Our Spring Break trip to France, Allie’s first visit and in honor of our 25th anniversary. We visited Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley, packing a lot into 7 quick days. Part One covered our days in Paris. This post covers our days in Normandy and the Loire Valley.
Wednesday, March 19
After our morning visit to the Musee d’Orsay, we returned to the hotel and I headed a few blocks away to fetch our rental car from Argus Rental on Rue de Berri (it doesn’t seem to exist any longer). I got the car, a Peugeot 407, easily enough but in order to get back to the girls at the Georges V, I was immediately confronted with navigating the traffic circle at the Arc de Triomphe, the “craziest roundabout in Europe.” I was hoping to avoid it but there was no choice. It’s a crazy free-for-all of a traffic circle and you really can’t do anything except take a deep breath, plunge in and pray. So I did, and after a nerve-wracking minute or two I emerged onto the Champs Elysees from which I took a right onto the Avenue Georges V and was home free.
We loaded our things and headed west toward Normandy. We had to got through (around?) the Arc de Triomphe roundabout again but by now I was a pro, and in any case it was easier staying in the flow of the Champs Elysees traffic. We drove 10-15 minutes into the suburbs of Paris when a light came on in the car to check the tire pressure. I didn’t want to set out on a trip into the French countryside with a deflating tire, so we searched for a gas station to stop — but there were none to be seen on the road. We eventually noticed a small sign leading to a station located in an underground car park. I pulled in and called the rental agency. They suggested filling the tire and going ahead to see if the light came on again. It seemed like dubious advice but we really didn’t want to drive back into Paris to get another car. The fellow at the gas station took pity on us and helped fill the tire. We set back on our way, fingers crossed. Fortunately, the light never came back but the anxiety never really went away.
We finally got on the A14 highway for the three-hour drive to Bayeux. With all the stress and activity, it wasn’t long before Barb and Allie decided it was time for a nap. As they dozed off, I started to get sleepy too, which is not a good thing to do on a highway. I have a clear memory of starting to nod and drift into the neighboring lane where a large truck was passing. I don’t think he honked, but I opened my eyes just in time to see we were inches from the truck. I swerved back into my lane and thanked my lucky stars that we didn’t all die right there. I don’t think the girls ever noticed how close we came. The adrenaline surge kept me wide awake for the rest of the drive but I have never forgotten that moment of terror. It has made me a more cautious — Barb says too cautious — driver ever since.
We eventually arrived safely in the town of Bayeux and made our way to the Churchill Hotel. I’d selected the hotel from TripAdvisor and it turned out to be a good choice, conveniently located in town. It was no Georges V, mind you, but the hostess was nice and helped us to our pleasant room.
We arrived in time to see the Bayeux Tapestry before the museum closed for the evening. I really didn’t know much about the 1066 Norman Conquest of England. The audioguide explanation helped a lot at the time but I have to admit I still don’t know much about the actual historic events. The tapestry itself is a remarkable chronicle and I’m glad we got to see it. I really should learn more about that era sometime. This article from Fine Arts Connoisseur (from which I borrowed the photo below) has good background on the tapestry, its history, and anticipated loan to England in 2022.
The hotel hostess gave us some recommendations for what to see and where to eat that evening. We followed her suggestions, exploring the touristy but still charming little town. We had a good meal but I can’t remember where.
Thursday, March 20
This was our day to see the sights of D-Day. Barb long held a fascination with World War II and events surrounding D-Day, harkening back to her youth in Germany, her Dad’s participation in the war and his interest in war memorials and cemeteries. I didn’t have the same level of interest and frankly thought that Americans overemphasized D-Day as their moment of glory, as if America and America alone won the whole war on that day. But I was happy to learn more and see the actual terrain.
I had read various recommendations that we should get a local tour guide, or better yet, one of the English-speaking war buffs that made a second career guiding tourists but we decided to go it alone instead, mostly because I was cheap and didn’t want to coordinate with anyone else. In retrospect, that was not a great decision. I’ve since learned the value of guides, particularly so Barb has someone to bounce questions off of, gain insight and often go places we would never find on our own. Even on this trip, Barb kept floating over to groups that had their own guide so she could eavesdrop. As things turned out, we had an excellent day and learned a lot, but it would have been even more informative with a guide.
