around Epernay and the surrounding area. On our first night we went to dinner at La Banque which has a Champagne by glass menu of about 50 different champers houses from the area. Quite impressive indeed.
Our meal was sensational. Greg enjoyed his Steak Tartare and Rhonda’s turbot with Champagne sauce was sensational. It was a great night swapping travel stories.
The next day we spent wandering the town but we did enjoy a bottle of Champers at Pierre Mignon Tasting House. We loved the fancy cheese that accompanied the champers.
We took Al on a drive along the Rue de Touristique de Champagne. The first stop was the boys favourite Champagne House, the House of Bollinger. Sadly the gates were locked and Rhonda would not let them ring the bell.
Even though we had driven the vineyard roads many times the views were still stunning.
We stopped for a beer at our “bateau” bar to hydrate and then we enjoyed a great picnic lunch.
The afternoon was spent at the family Champagne House of the hosts of our AirBnB, Roger Constant Lemaire. We were given a free tour and tasting and had a wonderful time.
We did enjoy their champagne and came home with a few bottles of their lovely champers.There are quite a few funny stories to tell about our tour which will be kept for when we return home if you are interested! The following day was declared a day of rest so we spent the day at home consuming the champers purchased the previous day! What a way to spend a lazy Sunday!
We also drove to the pretty little village of Hautvillers which is where Champagne life began thanks to Dom Pierre Perignon, the spiritual father of Champagne. He was a Benedictine Monk who came to the Abbey of Hautvillers in 1668 and for 47 years he acted as manager, builder, legal specialist and above all else a winegrower and wine maker. His aim was to make the best wine in the world.
His wine was served in the Palace of Versailles and he was a visionary who developed revolutionary grape growing and wine making techniques. To Dom Perignon, we say a HUGE THANK YOU. Of course we needed to visit the Abby Church of Saint-Sindulphe in the village so that Rhonda could say a personal thank you to him.
We had a lovely morning wandering around the streets of the village, not a lot of people, and very quiet.
The village is also known for its old wrought iron signs hanging from the houses.
We then headed back to Epernay to the Moët and Chandon Champagne House ( the owner of Dom Perignon) to take one more photo of Dom to finish our “Birth of Champagne”tour. We spent the afternoon in our lovely cool apartment with its brand new air conditioning ( another story in that) whilst the outside temperature rose to 37 degrees!
So sadly our 5 week stay in Epernay becomes a memory tomorrow as head to Paris, and thank God the Olympics have finished. We leave Barney at CDG airport, and take a train into the Opera district for a 4 night stay. Cannot believe that in one week we will be on a plane heading home!
We are dropping Al at the airport for him to continue his journey
We discovered that there was another event happening in Epernay that we thought we should check out. It was called the Ballon Soirée. (Drinks at the balloon). We have seen the Ballon Captif -Epernay from our terrace numerous times. It is a balloon that rises 150 meters to view the surrounding vineyards. The event was free , however we found it not very exciting and did not want to pay 20 euros for ONE glass of champers, so we opted to go to a local wine bar and had a lovely glass of rose instead!
We spent a fabulous day wandering the streets of Troyes, a city that was briefly the Capital of France in the 15th Century. It is the city with the most number of our loved colombages, timber framed houses in France, over 3000 of them so beware lots of photos to follow.
The Old City is known as Le Bouchon, ( the cork) because it is shaped like a champagne cork lying on its side! How French! We think it actually looks more like a condom!😂
One of the main attractions is the Ruelle des Chats or Cat Street. We have read 2 explanations, one is that the street is so narrow cats can jump from one side of the street to the other side of the street on the rooftops. The other is an ancient mis spelling , it should have been ruelle des chas, or eye of the needle. The second seems more appropriate considering how narrow the street was.
The beautiful 17th Century Mansion Rachi is the original Synagogue in the Old Jewish Quarter of Troyes.
The Rue Champeaux is the main historical street in the Old Town. It was great wandering the cobbled streets admiring the gorgeous houses on each side.
The Renaissance style Hotel de Chapelaines was a mansion built in the late 1500’s by a “dyer of fabrics”. Louis X111 and the Tsar Alexander have been guests throughout the years. There are many sculptures throughout the city but the one we liked most was on the canal du Trevois. It was titled “Wait for me”. If you look closely you will see a dog trying to chase after the geese.
The Basilica of Saint Urbain is classed as “ a pure joy of Gothic Art”. Unfortunately we couldn’t entree as it was Sunday and a service was in progress.
The Town Hall was built in the 17th Century partially from the revenue from wine and salt taxes. It now has the obligatory town sign out the front which makes for a good photo opportunity. The Apothicairerie de Hotel-Dieu-Le Comte is the 18th Century Apothecary and is now a museum. It was still preparing medicines up until 1961.
The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul has a reputation of having one of the most stunning collections of stained glass windows in France. We have to agree and we have been to quite a few churches over our years of travel.
The cathedral was built over 7 centuries and was never fully completed. It is missing the South Tower but due to the lack of money it was never built.
Our walk took us to some out of the way shady squares like the Square-des-3-Godets, Square of 3 buckets. Mind you we saw no buckets anywhere! We did warn you at the beginning we had a lot of photos of colombages so here are just a few more!
We had a great time and absolutely loved the city of Troyes. We came home to another delicious pasta dinner cooked by Chef Greg however our normal Italian deli had unfortunately decided to go “on vacance” and shut up shop for holidays. How rude! Luckily we found another option HOWEVER our previous pasta dishes cost us 5 euros to feed us both, this one cost us 16 euros!!!!
Considering that Luxembourg was not too far from Epernay, we decided to have a couple of nights there to see what it was like. Our “travelling day” insisted of 3 meals in 3 different countries. Our breakfast was in France, our lunch was a picnic in. Belgium and our dinner was in Luxembourg!
Luxembourg is Europes 7th smallest country and one of the least populated. The historic Old Town is a UNESCO listed Heritage Site. We checked into our hotel and walked up to the Old Town. One of the first buildings we saw was the Bank of the State. We thought that if all the buildings in Lux are like this, it is going to be a stunning place to visit.
We had a pre dinner drink and decided that we needed pizza for dinner. It was really good, we were a little surprised and we had a lovely bottle of Italian red. First impressions of Lux were great and those impressions continued the next day.
We spent all the next day wandering around the Old Town doing a self guided walk. We began the day with a Brunetti style breakfast with “Shanks” and coffee.
We then walked along the Chemin de La Corniche which includes part of the fortifications and is also called “the most beautiful balcony in Europe”. It runs along the old rampart walls and was built by the French and Spaniards in the 17th Century. It gave us great views, and of course plenty of photo ops!
The definition of a corniche is a road or walkway built on the side of a mountain with terrain steeply rising on one side and falling away on the other. That is exactly what it was, absolutely stunning. It overlooks the Alzette River and the lower part of the town known as the Grund.
Luckily for us there was a lift to take us down to the Grund which is Luxembourg’s oldest district. It is described as “ a village within a city” and is extremely picturesque. We loved wandering around and of course Greg had some great reflections.
We wondered about the mermaid statue (Melusian Statue). Briefly, legend has it that a Count who founded Lux in 963 married Melusian the mermaid on the condition that every 7 days she had to be alone in absolute privacy!
Over the years jealousy overcame the Count and he followed to secretly watch her take a bath and discovered that her bottom half was a fish tail. Melusian became aware of him watching and she disappeared into the river and he never saw her again.
Tragic, but you have to love those legends.
We then ascended back to the Village Haute and continued our tour. The Grand Ducal Palace is where the Grand Duke of Luxembourg works, not a bad office space we thought. A part of the main building remains from the 1700s. A huge renovation work began in 1895. It was seized by the German occupying forces in WW11 and converted into a concert hall and tavern. It certainly is a magnificent building.
We managed to find the oldest bar, of course, Ennert de Steiler in Lux and we desperately needed to have a drink. It has been a pub since 1842 and Greg enjoyed a Bofferding beer, a local brand from Lux’s largest brewery.
We decided we needed to taste some authentic Luxembourg food, so for dinner we headed to a traditional restaurant. The Kniddelen, although quite “heavy” was really tasty. It consisted of flour dumplings in a cream and bacon sauce. The Judd mat gaardebounen is slow cooked pork collar with broad beans. They were certainly different but glad we tried them.
We really enjoyed our short stay in Lux. We walked about 20 kms during the day so as you can imagine, Greg’s knees paid the price but it was worth it and the odd beer or 2 certainly helped.
We are now into our last few days in Epernay and we have our mate Al, who has joined us. The champagne is still flowing , speaking of which it must be time to have one!
With less than 3 weeks until our journey home begins, we cannot believe how quickly the time has gone ( and not sick of each others company…..YET).
We have decided that France is a very expensive place to eat out, or that it has stopped us though. We did enjoy a great steak at a restaurant in Reims and the potatoes dauphinoise was to “die for”. Another really good meal at a restaurant in Epernay was the duck confit and fettuccine with Comte cheese. It was amazing and we waited for 15 minutes for a tart tartin to arrive and it was worth the wait! Yum!
One night we felt like a pizza so we headed to an Italian restaurant which always seemed to be busy! Well, we don’t know why, as the pizza was very ordinary. Note to self…. Never have a French pizza again. Only took a photo of the restaurant, not the pizza! At another Epernay restaurant we opted for entrees of burrata and tomoto with sorbet (strange) and a hand cut veal tartare, while mains were pork ribs with coleslaw. On average 2 glasses of wine 2 entrees and 2 mains cost around $200 Aussie and sometimes the meal is not that great. Compared to Italy it is a lot more expensive, hence we are spending more time in Italy next year!!!
We have taken Barney out for more drives through the vineyards and one day stumbled across a rather cute little bar by the River Marne, at a small village called Cumieres. It was a warm day so beers were needed for re hydration.