Taking tips from the tour books, we first stopped at a local grocery and bought a variety of meats, cheese, bread and snacks for a picnic lunch along the way. Then we drove to Arromanches on the coast to start our self-guided tour.
Arromanches was the largest of the Allies’ temporary harbors where the vast majority of military hardware and men landed in the days and weeks after D-Day. It is notable for the British Mulberry harbor blocks that can still be seen. We visited the small D-Day museum for an orientation to the events surrounding the invasion. After seeing what we could in the museum and from the shoreline, we drove to several nearby overlooks for a wider view of the harbor.
We headed onward to the Longues-sur-Mer Gun Battery for a look at some of the German fortifications that protected the coast. These were some very impressive bunkers and cannons and it gave a sense of the daunting challenge faced by the Allied forces.
Next we went to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. We stopped first at the Visitor Center which turned out to be a 30,000 square foot museum in itself, recently opened in 2007. We weren’t expecting it to be full of exhibits but it was excellent, with a lot of displays and several movies and video installations. Barb especially loved it and we spent several hours there, working through every display case. The Visitor Center is an underrated gem and gave us an excellent introduction and feel for the events leading up to and following the invasion.
After spending several fruitful hours in the Visitor Center, we ventured down the bluff to Omaha Beach itself. It was windy and chilly but being on the beach was a moving experience. The tide was low and we got a real sense of the open expanse the troops had to cover, the daunting bluffs they would have to climb, and the defensive batteries that were scattered on high ground all around.
As a peaceful contrast to the battle images, a group of wheeled sail boats were skidding around the beach, putting the scene into a positive perspective — a much better use of a beach than a stage for war, mayhem and death. Still, it was nice to see that the whole beach and surrounding area remain largely undeveloped. I’m not entirely sure if that is a result of its status as a war memorial or simply that it’s a cold and desolate stretch of coast. Either way, I’m glad there are no condos or resort developments.
Climbing back from the beach, we spent some time wandering the extensive American Cemetery, with its thousands of rows of white crosses. We didn’t take photos out of some sense of respect and awe, but it was a somber reminder of the sacrifice and waste that war entails.
We were very glad to have stopped at this location and were greatly moved by the lessons of the museum displays and the cemetery itself. It was kind of all we could handle and we had stayed far longer than I’d anticipated. I’m not sure where exactly we stopped for our picnic lunch or if we just ate in the parking lot. We had one more stop on our Normandy itinerary.
Pointe du Hoc was a promontory that housed a large fortified array of German guns protecting the shoreline over Omaha Beach and beyond. On D-Day, Army Rangers led a difficult assault scaling the 100-foot cliffs before learning that the Germans had taken the largest of the guns further inland. The Rangers lost more than half of their 225-man attack group in the face of multiple German counterattacks over two days. Though ultimately not of as much strategic value as anticipated, the Pointe du Hoc action took on a place in Ranger and D-Day lore as one of the most hotly contested sites. The whole promontory is pockmarked with blast craters among some of the remaining fortifications, giving a vivid feel for the intensity of the battle. We scampered among the ruins for a while but managed not to take any pictures there.
It was mid-afternoon and I’d reserved the option of either driving over to Mont St. Michel (another 90-minutes away) or back to Caen to see the highly regarded World War II Museum there. Our plans for the day were open-ended, but the time we spent at Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery pretty much scotched the idea of going anywhere else. Ultimately, we decided to simply return to Bayeux to rest. We’d had our fill of D-Day sites, though admittedly it was highly focused on American activities. I still regret not having made it to either Mont St. Michel or to Caen and its museum. They remain items on the bucket list for some other journey.
We headed back to our hotel in Bayeux, had a rest, and then dinner. I have in my notes that we should try L’Assiette Normande and the pictures look familiar enough that I think we did, though I can’t remember any specifics of the meal.
Friday, March 21
We checked out of the Churchill Hotel and embarked on our three-hour journey from Bayeux to Amboise in the Loire Valley, foregoing another early morning option to drive via Mont St. Michel.
We headed straight to our hotel, Le Manoir Les Minimes (TripAdvisor), a very pretty inn right on the Loire River at the bottom of town. Fortunately our room was ready, a very spacious corner suite overlooking the river. I could have happily stayed the day curled up in that room with the view.