We took a drive to a town called Soissons and we were presently surprised. It is considered one of the “Most ancient towns in France and was the former capital of France from 486 to 900 ( a long time ago) We loved wandering through the ruins of the Old Abbey of St-Jean-des-Vinges founded in 1076. In the 13th century it was transformed from a Romanesque style to a vast Gothic style of which the cellar, refractory and cloister remain today.
It’s facade was rather amazing with its spires of 75 meters.
The Cathedral of Soissons was restored after being damaged in WW1. The Town Hall was rather impressive and was built between 1772 and 1775 by the “ Kings Representative of Taxes”. He had his mansion built with both front and back gardens. We think he was pocketing some of the taxes for his own purposes! It is on the National Heritage list and the Palace became the Town Hall in 1836.
After we had walked the town,we needed a coffee. Unfortunately we could not find anywhere for a coffee BUT we did find a cute little bar on the river, how lucky were we! There is a story to tell about our experience while having a drink but not on the blog! There would be too much detail! Ask us when we return home! We loved Soissons, not too touristy, and very quiet!
We have been enjoying some wonderful sunsets on our terrace.We usually have a couple of aperitifs accompanied by saucisson, cheese and much more.
Greg lights up his 12 euro bbq and he proceedes to cook up a storm. We have found a fabulous butcher who makes the best burger, but of course it has a lot to do with the way it’s cooked as well. Well done Chef Gregory! We have able to buy more sea bass or bar from the Saturday markets which Greg has again done a superb job of grilling on the bbq. Delicious!
We took a drive to Bar-le-Duc which has a Renaissance upper Old Town. Nobility came to settle in the 16th 17th and 18th centuries and built many mansions. It was lovely (although quite warm) wandering the streets and admiring the lovely buildings.
We also called into Saint Quentin, classed as “a 16th Century hidden gem”, and is a listed town of Art and History. Architecture in the town ranges from Gothic to Neo. Classical to Art Deco, so quite a strange mix.
The Town Hall had a superb Gothic style facade and is adorned with 173 sculptures, apparently representing scenes from the life of the town, and a carillon with 37 bells which chimes rather loudly as we discovered while having a drink!
The Gothic Basilica of Saint Quentin built from the 12th to the 15th Century was rather spectacular inside with its wonderful windows.
The town is also well known for its street art. Around every corner you come across quite different art works.
The Palace of Fervaques, built from 1897 is now a rather grand Courthouse. We enjoyed a baguette for lunch in the nice shady Parc Champs Elysees. We enjoyed our time in Saint Quentin.
So that is the latest update for you all.
It’s that time , time to pack a bag as we are heading off for a “short break”, and going to Luxembourg for a couple of nights. It’s only a short drive up the road, so thought why not.
Looks like the weather is improving a little at home, hope it warms up a lot more by the time we get there!
We took Barney on a day trip and our first stop was Chalons-en-Champagne which has 2 UNESCO listed churches.The Collegiale Notre Dame-en-Vaux is a lovely Romanesque Church and a gathering place for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. (The Camino Trail) The stained glass windows were magnificent.
The Chalons Cathedral is Gothic style and like the other has beautiful windows.
We had a coffee break before we headed off again and driving along the road suddenly the huge Basilica Norte Dame L’Epine came into view (from a few kms away). Of course it is UNSECO listed and has been a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages,. It was built in the 15th Century. There was a service in progress so we were unable to enter.
We then headed onto Verdun. The city endured the longest battle in WW1 from February to December 1916, 302 days with French and German casualties numbering 714,213. The city sits on the Meuse River and was a fortified city. There were many monuments and war cemeteries around the area.
We enjoyed a nice lunch by the river and although it didn’t look very appetizing the fish tasted great and the crème brûlée was the best one so far!
The Town Hall was built in 1623 and was a private mansion and was luckily spared from attacks during the Battle of Verdun. Rhonda became very excited on the drive home when we came across a huge field of her favourite sunflowers so of course we had to have a stop for a photo.
Greg has been cooking up a storm on our 12 euro BBQ and finally we were able to grill a whole fish. Unfortunately it. Was not a spigola or bar as sea bass is called in France but it was delicious anyway. well done Chef Gregory!
We have enjoyed sampling the Provence Rose on the odd occasion. The melons here are absolutely delicious.
We have stumbled across a great little Italian deli that sells hand made pasta. Chef Greg cooks up a great sauce and it is delicious. So far we have tried the 3 meat (rabbit,veal and beef) and a Parma ham! Yum!
Another day trip was to the Medieval city of Provins. Our first coffee stop was at Sezzane to see the Church of Saint Denis,a listed historical monument.
Then it was onto Provins,a fortified Medieval town and a UNSECO listed Heritage site. It is considered to be one of the best preserved Medieval cities in France. The ramparts were built in the 13th Century. The Joey Gate was one of the main entrances to the city.
The Place du Chantel was the heart of the upper town and is rather pretty with its four gabled houses.
The Collegiate Church of Saint-Quiriace was built in the 12th Century. Caesar Tower was built in the 12th Century as a symbol of power by the Counts of Champagne. It has been used a watchtower, prison and bell tower.
The 16th Century Bell Tower is all that remains of the Church Norte Dame-Val which was destroyed during the French Revolution. The Sainte-Croix Church was reconstructed in the 16th and 17th Centuries. we found it quite unusual on the outside, but fortunately we couldn’t get inside, it was closed over lunch!
Although Provins has 58 monuments included in the French Historical Monuments List, we were a little underwhelmed by our visit. We enjoyed our time there but we were expecting a little more.
We have walked all the streets around Epernay, the main thoroughfares and back streets, it’s not that big! The Norte Dame Church is fairly young, built in 1897. The windows were damaged in WW1 and restored in 1922. Epernay in the middle of the 1800’s became a railway hub with its station. Built during the 1848 revolution. The station was opened in 1849 ,in the presence of Napoleon Bonaparte. The creation of the railway line boosted Champagne sales thanks to the improved transportation conditions.
The Opera House was built in 1898 and is an Historical Monument. During WW2 it was the place where the Resistance stayed to help liberate the city. In the middle of the town, surrounded by shops is the Portail Saint-Martin, the oldest monument in Epernay. It is the only remaining part of the Abbey of Saint Martin which stood there until it was demolished in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Of course when in Champagne, one must partake in some champagne tasting, even though it can be rather expensive!
Finally we are having a summer now with the last 3 days being around 34 degrees. Only problem is our air conditioning is not that great! But we shouldn’t complain, it’s better than drizzly rain and 18 degrees!
We have now been in Epernay for 2 weeks so thought it must be time for an update. Our pace has definitely slowed down doing long lunch days, days at home relaxing but also some more sightseeing.
Our apartment is just outside the old town of Epernay which is great because Barney is parked right outside the front door. We have a rather large terrace which we spend a lot of time on. The bathroom is interesting and Greg has to be VERY careful with the low slanted ceilings in places. He has had a few gashes on the head!!!!
Firstly a little info on Epernay. It is 130 kms north east of Paris and in the heart of the Champagne region. Most of the town is built on chalk rock and there are many tunnels underground that have been cut for storing champers and wine. The town was founded in the 5th century by tanners and in 1024 was taken over by the “Counts of Champagne”.
Its main attraction is “the Avenue de Champagne” and one of the most prestigious streets in the world. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries when the “Art of Champagne” was perfected the producers built many magnificent mansions which today house some of the most prolific champagne producers in France. Over 200 million bottles of champers are stored below the Avenue with 8 of the Mansions having a combined total of 96 kms of tunnels.
The Hotel de Ville was originally a private mansion dating from the 19th Century and owned by the Moet Family. It is an historic monument and stands in a lovely park. Both the front and back “yards” are quite spectacular!
When we checked into our apartment our host told us about a “Soiree Blanche” or a White Evening that was being held along the Avenue de Champagne the following evening. It is a “gigantic picnic concert” that transforms the Avenue into a giant banquet so we thought….when in Epernay…. why not. 250 tables and 1500 chairs were set up down the Avenue for the 1000’s of people attending.
We took our picnic dinner and luckily found a couple of seats at a table with a lovely French couple. It started off quietly but once the champers got flowing, Rhonda’s French got a workout as did Google translate! After a while a young Swedish couple joined us, more champers flowed and there was a lot of laughter. It turned out a great night and because it was Bastille Day the evening ended with fireworks. Of course, one needed to wear white, so it was a good excuse for Rhonda to buy a pair of white pants.
Epernay is close to the larger city of Reims which we visited. The main attraction is the magnificent Reims Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site. It was damaged during the French Revolution and suffered greater damage through the 2 world wars due to German bombings. 32 Kings of France have been crowned in the Cathedral with the most famous being the Coronation of Chales V11 in 1429 with Jean of Arc at his side.
The facade is adorned with 2303 statues. We did notice that many of the statues were beheaded, damaged by revolutionaries which led to the introduction of the guillotine. The Rose windows are magnificent.
The other main church in Reims is the Basilica of Saint -Remi, a medieval Abby church. Although the outside was nowhere near as spectacular as the Cathedral, the interior was another story! It was stunning. Again, it is UNESCO listed and holds the relics of the bishop of Saint Remi in a very elaborate tomb.
The Porte de Mars is an ancient Roman Triumphal arch, it was the widest arch in the Roman world and dates back to the 3rd Century. It became part of the Castle of the Bishops in 1228 and in 1595 the openings ere blocked and it became encased in the city walls. It was not fully revealed again until 1844. Quite remarkable that it is still standing
. The Opera House was impressive and luckily after it burnt down in the First World War it was decided to keep the 19th Century facade in its reconstruction. After all the wandering in the WARM sun, we needed to hydrate so found a cute bar, another Ernest Hemingway bar!
We had a great time wandering around Reims. it is a lovely city.
The drive home through the vineyards was lovely and there will be lots more photos of the stunning vineyards to follow.
We have just realised there are no photos of food or drink, so here are a few just to remind you what we do on holidays!