The town of Amboise is dominated by the Chateau d’Amboise, a royal residence in the 15th-16th centuries which fell into disrepair and was largely reconstructed in the late 19th century. The Chateau has its own unique history, including the location where Charles VIII conked his head on his way to watch a game of tennis, fell into an immediate coma and died within nine hours. The Chateau, however, was a little intimidating for our time schedule and we would be seeing several other more famous chateaux the next day, so we didn’t actually tour it.
Instead, we explored a bit in the town before heading to see the Chateau du Clos Luce. The chateau dated to 1471 and had connections to French kings as a country home, but is most famous as the final home of Leonardo da Vinci. King Francis I invited Leonardo in 1516 to live in France as the king’s “first painter, engineer and architect.” Leonardo brought the Mona Lisa and two other paintings with him, which is why they are now exhibited in the Louvre. Leonardo worked on (non-painting) projects for the king until his death at Clos Luce in 1519. I didn’t know anything about this connection to France, so it was interesting to tour the house and learn.
The house and grounds include many replicas of Leonardo’s inventions, quite a few geared toward kids which was a bonus for Allie. She enjoyed the chance to play on her own and with some of the other children touring the estate. The extensive gardens were quite interesting and evidently a place Leonardo quite enjoyed and had a hand in designing. The tour inside the home itself was also very good.
After a fine several hours at Clos Luce, we headed back through town. We couldn’t resist getting a crepe from a street-side vendor. The crepe was great but the vendor was no match for the fellow we saw in Paris. We also got some beignets and other goodies for a little evening snack in the room and for the next day’s drive.
We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon for a little rest before dinner. We spent a delightful hour or two enjoying the room and the sunset over the river.
Despite loading up on sweets, we had some room for dinner in town that evening, though I don’t know exactly where. I had notes for several very fine places nearby, but I’m pretty sure we just found something simple in town.
Saturday, March 22
For our final full day in France, our targets were several of the famous Loire Valley chateaux.
Our first stop: the Chateau de Chenonceau. I had long seen pictures of this chateau built over the water and wanted to visit. It seemed particularly idyllic though I knew next to nothing of its history.
Chenonceau is indeed a little jewel box of a chateau, sitting on its perch in the River Cher. It was a bit smaller than I’d imagined, but ideally situated with beautifully manicured gardens along its bank of the river. The surrounding riverbanks were forested as far as one could see, adding to the notion of romantic isolation.
We started with a tour of the interior which gave us a dose of the chateau’s history, from its start in 1513, connections to Francis I (the same one that brought Leonardo to Amboise), his son Henry II, Henry’s mistress Diane de Poitiers (though she was 19 years older than Henry), and Henry’s widow Catherine de’ Medici. The main core of the chateau was set in the river but it was Diane de Poitiers that built the bridge over the river and Catherine de’ Medici who finished the gallery over the bridge. After Henry died in 1559, Catherine forced Diane out of the chateau, took it over and made it her own. Chenonceau is known as “The Ladies’ Chateau” for its beauty and connections to these extraordinary women.
While the interior is interesting, it’s really the exterior views of the chateau and the gardens that make Chenonceau so popular. There are two main gardens, the smaller one named for Catherine de’ Medici, the larger, older one implicitly associated with Diane de Poitiers. Views from the Medici Garden:
Views from the other (main) garden:
Onward to Chambord, the largest chateau in the Loire valley and the hunting lodge of Francis I. He was a busy fellow.
The most distinctive characteristic of Chambord is its panoply of chimneys, turrets and other ornamental roof features. I kept looking for the best shot.
Truth to tell, we only ended up seeing Chambord from the outside. We felt like we’d had our fill of interiors, and we read that most of the furnishings had been stripped out after the French Revolution. Instead, we…well, mostly Barb, spent a long while in the visitor center and gift shop, learning what she could. I waited outside and filled the time with taking more photos of comings and goings.
Chambord was our final tourist stop on our France vacation. From there, we drove 2.5 hours back to Paris and an airport hotel, the Novotel Roissy CDG. I returned the car at the airport and we settled into a quiet evening before our noon flight back to Dulles the next day.
We jammed quite a lot into our six days in France. I think it was a good introduction to Paris for Allie while Barb and I enjoyed seeing new things in Normandy and the Loire valley. The weather cooperated well enough for March. There was certainly a lot more to see in France, but this trip whet our appetites to return.
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