We did explore more areas in and around Caen besides the ones dedicated to WW11.
Caen was founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century and even though as we said it was heavily bombed during the war, there are still some amazing historic buildings.
Our favourite by far was the spectacular Abbaye-aux-Hommes ( Mens Abby) , a Benedictine Monestery founded around the year 1063 by William and his wife Matilda and is a National Monument of France. It was spared from bombings in 1944 because it was used as a refuge for the citizens of Caen.
Many changes have occurred throughout the centuries, and it is said to have inspired the construction of many churches throughout the world. Inside the St Etienne Church within the Abby walls is the tomb of William, and you know how Rhonda likes to lay historical people to rest!
The cloister was a quiet peaceful place to wander. It is a magnificent building. The Monastic building added in the 18th century and attached to the Abby is now the rather stunning Town Hall.
The ruins of the Church of Saint-Etienne-le-Vieux (the Old St Stephens Church) is an historic monument. It has been a ruin quite a while before1944. It was used as a stable during the French Revolution however a bomb did destroy more of the church, and it stands today as an “historical Ruin”.
Place Saint Sauveur is the largest square in Caen. It was a good place to have a drink when the weather was sunny! Although we had seen many timbered houses in Vannes we couldn’t resist a photo of some more in Caen.
Caen’s main Church, the Eglise Saint Pierre was rather large and it’s spire was destroyed by bombings in 1944. It was rebuilt and has a height of 260 feet.
As well as the Men’s Abby, Caen has a Lady’s Abby again founded b y William and Matilda. Its history includes a home for Benedictine nuns until the French Revolution, a Military garrison, a poor house, a Hospital and a Hospice. Matilda apparently rests in the choir “under a slab of black marble” although we didn’t go and visit her.
We took a drive to check out the beaches on another part of the Normandy Coast in the Calvados region. First stop was Villers-sur-Mer. We found it quite up market with the extravagant villas sitting right on the beach. It is said that the coast is visible for 2.1kms, well maybe on a nice sunny day!
Next stop was Deauville, classified as a “fashionable Seaside Destination”. The beach is well known for its 450 colourful parasols, however it was not the day for a swim. The Town Hall was cute to admire while we had a coffee.
We then drove onto the large city of Le Havre. It is a port on the English Channel at the mouth of the River Seine. We expected to have a fish lunch but there were a few things that worked against us, On Mondays a lot of restaurants are closed and there is little fresh fish, so we opted for a roast duck leg with confit spuds, creme brulee and a Normandy apple tart. It was bloody delicious. the owner and waitress photo bombed our photo!
We found a cute cafe for coffee and drinks. The translation is “The Last Bistro Before the End of the World”. This was another cafe full of “stuff” that made it an interesting place to sit! Greg liked his mate who stood out the front!
In France there are a lot of shops where you are able to buy rather good “ready made “meals. One night we bought some great little quiches and some petite Normandy apple tarts! An easy dinner but delicious! Of course, it was followed by cheese and a glass of red!
Greg has of course enjoyed going to the Fresh Food markets and buying our fruit and veges and cheese. Sometimes it is hard to decide what bread to buy when there are so many choices.
Rhonda finally got her duck confit which she had been longing for ever since arriving in France. We started with a pre-dinner aperitif in a cute little square. Our entrees were foie gras for Rhonda and Greg enjoyed his samosas. The duck confit was worth the wait. Yum! Too full for dessert.
Another trip in Barney took us for a visit to Medieval Bayeux. The Notre Dame Cathedral of Bayeux was very impressive and dates back to William of course. The famous Bayeux Tapestry was housed in the Cathedral until 1793, and now it is in its own museum, but we didn’t go to view it. The oldest house in Bayeux dates back to the 13th Century and was pretty cute.
We then continued onto Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, a picturesque fishing and sailing village and has one of Normandy’s largest harbours. It is home to the UNESCO listed Vauban Towers built from 1694 to protect the mainland from the English.
As you can see the weather was not kind, grey skies, drizzly rain and a chilly wind, however the thing that saved the day was lunch. We finally found our whole grilled dorade (sea Bream) and it was bloody delicious, worth the wait!
We then continued onto Barfleur, classified as “One of the Most Beautiful Villages in France”. It was a pretty spot but would have been much better with blue skies!
Caen has of course a Chateau and of course it was built by William around 1060. It is one of the oldest and largest in Europe. We thought it was great when we read about the “free entry” but once inside we knew why! A restoration process is underway, and it was a complete mess but the view of the house roof tops from the rampart walls was okay!
We had a great time in Caen although the weather was average. As we mentioned previously, we are now in Epernay in the Champagne Region, the weather has improved, and the Champagne is flowing! We are here for a 5 week stay and looking forward to relaxing a little.
Another reminder to click on each photo separately to get the full view! We are working on how to change it but it is a “work in progress”‘
First, we must apologise for the format of our last blog! We will endeavour to improve from now on! If you are not interested in the 80th Anniversary of the D Day landing and the Liberation of Caen, look away now!!!!!!
We left Vannes to go to Caen for a week stay, On the way we had a coffee stop at Fougeres beside the huge Chateau, the largest preserved medieval fortress in Europe dating back from the 12th to the 15th Century.
We spent a fabulous week in Caen made even more special by the fact that we were in Normandy, and it was the 80th Anniversary of the D Day landings. We spent one day driving along the beaches where the Americans, Canadians, and British launched the largest sea borne invasion in history named Operation Overlord on June 6th 1944.
Allied amphibious landings began at 6.30 am along an 80km stretch of beach on the Normandy coast, Operation Neptune landed 12,000 war ships, 4000 landing craft and 1000 merchant ships aided by 12,000 aircraft.
The first beach we visited was Utah Beach, the first landing zone chosen by English General Mongomery or “Monty” as he is known in Normandy. 21,000 troops were landed on the beach with only 197 causalities. Airborne troops arriving by parachutes and gliders added another 14,000 men with 2500 causalities and all up around 700 were killed.
Next, we stopped off at Omaha Beach where 2/3rds of the US seaborne troops landed. It is appropriately names “Bloody Omaha” and is where the highest causalities of D Day occurred. There were 3600 causalities and 770 were killed. We say considering 34,000 troops landed the causalities were light.
We stopped for a coffee at Omaha Beach and loved the fact that the shop fronts all along the beaches gave recognition to the Allies. All along the coastal road we travelled, we discovered monuments, bunkers and incredible stories associated with Operation Overlord. One story we found interesting was about “Hell Week” which you can read about below in the photo.
At Omaha is the quite emotional Normandy American Cemetery. It contains the graves of 9389 Military Servicemen who lost their lives in the D Day Landings and the ensuring operations. There are also the names of 1600 missing Servicemen.
We then travelled onto Arromonches-Les-Bains to see the large concrete blocks remaining from the Mulberry Harbour” which was towed over from Britain for the D Day Landing. It is known as Port Winston, obviously after Winston Churchill, who wanted to build the artificial harbour, A staggering 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of supplies arrived in France via “Port Winston”.
It was lovely driving through the coastal villages with the US/Canadian/UK/French flags flying outside “almost” every house. We did wonder whether the houses were “told” to display them or if it was voluntary.
We also visited “Pegasus Bridge” and enjoyed a breakfast at the “first liberated house” in France in 1944. Before the beach landings on D Day, parachuters and gliders needed to secure the river crossings for the beach assault and reduce enemy defences. The photo below will let you know what happened with “Ham and Jam”.
The liberated house, now known as Cafe Gondree was the site of the first battle of the D Day Invasion. The owners had been involved in the French Resistance and passed information to British Intelligence. Arlette, the daughter, who was 5 years old at the time, today still runs the cafe. It is said “she is a firey determined woman” who is commonly referred to as “Madame”. Rhonda agrees! When she asked in her best French “deux alongee s’il vous plait”, Arlette replied in quite terse English “I only do small or big coffees!” The cafe was full of memorabilia.
The bombing of the city of Caen began at 1,30pm on D Day. The city was burning for 12 days and much of the centre was gutted. It had been hoped by the Allies to take Caen within 24 hours of landing but that was not to be, and the civilian population paid a terrible price with over 3000 killed and thousands injured. Over 2500 tons of bombs were dropped on the city in one day. Finally on July 9th the Left Bank of Caen was liberated but it took until July 21st and further bombings before the entire town was liberated.
We were lucky enough to be able to attend 2 different Liberation Memorial Services on July 9th, one organised by the Bristish regiment who liberated the city.
The other was organised by the French. Both were quite moving with French, British and Canadians attending. At the French service there was a very moving moment when we listened to a French recording made by a reporter on the day of the liberation of Caen. We stood in the exact square where the recording took place, and the French National Anthem was played for the first time since occupation.
We were surprised that there did not seem to be a lot of “locals” attending the service and we kept thinking of the number of Aussies who attend Dawn Services throughout the world each year.
Of course, we did do a lot more in Caen but that’s for another time!
We are now in Epernay, the heart of the Champagne region, so the next blog will be done while drinking the local drop.
And also, our weather has finally improved a little, with a little more sunshine.
Now that the pace has slowed down a bit we can recap on our final days spent in Vannes. We have enjoyed our apartment in Vannes, a nice relaxing place to return to after all the sight seeing, sitting on our balcony watching the grey skies roll in.
We took Barney for another outing. We left home at 9;15. The first stop was St Brieuc on the Cotes-d’Armour with more timbered houses and apparently a gorgeous large, fortified Cathedral, however, it was completely under scaffolding and closed! The Town Hall was rather nice though with all the French flags flying.
Next stop was another cute Brittany village called Port Dahouet one of the first fishing harbours in Brittany. The shipowners houses and seaside villas dating back to the 1800’s made a pretty sight.
Then it was onto St Malo, an historic port walled city. The ramparts that surround the old town were built in the 12th century and form a 2km loop. The ramparts have 8 gates and 3 bastions. Unfortunately St Malo’s defence walls were unable to protect the city from bombardment during WW11 by both the Germans and the Allies and a large part of the Old City was reduced to rubble, but not the ramparts!
The rebuilding of old St Malo was one of the great heritage restoration projects in the aftermath of the war and was rebuilt in the same way and the same style. Remarkable!
The St Vincent Cathedral of St Malo was extensively damaged during the war but still retains some of its original beauty and is classified as an historical monument.
The National Fort was built in 1689 and protected the ramparts of the city. It is accessible by foot at low tide.
We did lunch in St Malo, however our “plate of fish” was lost in translation. We didn’t enjoy it so consequently we didn’t even take a photo, however the 14 euro glass of rose was rather nice.
Before we left we needed a coffee and stumbled across the rather weird “Cafe de Coin”. It has been a bistro since 1820 and is known as “one of the most beautiful cafes in the world” and is classified as an historical monument. Not sure if beautiful is the correct word though!!! It certainly kept us occupied whilst having our coffee.
We enjoyed wandering the cobbled streets and walking the ramparts even though St Malo is an extremely touristic destination. It was a big day and we didn’t return home till 7pm.
The following day was a rest day, well sort of, and in the arvo we did another self guided walk around Vannes. This one took us through all the old “portes” or gates of the town and along the rampart walls.
The Porte Prison Gate is the oldest access to the town and had a double drawbridge, one for the carts and one for the pedestrians.
The Tower was used as a prison during the French revolution.
Then we were outside the old town we saw the full extent of the ancient ramparts. Construction began in the 3rd Century by the Romans and extended through to the 14th Century when Louis X1V sold the stones of the wall to finance his war. As one does!
The final 2 gates to the old town were the Poterne Gate with its bridge access to the town and the Calmont Gate.
The tallest tower of the Ramparts. The Calmont or Constables Tower was both defensive and also residential.
The Chateau de L”Hermine , a fortified castle and enclosed in the city walls was built in the 14th century.
The Jardin de Ramparts made a picturesque scene, particularly when we had blue skies, which we have to say was not very often!
The Lavoirs , or washrooms, sit on the Marle River next to the ramparts. They were built around 1821 and was once the “washing machine centre” for the women of Vannes.
We have enjoyed some of the delicacies of Bretagne and in particular Greg has enjoyed sampling Kouign-Amann, basically all butter and sugar (really low cholesterol). It is not only the pastry itself but the packaging also makes it a rather special treat!
Another day out took us to the cute little village of Quimperle. The quay area on the River L’Isole was very pretty and of course we had more of those colombages to view. It was an important port and traded in wine, salt, spices and wood. The trading houses were built in the 16th and 19th Century.
Next stop was the quaint but touristy village of Pont Aven. It was very picturesque with its watermills along the river and it is also famous for its biscuits, which of course we purchased!
We then headed for Concarneau with its fortified old walled town and loads of tourists. Today it is one of the most visited monuments in Brittany.
We wanted to return to a Creperie that we had been to before. It is called Le Petite Chaperon Rouge, or Little Red Riding Hood.
Lunch was delicious even though we were sitting partly in the rain. Greg went dressed in costume!!!!!
We had Crepe Complet, ham cheese and egg, followed by a dessert crepe of beurre and sucre, butter and sugar!
Plus a pichet of cidre!
It was just as good as we remembered except last time it was a sunny day!
After walking in the rain for an hour and dodging tourists we decided to head home.
Our last day in Vannes was a rest day to pack Barney and clean. We did wander down to the Place Lices for a drink to farewell Vannes and we were nearly the only ones there. Bliss. As you can probably tell the weather was not very kind to us during our week in Vannes, quite a bit of rain and grey skies and temps around 20 degrees, however we still loved the town
We have spent the last week in Caen, but that is for another day, with lots of celebrations of the 80th Anniversary of WW11
We left La Rochelle to head to Vannes but decided to have a couple of stops on the way. First stop for coffee was Les Sables d’Olonne, a lively seaside resort on the French Atlantic Coast. We walked to the Port to see the Chateau St Clair which was the “favourite residence” of Richard the Lionheart.
Next stop was the pretty little harbour town of Le Crosic, just south of the Brittany border and listed as a “small town of character “and we could see why. It is an active fishing village and had some gorgeous 16th century granite houses and it was a pretty spot to wander.
We then arrived in Vannes for an 8 night stay, long enough to unpack the suitcases! Vannes is on the southern coast of Brittany and a very beautiful historic town. It has many half timbered houses, which are called “Maisons a Colombage” and found mainly in Brittany and Normandy and we absolutely loved them. WARNING….Heaps of photos to follow!
On our first day we decided to head to the tourist bureau and get a self guided map to do our “own thing”. First stop was the Town gate St Vincente Ferrier with the city Coat of Arms. It was a very impressive Gate to the Old Town. The Lices Square was created during the 14th century and was once the site of medieval tournaments. Today it is an ideal place for coffee and relaxing which of course we did!
Next port of call was the House of Vannes et sa Femme ( the house of Vannes and his wife). Nobody really knows who they are but they have been here since the 16th century, apparently most say they were the original owners of the shop, who knows but they are an icon of Vannes.
Next stop was the 15th Century Chateau Gaillard built by a bishop and is tucked away with only the 4-story stair tower to be seen. Moving on we saw the Impressive Town Hall which sits just outside the Old Town and built between 1881 and 1886, it is said to be smaller copy of the Paris Town Hall and we agree!
We wandered through the gorgeous, cobbled streets until we came to Place Henri 1V, a beautiful square lined with the gorgeous colombages and it was a perfect spot for a drink and to admire the vista.
We were then close to the Cathedral St Pierre. Building started in the 13th century continuing through to the 16th Century. We decided then it was time for lunch and we NEEDED some fish and the filet du Merlu was lovely as was the bottle of rose we shared. We didn’t really need dessert but decided to have it anyway!
The next day we thought we should take Barney for a drive. We packed a picnic lunch and the first stop was Camaret-sur-Mer, a traditional fishing village (crayfish mainly). It was very quiet and peaceful! In the port area stands the 17th century Chapel of Notre Dame of Rocamadour and next to it stands the Vauban Tower, an octagonal 17th century defensive tower surrounded by a moat. It was a gorgeous little village as well as a good coffee stop, very important!
We decided to take the long way home and stopped off at Pointe du Raz, a “Grand Site of France”, probably why we had to pay 8euros to park Barney! However, the view was great, if not a tad windy with the rocky jagged cliffs and the 2 light houses.
Driving home through the small coastal village of Plogoff, with the gorgeous Bretagne houses was lovely. Brittany is also known for its windmills, and we have seen quite a few.
It was a great day, a lot of driving for both Barney and Greg but worth it. The following day was Sunday, and we always stay home as everyone else is normally on the roads going out for lunch etc. Lucky for us we can watch the Tour de France live on tele to pass the time away!
Also you have probably noticed that the weather has not been kind to us in Brittany, quite cool, a bit of rain and certainly not the “summer” we were hoping for. Fingers crossed it’s around the corner.
And now its rest time for us with Part 2 of Vannes to follow in the next few days.
Now we are flying solo, just the 2 of us. We left San Sebastian to head back into France for our 3 night stop in La Rochelle. We needed a stop for lunch, so popped into the town of Saintes, an historic town, apparently over 2000 years old with some Roman ruins. We opted not to explore too much but did think the Sainte-Pierre Cathedral was worth a look. It was rather impressive both inside and out and listed as an Historic Monument.
Then it was time to move onto La Rochelle, a city on the west coast, and a sea port on the Bay of Biscay, part of the Atlantic Ocean, and was once one of the greatest port cities of France. Our apartment was typically French, quite small, 2 stories but quite well situated for walking into the old town.
We wandered through the streets of the old town and all along the port area. The medieval Town Hall is the oldest town hall in France and quite impressive both inside and out.
The Grosse Horlage (clock tower) marks the entrance of the port to the old town and dates back to the 16th century.
The 3 historic towers that stand at the entrance to the harbour are listed as national monuments and form part of the towns defences against invasion from the sea. The largest, the St Nicholas Tower has walls up to 8 metres thick and also contains a chapel. The smaller, The Chain tower was built between 1604 and 1763. The 3rd tower, the Lantern Tower (round one) is the only medieval lighthouse on the Atlantic Coast that is still standing and was converted into a prison in the 17th century.
The Harbour area has an abundance of bars and restaurants that we HAD to pop into, and there were plenty of rather large yachts. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK EACH PHOTO TO SEE THEM PROPERLY! We still haven’t worked out how to change the settings, bloody WordPress
Jean and Francoise came to stay with us for a night and we enjoyed a lovely dinner in the Old Town. and then had to walk off dinner whilst admiring the pretty colours of the sunset.
The following day we decided to leave the mainland and check out the Ile-de-Re, an island you reach by paying 16euros to travel across a bridge. Luckily, we had Jean with us with his credit card as the toll booth would not take cash and didn’t like our Aussie credit card at all. How rude! It is a very popular holiday spot for Parisians and EVERYONE rides bikes. It was quite busy and it wasn’t even true “holiday season”. It is only 30 kms long, so quite small. Our first stop was La Flotte, a small village with a pretty port and it was a good coffee stop.
Next stop was ARS-en-Re. The church and its rather weird spire is the focal point of the village. We decided at Ars that it was time for lunch so we opted for a crepe complet with a pichet of cidre,(a crepe with ham, cheese and egg and a jug of apple cider). Yummo!
Last stop of the tour, and our favourite was the pretty village of St Martin. It had a very lovely old town as well as the large port. The village has extensive fortifications and a citadel built in the 16th Century to defend the west coast from an English attack that never came!
It was a good day and a nice visit to the island but we could only imagine what July and August would be like. Way too many people and way too many bikes…not for us thank you!
We enjoyed our stay in La Rochelle but maybe a little too touristy for us, then it was onto Vannes.
